Addatives for help with degassing

[sampvt]

Apart from the usual things we use in kit and self made wines, does anyone know of any chemical additives that can be added during degassing. I am sure the degassing issue is a bane for many like myself. I have severe arthritis in my fingers that stop me from using a drill and obviously hours of laborious stirring isn't that optional either. I am also a pensioner on a budget.

For this reason, has anyone come up with any slick ideas that don't alter the taste or cost hundreds of pounds to achieve a smoother degassing option.

I like the idea of the allinonepump as advertised but once the cost is researched, it becomes prohibitive and out of some peoples ranges, especially mine. Surely there is a chemical additive out there that aids and assists degassing without ruining taste and the finished product.

I have seen some clever and innovative ideas on reversing valve pumps to achieve a vacuum alternative on u tube, but non that come with a guidance certificate or help on pressures achieved.

I am sure this question has been visited on numerous occasions and answers have been discussed, so please forgive my nuisance, but has anyone come up with anything new of late, or is it still a case of stir/whip and patience.

 

[bkisel]

Degassing for me is a bane as you say. I use both a drill powered wand, which I don't think does really much, followed by a whole lot of hand vacuum pumping with a VacuVin over the course of 2-3 days. The VacuVin does gets the job done but man is it a lot of work.

Unfortunately without the use of a powered vacuum pump the only additive that has worked for me has been elbow grease.

 

[sampvt]

Degassing for me is a bane as you say. I use both a drill powered wand, which I don't think does really much, followed by a whole lot of hand vacuum pumping with a VacuVin over the course of 2-3 days. The VacuVin does gets the job done but man is it a lot of work.

Unfortunately without the use of a powered vacuum pump the only additive that has worked for me has been elbow grease.

I have been looking at a food saver vacuum pump with a .8 bar rating. I was wondering if these work. They are a lot cheaper than the expensive and really good allinone pump systems but the allinone does not have any vacuum rating, so I cant see what the tech specs are.

 

[grapeman]

The cheapest option you have is to let the wine bulk age in your carboy. If you rack it about once a month into a clean carboy the gas will be gone in 3 or 4 months (maybe a bit more if the room is cold). This requires patience but is cheaper.

Is there no one to use a cordless drill for you? The drill stirs do a pretty good job if the wine has gone to completely dry and you don't stir so hard as to mix in new bubbles.

 

[cmason1957]

The best of the drill mounted stirrers is one with three long arms. These spread out as you spin them and create a fairly violent force in the wine. Tim V. (the father of the modern wine kit) claims they can degas a wine in under ten minutes. I have used one and they really seem to work. They are somewhat hard to find on the Internet.

 

[Bergmann]

I have been making wine for 48 years. Never once have I used a drill. Never once have I stirred for countless hours. There is just something to be said for patience. It produces well aged still wines with a minimum of labor. What more could you ask? If you have arthritis you are most likely a mature individual who has waited this long to enjoy the fruits of your wine making labor, since you are fairly new at it. Just make enough to cover future wine making endeavors and tough it out for now. Once you get the cellar stocked wine can sit in carboys a long time and not bother you! And you won't be soaking those hands in warm wax.

 

[seth8530]

I also advocate the bulk aging approach, I cant think of many wines that are ready to drink before they are naturally degassed.

 

[sampvt]

I have been making wine for 48 years. Never once have I used a drill. Never once have I stirred for countless hours. There is just something to be said for patience. It produces well aged still wines with a minimum of labor. What more could you ask? If you have arthritis you are most likely a mature individual who has waited this long to enjoy the fruits of your wine making labor, since you are fairly new at it. Just make enough to cover future wine making endeavors and tough it out for now. Once you get the cellar stocked wine can sit in carboys a long time and not bother you! And you won't be soaking those hands in warm wax.

This is exactly what I am doing. I am making kits hand over fist and my cellar is now getting rather full. Next month I am going to slow down and venture into the long term wine from pressed fruit versions and hopefully mission control will be busy consuming the bottles made now for a good year, then I can taste my own aged wines in very small quantities as I am virtually a tee tottaller.

 

[JohnT]

I am with grapeman/bergman/seth. I bulk age my wines in stainless steel (longer if I barrel age) for a minimum of 18 months and have never needed to degas. Racking and time will take care of that for you. Why beat the heck out of your wine or add any additives?

Patience is always rewarded!

 

[bkisel]

I have been looking at a food saver vacuum pump with a .8 bar rating. I was wondering if these work. They are a lot cheaper than the expensive and really good allinone pump systems but the allinone does not have any vacuum rating, so I cant see what the tech specs are.

There are a few YouTube videos showing food savers being used for the express purpose of degassing wine. Was going to try it with my wife's food saver but it is an older one and doesn't have the canister vacuum attachments.

For a few bucks I bought and tried a battery operated hand held food saver but it did not generate enough vacuum to pull out any gas.

Also, get your wine in the ~75F range which will make it easier to degass than at cooler temps.

BTW, at 70+ years of age there is no way I'm going to bulk age for anywhere close to 18 months in spite of believing in the benefits of doing that length of bulk aging. I start the kit and am popping the first cork of the batch 5-8 months later depending on whether a low end or higher end kit. DB I'm drinking and enjoying in about a month from start.

 

[Turock]

And---as everyone on this forum already knows---I also don't favor manual degassing of non-kit wines. It actually makes no sense because the wine STILL needs to bulk age to develop flavor, drop sediment, and drop yeast cells. Dropping yeast cells is especially important when sweetening wine because you can't use sorbate when there are SO many yeast cells present. By the time all the magic of bulk aging is done, the CO2 has come off the wine. So why this insistence on degassing non-kit wines? I don't get it.

 

[sampvt]

And---as everyone on this forum already knows---I also don't favor manual degassing of non-kit wines. It actually makes no sense because the wine STILL needs to bulk age to develop flavor, drop sediment, and drop yeast cells. Dropping yeast cells is especially important when sweetening wine because you can't use sorbate when there are SO many yeast cells present. By the time all the magic of bulk aging is done, the CO2 has come off the wine. So why this insistence on degassing non-kit wines? I don't get it.

If you read the post I submitted, I am on only kit wines at the moment. I alluded to the fact that this next month I am going onto fruit wines but these kits are there to keep others happy, so yes, I am rushing them a bit, but that's the nature of the beast at this moment.

I know aged wines will clear and there is no need to degass if we are looking to drink it when ''One Direction'' are drawing their pensions, but my wife needs a drink now. I am trying to keep everyone happy and at the same time drawing on a wealth of info on here. Thanks all for all your valuable advice, it does help, honestly.

 

[richmke]

The best of the drill mounted stirrers is one with three long arms. ... They are somewhat hard to find on the Internet.

http://labelpeelers.com/wine-wand-3-prong-degasser-22-1-2-in-tall-unpackaged/

As they say in computer programming: It's not a Bug, it's a Feature. Make an IM kit, and leave in the CO2. Then, say the fizz is part of the drink.