Winemakers, including me, are always conducting small trials and experiments to find new ways to improve their practices and wines. But I believed in one technique so much that I skipped the trials and went all in with one of my first vintages of Bravium Chardonnay. And I haven’t looked back.
It’s not a new method but is similar to how Chardonnay was made years ago in Burgundy, and is now used by a handful of California Chardonnay producers. It’s sometimes called the Brown Chardonnay or hyper-oxidated Chardonnay method; however I prefer the term early oxygenation.
The prevailing academic thought over the last few decades was that limiting Chardonnay’s exposure to oxygen prior to fermentation would help slow oxidation in the finished wine. So the typical process for modern Chardonnay production begins with adding SO2 to the grapes as soon as they’re picked or to the must as soon as it’s pressed, then fermenting in stainless steel tanks or oak vessels while limiting the juice’s contact with oxygen.
But this reductive winemaking method can have a few drawbacks. One is muted, almost monochromatic, non-fruit aromas, with the main aromatic being that of sulfites, or “matchstick.” Another is that not exposing the must to oxygen prior to fermentation actually makes the finished wine more susceptible to oxidation as it is never given the opportunity to go through the polyphenol oxidase reaction.
