protective winemaking, winemaking philosophy founded on the need to minimize exposure to oxygen and concomitant risk of oxidation. It is less popular than it was at the end of the 20th century but still adhered to for many large-volume commercial white wines. It usually incorporates protective juice handling. White wines are then fermented in closed-top tanks to exclude oxygen as much as possible while allowing for the escape of carbon dioxide from fermentation. All subsequent operations are then conducted as far as possible in closed equipment and small amounts of sulfur dioxide are added if exposure to oxygen occurs. Storage and processing at low temperatures favours the retention of some of the carbon dioxide, which has the effect of sweeping out any accidentally dissolved oxygen. Red wines, because of their greater phenolic content, are much less sensitive to exposure to oxygen. Indeed, if they undergo barrel maturation, some exposure to oxygen during topping up contributes to the wine’s maturation.
