Page 6 - Grapevine NovDec 2020

In The Winery

Protecting & Preserving Wine Through Chemical Reaction:

Wineries Turn to Nitrogen as the Superhero of Industrial Gases.
By: Cheryl Gray
N itrogen use in winemaking is a carefully Penelope Gadd-Coster is Executive Director of

orchestrated and scientific process. Its
Winemaking at California’s Rack and Riddle Custom
chief role is to guard against the adverse
that cost and efficiency are the reasons her winery
effects of oxidation, which diminishes both the Wine Services. She told The Grapevine Magazine
quality and shelf life of wine. Consider the vine- opts to use nitrogen.
gar-like taste of a wine left opened or unfinished
for too long and immediately understand why “It is an inert gas, inexpensive…and there are gen-
wineries use nitrogen to prevent oxygen exposure erators for nitrogen, so outside gas companies are
during production and storage. not needed,” she said.

While multiple inert gases are available to pre- Like Gadd-Coster, proponents of nitrogen use in
vent oxygen from coming into contact with wines, winemaking point to multiple benefits derived from
experts say that the choice of which industrial gas deploying nitrogen gas generators, which allow
to use is linked to cost, availability and the type wineries to produce nitrogen gas on demand. That,
of wines produced. Nitrogen is a popular choice in turn, can help boost productivity. The use of a
because it is in ready supply, making up roughly nitrogen gas generator also eliminates the safety
80% of the Earth’s atmosphere. That means it is risks associated with high-pressure gas cylinders.
available at an attractive price versus other indus- Additionally, those in-house generators bypass ven-
trial gases. dor issues that might include price increases, long-
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