Strange phenomenon

[Rocky]

This may be an inane observation, but it mystifies me. I have several wines going in carboys with the overage in gallon or half gallon jugs. Many of them are no longer "bubbling" at all, EXCEPT if I put my hands on the jugs and hold them there for a few minutes. The bubbling resumes.


Now, I don't think that body temperature would explain this as in order to affect the temperature of a 5 gallon mass of liquid would take a lot longer and a lot higher temperature; blocking out light does not seem to explain it as it works if my hands are over where wine is or not and the containers are glass so I doubt if there is a measurable decrease in the volume of the container. I am not touching the stopper in any way.


Does anyone have an explanation for this? Has anyone observed this? Does anyone have some wine that is "resting" in glass that could try to repeat this? The only thing that I can come up with is some type of electrical transfer from my body to the vessels. Also, I can repeat this at any time and when I remove my hands, the wine goes back to rest.

 

[vcasey]

Sounds like your wines just want more attention!

 

[Wade E]

I have never noticed this with any of my wines and I always have tons of wine aging. Right now I have 14 carboys of various sizes at many different levels of age and I just tried it for you and nothing. Some of them are almost 2 years in there and some only months done fermenting. What is the temp in this room just out of curiosity and have these wines been degassed?

 

[AlFulchino]

it is very possible that it is CO2 is coming loose from the wine via temperature change....you would be surprised how much temp change occurs just from you touching something...if i go out to the greenhouse and it is below 32, the led on the thermostat does not show up...so i hold the device it warms up to over 32 and higher very quickly and now the programmable part works.....your temp change is likely releasing the co2

i would assume that if you aged this for a yr or two and had temp changes then you wont see what you are seeing

if you want to verify whether it is co2 then degass it now via normal methods of the way Tim V D did on http://www.winemakermag.com/blogs/chasing-the-fizz.html/blogger/Tim Vandergrift/

then wait a day or so and try this same thing you are doing w your hands and see if you still get these bubbles..make sure this wine is at about 70 degrees for 24 hrs to verify things..let me know your results

 

[Rocky]

Perhaps I did not degass enough. I had to use a stirring spoon (opposite end) on most of these as the SS stirrer that I bought does not fit into the carboys. (I have told George about it and he says it should fit a standard carboy) I may have old water bottles rather than true carboys. Anyway, the rod with the fins on the end doesn't fit into the carboys (the screw and nut seem to be the problem and I am going to look at Home Depot for some smaller mounting hardware and perhaps grind the end of the shaft to a smaller diameter.





The temperature in my fermenting area is between 71 and 72 degrees.

 

[AlFulchino]

try a brake bleeder instead

 

[Rocky]

try a brake bleeder instead

I am not sure what you mean here, Al. Are you referring to a hydraulic brake bleeder? I know they are good for getting air out of brake lines, but how does that apply to wine making?

 

[ASAI]

try a brake bleeder instead

I am not sure what you mean here, Al. Are you referring to a hydraulic brake bleeder? I know they are good for getting air out of brake lines, but how does that apply to wine making?

There were many threads on using Brake Bleeders to Degas wine several years ago. I am not good on the search and post link function or I would provide a link to some.
Basically, many of us use Brake Bleeders, (Harbor Freight has the cheapest) to degas wine. Remove the air lock, connect the brake bleeder to the car boy stopper, and pump up the vacuum.
Deferent methods were discuss. The consensus was to get the car boy degassed enough so it no longer bubbles below 20" Hg and will hold the level for at least several hours.

 

[Wade E]

I had the same problem Rocky with the screws sticking out too far. i hit them on the grinder some until they fit in. I can use it even on 1 gallon jugs now without spending a dime. Actually, I used a belt sander and it took seconds.

 

[AlFulchino]

there you go Rocky..ASAI said it all....this is the easiest way to insure that these bubbles you see are out....i am sure each person has there own way of inserting a tube from the bleeder into a bung...some drill a whole in a solid bung after freezing the bung..i just get a predrilled bung and use a liquid tape to insure the seal

get the carboy up off the floor to make sure the ground temp is not keeping the wine too cool for degassing...then pump away

 

[Rocky]

Al, Wade and ASAI,


Thank you for the guidance. I really appreciate the wisdom on this board and I truly enjoy the interaction. I am working on my stirrer (there is a "lock-tite" nut that almost looks like an acorn nut and I think I can grind or file off enough to get the fins inside the carboy). It almost fits as is and I suppose I could force it, but I am afraid I would not be able to get it out. Also, the fins appear to be a vinyl and couldswell somewhat in the wine.


Hey, I'm retired and have a lot of time on my hands! Thanks again.

 

[rvanzandt03]

True - my girlfriend farts when i touch her, too.

 

[joeswine]

sometimes co2 gas will stick to the sides of the carboy and by just ever so slightly touching the container you'll vibration enough to sent up bubbles,seen this before,or trapped gasses at the bottom with the sediment if any ,but not really a problem,do as suggested just stir or vacume....

 

[Flem]

Perhaps I did not degass enough. I had to use a stirring spoon (opposite end) on most of these as the SS stirrer that I bought does not fit into the carboys. (I have told George about it and he says it should fit a standard carboy) I may have old water bottles rather than true carboys. Anyway, the rod with the fins on the end doesn't fit into the carboys (the screw and nut seem to be the problem and I am going to look at Home Depot for some smaller mounting hardware and perhaps grind the end of the shaft to a smaller diameter.





The temperature in my fermenting area is between 71 and 72 degrees.

Rocky,
I racked mine back into my primary bucket, degassed it and then racked it back to a clean, sanitized carboy. Worked like a charm.


Mike

 

[Rocky]

Hi everyone,


I invested in some 6 gallon carboys from George and I racked my wines into them. The drill stirrer fits into them so I got a good degassing this time. I added a dose of Chitosan to each and have them clearing again, but I am still not satisfied with the clarity. I know that Kieselsol should be used in conjunction with Chitosan, but I don't have any presently. Could this be why I still have a haze over my white wines?


As always, I appareciate your counsel. Note to rvansandt03: Have her try some "Beano." I understand that works well.