Sparging?

[doctorcosmonaut]

A few questions about professional wineries:

1. Do people usually sparge closed top fermenters? If so, do wineries almost always do this, or only under certain conditions (e.g. it is less than X% full)?

2. If you have a vacuum bottle filler and/or vacuum corker/caper, do you still need to sparge before filling the bottle?

THANKS for the assistance!

 

[DoctorCAD]

Number 1. CO2 is the enemy of home winemakers. We do extrordinary things to eliminate it. Adding it to wine seems SO COUNTER to all we do.

Topping up is always preferred.

 

[doctorcosmonaut]

Number 1. CO2 is the enemy of home winemakers. We do extrordinary things to eliminate it. Adding it to wine seems SO COUNTER to all we do.

Topping up is always preferred.

Talking about N2, not C02

Also, I am referring to wineries, not home operations.

 

[Norske]

We use variable volume tanks and sparge with argon. We also purge the bottles with argon prior to bottling.

 

[JohnT]

I am a firm believer in not purging.
To me, it is a large expense for very little advantage.