Degassing in Primary?

[AlexPKeaton]

Expert Winemakers:

I've got a batch I need to degass today, but my other carboys are full. The instructions say it's ok to rack to a primary, degass, then rack again to the clean carboy, but will the wine get too much oxygen if I degass in the primary? Thanks again!

 

[roblloyd]

Is it done fermenting? If so it really should be in a carboy to help protect it from too much surface being exposed. If you can't do that. Then I'd rack to a clean bucket to get it off any lees or sediment. Then degass it. If you happen to have CO2 then I'd put a layer of that on top and seal it off with a lid and airlock. If you don't have CO2, then seal it with an airlock and try an get a carboy free. I'm bottling today because I need a few carboys to get stuff out of buckets.

 

[ShepherdQ]

Small world, I'm in a similar fix, and also posted about it today. I've been advised to rack to the primary, degas and then immediately return to the carboy. I actually thought about racking to the bucket, then putting the lid on and putting the spoon handle through the bung hole to degas without exposing it to the open air. Thoughts?

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Flem]

I always rack from secondary to a bucket where I add K-meta, Potassium sorbate (if I am going to back sweeten), Kieselsol and Chitosan, and degas. After degassing, I rack it back to the clean carboy and put it under airlock.