Oxygen affinity: a property of the wine

The standard

Measured oxygen uptake expresses this tendency as consumption under defined conditions: how much oxygen a wine takes up in what time. Without measurement, affinity stays a guess.

Criteria

• The tendency follows from oxidisable content, not from age
• It is measured as consumption per time, not estimated
• It changes with every sulfur addition and every loss of phenols
• It is a property of the wine, not of the surroundings

Distinction

Oxygen affinity ≠ oxygen ingress: affinity is the capacity to consume, ingress the amount supplied. Oxygen affinity ≠ susceptibility to oxidation: high uptake can protect a wine, because bound oxygen no longer reaches the aromas. Measured oxygen uptake separates capacity from vulnerability.