WineXpert Degassing between primary and 2nd fermentation.

[Chilled]

I have been reading a lot of the older posts here and realize proper degassing is very important. My first kit was not degassed completely.
I have made several island mist kits and one Cornucopia kit. The Cornucopia kit directions were to splash rack to carboy from primary at 1.020-1.000, degas with mix-stir and drill, then place air lock. This seemed to work very well.
It would seem the CO2 from degassing would fill the air space in the carboy by pushing the air (oxygen) out. And, there should be much less gas and foaming out of the carboy later, when degassing for fining. So, I am considering using this method for my next Island Mist kit as well.

Do you see any potential problems with this method. Is there something that I am missing here?

Thank you for your opinions.

 

[robie]

I don't know what instructions you are reading from, but you never degas until fermentation is completed, both primary and secondary. Maybe they expect you to bleed off some of the CO2, but I can;t imagine why, if fermentation is not complete.

Splash racking from primary to secondary might remove a little gas, but if your instructions say to splash rack, the purpose would be more to add a little oxygen, so the fermentation will finish out properly. Becasue, if fermentation is not complete, more CO2 will be generated immediately.

Can you copy and paste the instructions into this thread?

 

[BernardSmith]

I am no chemist I would think that while some CO2 will be absorbed by the wine as the yeast converts sugars into alcohol, yeast will continue to produce CO2 until all the sugars have been converted and some of that CO2 will be released as free gas while some will be absorbed until the wine is saturated. Degassing then will not do very much until all the sugars have been converted to alcohol and CO2. All you will do is desaturate the wine and enable it to absorb more of the free gas when you stop degassing.

 

[ibglowin]

Absolutely no point trying to degas until the wine is finished to dry. The CO2 is ACTUALLY protecting the wine from oxidation until then and you would NEVER want to degas it.......

 

[SouthernChemist]

If fermentation is not complete, you will pretty much undo any degassing you did. Depending on how thorough you were to degas, the only possible side effect would be a brief delay in renewed airlock activity. It will still need to be degassed again.

 

[nowwhat]

I am currently making a Paklab Melbec - here is a section from their directions

"During the secondary fermentation, mix vigorously the wine for about 1 minute every two days, to pre-degass and help the fermentation process (optional)."

I am new to winemaking - looks like there is more than 1 wat to skin a grape
Rob

 

[Chilled]

Cornucopia instructions ( by paklab)

As I stated in my first post, this is from the Cornucopia kit instructions.
I realize this is different than some others.
Step #1 Primary fermentation
"Step #2 Secondary Fermentation -
A. Siphon wine to a clean and sterilized carboy, allowing it to splash for a little 'aeration'. Discard sediment.
B. As an initial degassing, stir the wine vigorously.
C. Do not top up the carboy at this step"
D. Replace air lock.
E. After 10-15 days check SG. SG must be 0.998-0.990 and wine must have stopped fermenting (steady SG for 3-4 days)

When I only degas after second fermentation my carboy always foams over wasting wine. Even though I try to start slowly, it invariably overflows some what.
When I did the cornucopia kit and followed directions by degassing when transferring to secondary this was not a problem. I liked the idea of getting the gas out at two different times so there may be less of it each time.
I realize that if the must is still fermenting it will continue to create more CO2.

I thought I might try this with an Island Mist kit I have in primary right now to see how it works.
Do you think this could harm the wine making process in some way?

Thanks for your' opinions

 

[robie]

Sorry, Nowhat and Chilled, but even though you are in slower secondary, 15 minutes after you degas that wine at that stage, the air lock will be bubbling again.

Maybe momentarily removing some gas may allow some oxygen to get into the wine... maybe.

But if it seems to work for you, it surely won't hurt anything.

Also, most instruction say to remove some of the wine before you start degassing. This will help when the wine foams up. Also, you have to start degassing very, very slowly and carefully to eliminate that initial wild foaming.

 

[nowwhat]

Good point Robie
I am not saying that pre- degassing is right or wrong. As a newbie I have no idea what is best -
Paklab's kit was the first time I ever heard of "pre-degassing"
I have been following most threads here, nobody has ever talked about pre-degassing
I just thought it was interesting to note. I have tried it with this kit and will bottle in the next few weeks, Ill report back if it makes any noticeable difference.
Rob

 

[Chilled]

Robie and Nowwhat

This must just be a Paklab method. I followed the instruction printed in my earlier post for their Cornucopia Coconut Frascati. It was bottled a little over a week ago, so I 'm not sure how it will be, as I try to wait until 2 months after bottling to start trying these mist style kits. The sample at bottling wasn't bad.

I thought I might try this method with an IM Peach/Apricot I have in primary now. Just didn't want to risk it if it might mess it up. I guess I'll just follow the IM instructions.

Thanks for your help.