AU2008234987A1 - Control of Oxygenation - Google Patents

Description

27/10 2008 12:37 +61 3 9543 8822 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.004/025 1

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT "Control of Oxygenation" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:37 ±61 3 9543 8822MoomPnt#22P.0/5 Norcom Pernat #0262 P.005/025 00 2 COTO0FOXGNTO 0 Field of the Invention 00 This invention relates particularly but not exclusively to methods and apparatus for Cfl the maturation of table wine by control of oxygenation and other beverages having 00 similar oxygenation requirements for maturation.

01 Background -of the Invention Many red and some white table wine varieties are matured in bulk quantities in oak barrels, according to the wine variety, quality and desired character. Many other beverages such as whiskey also benefit front similar maturation in oak by oxygenation.

The general aim of wine aging in Oak barrels, is to develop a desired aged wine bouquet and character, by: Controlled and slow oxidation of various wine substances especially the phenolic compounds. This slow oxidation, followed by polymerization, results from limited and gradual exposure to air oxygen diffusing through the walls of the barrel over months.

-Extraction of Oak flavour components, including Oak phenolics to enhance and expand the wine's complexity.

However Oak barrels are expensive to fashion, cumbersome to store and handle, often inconsistent in wood properties, subject to leakage and limited in useful life.

COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:37 +61 3 9543 8822MoomPna#06 P00/2 Norcom Pernat #0262 P.006/025 00 3 Cl Oak barrels also require a voluminous storage facility with a controlled temperature t and humidity environment to minimize evaporative loss due to transpiration through otheir p orous walls.

Accordingly there have been many attempts to replicate the effects of barrel aging on table wine in bulk quantities, without the actual use of oak barrels. For example: 00 Mn The addition of Oak sawdust, chips or staves into metal bulk storage Nl 00 tanks, to expose the wine to Oak characters. However this only achieves the Oak flavour extraction function of barrel aging, not the oxidative one, Cl This can be mitigated to some extent by regularly "pumping over" the wine in the tank, in order to re-aerate. it. However this often introduces too much dissolved oxygen all at once, allowing aerobic bacteria such as Acetobacter to become established and begin oxidizing the ethanol in the wine into acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and ultimately acetic acid, with consequent loss of wine quality. These oxidation products are termed "volatile acidity' in the wine industry.

The development of composite bullk containers made of metal (stainless steel) and fitted with flat Oak panels or ends which can be more easily fashioned and which may be reversed to expose fresh Oak to the wine contents. Such containers usually don't have the optimum ratio of surface area of Oak to vohume of wine contained and are usually inadequate both in the extractive and oxidative functions.

More recent developments include the use of "micro-oxygenation" wherein air or pure oxygen is introduced directly into bulk-tanked table wine with added Oak chips or planks, by generating very fine bubbles through the wine by mewns of a microporous (ie. sintered) dispersion element on the end of a submerged gas line or lines.

This is a difficult process to adequately control and can possibly lead to excess levels of dissolved oxygen at the bubble interfaces, again promoting ethanol oxidation and other degradative side-effects, through fast oxidation of table wine. The equipment COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:38 +61 3 9543 8822 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.007/025 00 4 0 0 C.1 required to contain and feed fixed volumes of oxygen or to accurately meter a 'S continuous flow over set time periods at very low flow rates, is normally expensive and difficult to operate. That cost also means the resource has to be shared over a number of tanks, which militates against long, slow maturation times in individual tanks.

00 Recent studies such as reported in "Gaseous Exchange in Wine Stored in Barrels", en Moutounet, Mazauric et al, J. Sci. Tech. Tonnellerie, 1998 (herein incorporated by 001 reference) have explained the mechanism by which barrels add oxygen to wine and o 10 promote "correct" maturation. The oak walls of wine barrels act as semi-permeable C.1 "membranes", allowing oxygen gas in the atmosphere outside the barrel to permeate through the barrel walls and diffuse into the wine. This osmotic exchange is driven by the partial pressure difference of the atmospheric oxygen outside the barrel (0.18 atm) and the effectively zero partial pressure of oxygen inside. This absence of is oxygen in the barrel arises because wine continuously consumes all available oxygen in the slow-oxidation reactions that occur in the reductive environment that exists when the rate of oxygen addition occurs at very low rates over long periods, due to slow diffusion.

Furthermore, it has been shown that it is this slow permeation (diffusion) of atmospheric oxygen that contributes most to "barrel softening or maturation".

Moutounet et. al. (referred to above) showed that a typical new oak barrique allows 02 permeation through its walls, in the range of 20-30mg/l.yr. Kelly and Wollan reported an estimated "highest diffusion" (ie. permeation) rate into a typical barrique as 2.2ml 02/litre wine/month or 26.4 mll/yr (34.6mg/l./gr) in their paper "Microoxygenation of Wine in Barrels", Wine Network Technology, www.winenet.com.au, incorporating International Patent Application PCT/AU02/01250 (both herein incorporated by reference).

It has been found that the oxygen permeability of an oak barrel typically decreases by approximately 20% for each year filled. Thus the permeation rate of a typical barrel after 5 years of use may be as lows as 7 milligrams/l/yr ie. thus the oxygen COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:38 +61 3 9543 8822 MroiPra 06 .0/2 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.008/025 00 Cl permeation rate for normal barrels during the typical 5 years of barrel life lies t between 7 and 35 mg/i/yr.

C0 Cl It is well known that older barrels transmit less oxygen than new barrels, as the wood clogs over time with absorbed wine solids. The usefuxl life of a typical barrel is also well known to be limited to 5 years. After that time they are too impermeable to 00 properly mature wine within the usual maturation time frame and are either discarded en or retained for use with wine types that do not require much oxygen exposure, such as 00 some of the white varieties.

o01 01 Cl Any free surface arising from head-space in a table wine storage vessel is undesirable, if it contains oxygen. At that surface the levels of dissolved oxygen increase in concentration, to near saturated (9 ppm at 20 Celsius and 1 atm). In this oxygen rich surface layer aerobic bacteria will propagate, generating volatile acidity and acetaldehyde at a rate dependent usually on the surface area of the free surface and the oxygen content of the surface gas. The lesser the free surface area, the longer that wine can be safely kept in bulk storage.

This approach compares with the approach required for maturing a sherry style wine which typically requires a partially empty vessel with a head space open, or partially open to the atmosphere, such as occurs in a part-filled barrel, which continuously draws in air to replace the evaporative volume lost, as well as permeating it through the walls. Enough oxygen needs to be made available within the vessel to support the growth of certain yeasts at the surface, which help oxidize some of the wine ethanol into acetaldehyde, giving sherry its basic character. By contrast, mn table wines, formation of acetaldehyde needs to be suppressed as its presence gives arn undesirable spoiled taint ic. volatile acidity to the wine. Thus the rate of oxygenation needs to be controlled at levels substantially below that applicable for sherry and any significant free surface avoided or rendered inert.

COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:38 -i61 3 9543 8822 MroiPra 06 .0/2 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.009/025 00 6 Cl Disclosure of the Invention o) The invention provides in one aspect a method of maturing table wine in bulk Nl comprising, storing the table wine in a closed container having self-supporting polymeric walls over a period of at least 4 months with the walls being exposed to the 00 atmosphere so as to allow atmospheric oxygen to perneate through the walls to be en taken up by the table wine at a rate less than SO milligramn/litre of wine per year, 00 wherein the walls comprise a wine-safe polymer of an area and thickness chosen to promote controlled maturation by controlling oxygen permeation through Cl the walls over the period.

Preferably the table wine is stored for a period between 4 months and 36 months.

Preferably the permeation rate is less than 55 milligramn/litre of wine per year.

By wine-safe polymer, we mean a polymer which is suitable for contact with wine, does not impart an undesirable taste to the wine and does not leach dangerous levels of chemicals toxic to humans into the wine. Polyethylene is a particular example of a suitable polymer.

By self-supporting polymeric walls we mean that the thickness and configuration of the walls and the strength and rigidity of the polymer are such that the container can maintain its own shape without support when it is empty. The walls may include the base, sides and top of the container. It may be moulded in one piece from polymer by a conventional process, such as rotational moulding.

The relationship between the various factors governing oxygen transmission into wine is described by the following equations where: OTR (mg/I/day) =P~natl. permeability, mgO2/sqm/day for 1mm) divided by t(mm thickness) all multiplied by A (area sqm) divided by V (volume litres) COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by P1 Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:38 +61 3 9543 8822 Morcom Pernat Morcm Penat#0262 P.010/025 00 7 cii.e. OTR =P/t x(ANV) o or OTR x =Pit oor V/A xOTR) cior xA) +(OTR xV) The applicants have found by experiment that simplified relationships of volume 00 range versus surface area versus thickness can be used to define the characteristics of en a suitable plastic container provided a plastic with a particular range of physical 00 properties and thickness range can be used.

0 ci The thickness of the container walls (eg. Polyethylene) may then be adjusted having regards to the desired volume and surface area of the container to ensure that the rate of oxygen transmission is maintained at levels suitable for the maturation of table wines, ic. at rates similar to conventional oak barrels.

From the foregoing equations it can be seen the perneation of oxygen through the walls of a polyethylene container reduces in inverse proportion to the increase in wall thickness. The oxygen permeability of polyethylene depends on its solid density and varies (increases) with temperature. Oxygen from the atmosphere (ie. at 0.18 atm partial pressure) typically perneates through polyethylene at rates from 13mg to of oxygen per square metre per day at room temperature, le. at about 20-25 degrees C. the applicants have found that a container volume ranging from 5 to hectolitres per square metre of container surface area for a wall thickness of 1mm will allow Oxygen Permeation to proceed at rates similar to barrels of various ages.

To illustrate the application of this three-way ratio, a typical example of a Polyethylene container of 1,000 litres (10 hectolitres) and a nominal 6 square Metre wall surface area is considered.

The broad thickness range is: At 5hl.nin/sqm t 5x6/10 3nm At 30hl.nin/sqm t 3 0 x6/0=8u COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:39 +61 3 9543 8822 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.011/025 00 8 U Depending on the polyethylene permeability chosen, the oxygen transmission rate o (OTR) ranges are: At 3mm: Min. OTR: 13/3 x 6 x 365/1000 9.5 mg/l./yr Max. OTR: 65/3 x 6 x 365/1000 47.5 mg/yr 00 At 18mm: Min. OTR: 13/18 x 6 x 365/1000 1.6 mg/1./yr 00 Max. OTR: 65/18 x 6 x 365/1000 7.9 mg/l/yr o l 01 Cl For a container of this layout, the atmospheric oxygen permeation range thus lies between 1.6 mg/I/yr and 47.5 mg/l/yr.

Of course, because the broad transmission range quoted above exceeds that for normal table wine, the parameters of the container can be adjusted so that the OTR is less than 80mg/l/yr and preferably lies within the typical range for wine barrels, namely 7 to The properties of polyethylene are fortunately such that it is sufficiently rigid within a 3mn to 18mm thickness range as to provide a self supporting bulk container according to the invention. The container may even be up to 10 hectolitres or more.

Furthermore, the oxygen transmission characteristics of polyethylene are such that it is suitable for constructing bulk containers capable of performing wine maturation similar to that achievable with oak barrels.

In order to limit the transfer of oxygen into the surface of the wine, a barrier member may be floated on the wine surface. Suitably, the barrier member has a peripheral portion which is in sliding contact with the container walls to separate the wine surface from the head space in the container.

Oak staves may optionally be suspended in the wine during the storage period.

COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:39 ±61 3 9543 8822MocmPnt#02P.1/2 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.012/025 00 9 Cl in another aspect, the invention provides a container for controlling rate of oxygen t transfer from the atmosphere into a table wine stored in the container comprising, o a bulk polymeric container having self supporting walls, the walls having a Cl thickness chosen to permit oxygen to permeate the walls from the atmosphere into the table wine at a rate sufficient to promote controlled maturation of the table wine over a prolonged period.

00 Mn The rate of permeation is suitably less than iimg/L/yr. The rate of permeation is 00 suitably comparable with permeation rates typically associated with maturation of 0 bl alewnsi okbres The container may comprise a barrier member for providing a barrier to limit oxygen access from head space in the container to a surface of the wine the barrier member having a construction which causes it to float on the wine surfaice.

A peripheral flange may surround the barrier member so that it makes slidable contact with the walls of the container.

In another aspect the invention provides a barrier member as described herein.

The method and apparatus of the invention can be used to achieve the simultaneous extractive and slow-oxidative effects of Oak barrel aging without the need to use such barrels or to add extra oxygen gas or air into the wine.

Furthermore the method of our invention can allow the independent adjustment of both the degree of Oak extraction and the degree of slow-oxidation. In this way it is possible to replicate the different extractive and oxidative effects of Oak casks of different ages (the oxygen permeability of a barrel decreases by about 20% for each Year it is used) and of different surface area to volume ratios. Common oak cask sizes are Barriques (225 litres), Hogsheads (300 litres) and Puncheons (500 litres), Preferred aspects of the invention will now be described with reference with to the accompanying drawings.

COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:39 +61 3 9543 8822 MroiPra 06 .1/2 Morcom Pernat #0262 P-013/025 00 Cl Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a cut away isometric view of a wine container constructed in Cl accordance wit the invention; Figure 2 shows an enlarged view of the circled area at the top of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an enlarged view of the circled area shown at the bottom of 00 Figure 1; Mn Figure 4 shows an alternative tank construction; Nl 00 Figure 5 shows an enlarged cross sectional view of part of the circled region of Figure 4; and Cl Figure 6 shows an isometric view of a barrier member for use with the invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments The various elements identified by numerals in the drawings are listed in the following integer list.

Integer List 1 Cover 2 Water trap 3 Level 4 Plastic tank 5 Staves 6 Hole 7 Rod 8 Base valve 9 Cylinder 10 Outer cylinder 11 Disc 12 Lip 14 Top panel COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:39 +61 3 9543 8822MocmPnt#08 P04/2 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.014/025 0 Skirt Plastic tank C)21 Neck CA22 Closure 23 Skirt 24 Water trap 00 0>25 Circumferential wall CC)26 Tap 0028 Wine 0 30 Barrier member CA31 Foamed plastic core 32 Polyurethane film overwrap 34 Peripheral flange Wall 36 'Tag 37 Hole/loop Referring to Figures I to 3, there is shown an optionally thermally insulated plastic tonic wit an opening in the top defined by a neck formed as a cylinder 9 forming part of the tank, to which any closure can be finted.

In this embodiment an optional circumferential wall in the form of an outer cylinder is welded to or molded as part of the tank 4 and an optional base valve 8 is fitted through the side wall, above the base of the tank so as to enable bottom filling or discharge of the tank contents without disturbing sediment that may have settled to the bottom of the tank.

The tank 4 is sealed by means of a closure comprising an inverted dome-shaped cover 1 having a top panel 14 and depending skcirt 15. The skirt is partially submerged in a water trap 2 formed by adding water to the space between the two concentric cylinders 9 and 10. Whilst the specific embodiment shown uses a water trap it is to be appreciated that a simple closure such as a wide mouth screw cap can be used. It COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:39 +61 3 9543 8822MocmPrt Morcom Pernat #0262 P.015/025 00 12 c-I is preferable that the closure and container neck be wide enough to allow a person to t have hand access to all internal surfaces for cleaning.

The tank 4 and top cylinders 9 and 10 are made from polyethylene with an oxygen permeability in the range between 13mg to 65mg of atmospheric oxygen per sqm of tank surface per 24hr for each 1mmn of tank wall thickness at typical storage 00 temperatures of 20-25 dewr C.

00 The ratio of contained volume to surface area of the container falls within the range 0 Cl to atmospheric oxygen, to ensure that an adequate rate of permeation of oxygen is maintained. Thus for example, for a 4mm thick wall the contained volume range becomes 1.25 to 7.5 hectolitres per square metre of surface.

Suspended within the wine-filled tank are an optional number of oak-wood staves of the desired variety and degree of toast (ic. charring). At the lower end of each stave a hole 6 is drilled to enable that stave to be threaded onto or otherwise attached to a solid rod 7 usually made of stainless steel, which is sufficiently heavy to keep all of the wooden staves attached to it from floating to the surface. The total surface area of oak-wood presented to the wine will depend on the variety of wino, the degree to which the winemaker wants to impart oak character to it and the number of times the oak staves have already been used in wine.

In this embodiment, the stainless steel rod 7 is bent into a shape, so that the ends hang downwards and the staves float upwards. By this simple means the staves are prevented from floating off the ends of the rod 7.

Alternatively, the oak planks may be pre-assembled into a pack, not requiring a hole or rod to fit them onto. The pack may be inserted preassembled through the mouth of the tank and removed for replacement, cleaning or sterilization as and when required, The level of wine 3 in the tank will normally lie within the top cylindrical chamber formed by the cylinder 9. Resting or floating on the wine surface is a barrier member COMS 0 No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-1O-27 27/10 2008 12:40 +61 3 9543 8822 NroiPra 06 .1/2 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.016/025 00 13 Cl comprising a buoyant disc 11 made of wine-safe polymer such as polyethylene. It 0 may comprise an upside down dish shape. Alternatively it may be a composite o structure comprising a disc of plastic foam ovcrwrapped and sealed within a wine- Cl safe film of predetermined oxygen barrier properties. The outer perimeter of the buoyant disc may optionally be furnished with a flexible lip 12 which forms a "wiper seal" with the inner face of the chamber cylinder 9. The purpose of the buoyant disc 00 is to lie in and block the free wine surface from access to the head space air or gas in en the chamber 9. The disc minimizes the rate at which particular gases in the head 00 space, such as oxygen, can dissolve into the wine via the free surface.

01 Cl The buoyant disc acts as a barrier member which can also have tailored gas permeability suitably at the levels already described to enable controlled oxygen permeation into a tank made fi-rm impermeable material, such as Stainless Steel.

Thus, the barrier member and poly tanks can be used together or separately, to passively "meter" the addition of atmospheric oxygen into wine, without allowing conditions to develop where a significant free surface area of wine is directly exposed to the atmosphere.

The upper rate limit of mass transfer of oxygen into wine by perneation is typically about 80mg/I/year. At rates higher than that wine is not capable of using up all the available oxygen in typical maturation reactions and a measurable concentration of dissolved oxygen results. In those conditions, aerobic bacteria such as acetobactor, and gluconobacter, which are always present in low populations in all wine that hasn't been sterile-filtered will propagate and damage the wine, When used in the main body of a tank as is shown in Figure 4 CO 2 or another inert gas can be added into the head space to protect the small area of exposed wine around the perimeter of the added barrier member. As gas dissolves into liquid at a rate directly proportional to the exposed surface area, re-charging the head space with

CO

2 only needs to be done very infrequently when a barrier member is used, id. once per month rather than every couple of days, due to the 50 to 100 fold typical reduction in exposed surface area. The exposed annulus is typically about 5mm wide.

COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:40 +61 3 9543 8822 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.017/025 00 14 Cl If the tank body has a diameter of in meters, the exposed surface without barrier t n. x D2/ 4 and with a barrier it is 0.005 x ui x D. For a tank of im diameter, the o exposed surface with a baffler is proportionally 0.005 x 4/D or just 2% of that without N- a barrier member.

The edge flap helps to centralize the disc, keep out contamination and contain SQ 2 00 gas that is coming out of solution from the wine so that mould cannot grow there.

00 Referring to Figures 4 to 6, there is shown a plastic tank 20 for wine with a neck 0 Cl that seals the opening.

A closure 22 having a depending circumferential skirt 23 closes off the neck.

is As in the case of the previously described container, a circumferential wall surrounds the neck and provides a water trap 24 between the neck and circumferential wall and the skirt 23 of the closure fits into this water trap to seal off the neck.

A tap 26 is provided at the bottom of the container to drain off the wine 28 as and when needed.

A barrier member 30 having a foamed plastic core 31 floats on top of the wine in the body of the container. The foamed plastic core 31 of the barrier member is overwrapped with a polyurethane film overwrap 32 which comprises two separate layers covering the top and bottom of the foamed plastic core. These two separate layers are laminated together at their edges to form the peripheral flange 34. The peripheral flange provides a slidable seal with the wall 35 of the container so as to substantially reduce the rate of oxygen transfer from the head space of the container through the surface of the wine and hence limits the growth of undesirable aerobic bacteria.

The barrier member is provided with three tags 36 distributed around its upper surface, each of the tags being formed with a hole or loop 37. The tags assist with COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:40 +61 3 9543 8822 Morcom Pernat Morcm Penat#0262 P.018/025 00 ci allowing the barrier member to be correctly located in the container in contact with t the wine initially and to be removed after the container has been emptied. In this o regard, it is noted that the barrier member comprising the foamed plastic core and polyurethane film overlap may suitably be formed of flexible materials in order to allow it to be folded so that it may be inserted through the neck of the container during initial setup and to be removed through the neck when the container is 00 emptied.

00 IWlst the above description includes the preferred embodiments of the invention, it 0 ci may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts previously described without departing from the essential features or the spirit or amnbit of the invention.

It will be also understood that where the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", are used in this specification, unless the context requires otherwise such use is intended to imply the inclusion of a stated feature or features but is not to be taken as excluding the presence of other feature or features.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time (Him) 11:43 Date 2008-10-27

Claims (16)

1. 2. The method according to claim I wherein the period is between 4 and 36 months.
2. 3. The method according to claim I or claim 2 wherein the permeation rate is less than 55 milligram./litre of wine per year.
3. 4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the wine- safe polymer is polyethylene. The method according to claim 4 wherein the ratio of contained volume to surface area of the container can be calculated to fall within the range 5 to hectolitres of wine capacity per square metre of surface for a millimetre of thickness, when the container is exposed to the atmosphere.
4. 6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the permeation rate is maintained within a range normally applicable for bulk maturation of wine in oak barrels.
5. 7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the level of the wine surface in the container creates a head space in the container and the wine surface is separated from the head space by a barrier member floating on the wine surface, the barrier member having a peripheral portion which is in sliding contact with the container walls so as to separate the wine surface from the head space. COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:41 +61 3 9543 8822 MroiPra 06 .2/2 Morcom Pernat #0262 P.020/025 00 17 t8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein oak staves o) are suspended in the wine during the storage period.
6. 9. The method of maturing beverages according to any one of the claims I to 9 as applied to beverages other than table wines wherein the method is used for any 00 beverage which benefits from maturation through exposure to similar levels of oxygenation as are applicable for table wines. 0010 10. A container for controlling rate of oxygen transfer from the atmosphere into a o tableo wine stored in the container comprising, a bulk polymeric container having self supporting walls, the walls having a thickness chosen to permit sufficient oxygen to permeate the walls from the atmosphere into the table wine at a rate sufficient to promote controlled maturation of the table wine over a prolonged period.
7. 11. The container according to claim 10 wherein the area and thickness of the walls are chosen to provide that the rate of permeation is less than 55 milligram/litre of wine per year.
8. 12. The container according to claim I11 wherein the container comprises polyethylene.
9. 13. The container according to claim 12 wherein the ratio of contained volume to surface area of the container can be calculated to fall within the range 5 to hectolitres of wine capacity per square metre of surface for a millimetre of thickness, when the container is exposed to the atmosphere,
10. 14. The container according to claim 13 wherein the container is configured so that the rate of oxygen permeation from the atmosphere is maintained within a range typically associated with maturation of bulk table wines in oak barrels. A container assembly for controlling rate of oxygen transfer from the atmosphere into a table wine stored in the container assembly comprising, COMS ID No: ARCS-211160 Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27 27/10 2008 12:41 +61 3 9543 8822 Morcom Pernat Morcm Penat#0262 P.021/025 00 18 c-I a container according to any one of the claims 10 to 14, and 'S a barrier member for providing a barrier to limit oxygen access from head 0space in the container to a surface of the table wine, the barrier member having a construction which causes it to float on the table wine surface, with its edge in close proximity to the walls of the container to substantially separate the table wine surface from the head space. 00
11. 16. The container assembly according to claim 15 comprising a peripheral flange 00 surrounding the baffler member arranged so that it makes a slidable peripheral contact 0 C) 0 wt h al ftecnanr
12. 17. The container according to any one of the claims 10 to 14 or the container assembly according to any one of claims 13 and 14 comprising a plurality of oak staves disposed in the interior of the container in contact with the liquid.
13. 18. The container assembly according to any one of claims 15 to 17 wherein the baffler member comprises a flexible buoyant core.
14. 19. The container according to any one of claims 10 to 14 substantially as hereinbefore described. The container assembly according to any one of claims 15 to 18 substantially as hereinbefore described.
15. 21. The method according to claim I or claim 9 substantially as hereinbefore described.
16. 22. A container according to any one of claims 10 to 14 filled with a beverage such as table wine. Dated this 27th day of October 2008 Wycbwood Estates Pty Ltd by their patent attorneys Morcom Pernat COMS ID No:ARCS-21116o Received by IP Australia: Time 11:43 Date 2008-10-27