Reduction

Term for a chemical reaction in which an atom or molecule absorbs electrons (reduces) and another substance releases these electrons (oxidises). In a narrower sense, in the context of oxygen, a reducing agent is a substance that removes oxygen from another substance, such as an oxide (oxygen compound), and is itself oxidised in the process. Many substances can be both oxidised and reduced.

Whether a substance is a reducing agent or an oxidising agent depends solely on the reactant. Sulphur is a very important reducing agent for winemaking. As a reducing agent, it can react with oxygen to form sulphur dioxide; but as an oxidising agent, it can also convert metals (e.g. contact of wine with metallic substances in the cellar) into their sulphides and thus cause a wine defect that manifests itself as a metallic tone. In the viticultural sense, reduction also refers to all processes that take place with the exclusion or severe restriction of oxygen. The practical application is described under reductive ageing.

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