I'm still in the primary stage, I've been trying to get a feel on degassing. I know each time you make wine it differs. My questions are, does degassing take days, what do you have to be careful about when degassing, is the wine ever totally degassed, what to look for to indicate that degassing is completing with positive results... Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
degassing: The right way
- Thread starter kahaas56
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TonyP
Senior Member
Here's skinny on degassing. All wines require degassing, although many do it themselves, naturally. The gas we're talking about is CO2, which given off as a by-product of fermentation. The CO2 more easily releases when the wine is maintained at 68+ degrees, so some wine makers set their temperature at around 72F to help the CO2 release naturally.
When degassing, it's best to use a stirring tool attached to a drill, particularly when the wine is in a carboy. The easiest way to determine if wine is degassed is to taste it. You can also shake some in a closed test tube and see if you get much sudsing. Degassing shouldn't take days but it's best to try it by stirring a few times over 2 days.
One last point, don't try to degas until fermentation is complete. Otherwise it is futile.
When degassing, it's best to use a stirring tool attached to a drill, particularly when the wine is in a carboy. The easiest way to determine if wine is degassed is to taste it. You can also shake some in a closed test tube and see if you get much sudsing. Degassing shouldn't take days but it's best to try it by stirring a few times over 2 days.
One last point, don't try to degas until fermentation is complete. Otherwise it is futile.
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Don't stir so hard you create a vortex, which pulls air down into the wine - not a good thing.
You should be able to degas in less than an hour.
If the wine has a fizzy feel on your tongue, it is still gassy. After degassing, leave carboy topped off and with an air lock installed.
You should be able to degas in less than an hour.
If the wine has a fizzy feel on your tongue, it is still gassy. After degassing, leave carboy topped off and with an air lock installed.
Arne
Senior Member
There are lots of ways to top off. First you can use a similar wine, either one of yours or storebought. Topped off is keeping the level of the wine in the carboy up approx. in the neck to there is not much area on the surface. This helps keep from oxidizing the wine. Another way is use some sanatized marbles to raise the level of the wine. Another you can use is put the wine in smaller containers. Mite need something like a 3 gal. , two gal. jugs and a wine bottle or two. Keep them full and with airlocks and they will be fine. Now if I have you completely confused, ask some more and we will try and help you. Good luck with it, Arne.
