Pendragon524
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2020
- Messages
- 69
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- 12
Hello everyone!
My question concerns the finer details of how headspace in secondary fermentation interacts with newly-made wine. On the one hand, one relevant concern is the surface area contact between wine and air. On the other, there is the total volume of air in relation to the volume of wine. A container might have a huge volume of total air but small surface area contact (imagine a narrow cylinder that extends several feet), or the opposite might be true of a container with small air volume but larger surface area contact (think of most wide-mouthed, one-gallon jars filled almost completely full with wine). What factor is more crucial for limiting oxidation in wine? Surface-area contact between wine and air, or the ratio of total air volume to total wine volume? I realize this is a fairly nuanced question, but as I consider what jars to rack my wine into for secondary, the question comes up pretty urgently.
My question concerns the finer details of how headspace in secondary fermentation interacts with newly-made wine. On the one hand, one relevant concern is the surface area contact between wine and air. On the other, there is the total volume of air in relation to the volume of wine. A container might have a huge volume of total air but small surface area contact (imagine a narrow cylinder that extends several feet), or the opposite might be true of a container with small air volume but larger surface area contact (think of most wide-mouthed, one-gallon jars filled almost completely full with wine). What factor is more crucial for limiting oxidation in wine? Surface-area contact between wine and air, or the ratio of total air volume to total wine volume? I realize this is a fairly nuanced question, but as I consider what jars to rack my wine into for secondary, the question comes up pretty urgently.