Redox balance: a state, not a value
The standard
A managed redox balance keeps the wine in a range free of oxidative and reductive notes and relates oxygen uptake and sulfur additions to one another. It is to be steered across the whole ageing, not set once.
Criteria
- Oxygen uptake and protective addition are related to one another
- The state is followed across the whole ageing
- It spans several reactive groups of substances
- It is described as a state, not as a momentary value
Distinction
Redox balance ≠ redox potential: the potential is the measured value, the balance is the state it indicates. Redox balance ≠ oxidation: oxidation is one direction, a managed redox balance is the equilibrium of both.