adding sorbate for too much co2

[shanek17]

i just called the company that made my wine kit and told them im having problems with degassing mg barolo red wine. iv degassed it for weeks and weeks af 76F with a drill degas whip and yet it still wont clear in a 60F basement. so she said well your going to have a gassy fizzy wine and that adding sorbate will help this. i told her i never heard that before but she insists that sorbate will work here. what do you all think?

 

[ibglowin]

Have you tried using a vacuvin on the carboy to see if any gas comes out that way? You may just be whipping air into foam with the drill whip. Weeks and weeks at 76F should have helped. I would try another technique (like the vacuvin) Does the wine taste fizzy on the tongue? I have never heard that sorbate addition would assist in releasing CO2 either.

 

[tonyandkory]

ya me either ... I have read an encyclopedia britannicas worth of stuff on wine and I don't remember running over that solution

 

[robie]

Me three. Never heard of sorbate helping. As Mike said, if it doesn't taste fizzy on the tongue, it is not CO2. With all that wiping, I would make sure my sulfite level is still good.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I also have never heard of sorbate doing that as well. I agree with all the above posters ^ does it taste like CO2 ? or are you just adding air ?

How old is this wine ? could it possibily going thru malolatic fermenation ?

 

[shanek17]

Yea i figured that the ladie i was talking to from the company didnt know what she was talking about. She didnt even answer me directly when i asked how does sorbate help with co2 release? ...anyways the wine was brewed 2012 may 2nd and stopped fermenting at may 29th. I was degassing during secondary fermentation along with HOURS and hours of degassing using the cordless drill after fermentation. And when i put it in the basement i waited 3 weeks and it didnt clear which apparently means theres still co2 in there. so i brought it upstairs and degassed more for a couple weeks. its now in the basement again as im hoping this time it will clear, its been 3 weeks and showing no sign of clearing... I may just bottle this one anyways as is and try and find a better way to degas. I currently have some frozen grape juice in a 6gal carboy and im degassing it too, so i will find out if its just plain easier to degas Non wine kits, because i have heard on this forum that its hard to de gas wine kits for some reason.

 

[Manimal]

It will never clear if you keep resuspending all the fine lees by beating the $&@" out of it with the whip!!! I'd just recommend leaving it alone for a few months. Even with dissolved CO2, wine will still eventually clear. I think that home winemakers place far too much energy and effort on de-gassing. BTW, where about are you in Ontario?

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Give it some time before you bottle. Wine was not to be made in one day !! I will usually let most all my wine sit atleast 1 year or more prior to bottling.

 

[shanek17]

It will never clear if you keep resuspending all the fine lees by beating the $&@" out of it with the whip!!! I'd just recommend leaving it alone for a few months. Even with dissolved CO2, wine will still eventually clear. I think that home winemakers place far too much energy and effort on de-gassing. BTW, where about are you in Ontario?

yea i have some other wine going that i can bulk age. but this one was brewed sooner and id like to have some bottles on hand. i just brought it upstairs and tasted some and its not too bad. it doesnt taste all that fizzy. and when the carboy warms up enough ill test a sample by shaking it and ill see if i can bottle it. it was funny though when i took the sample in a little jar and had a look at it under a light i could see through it and it has a nice red color. it just looks so dark purple when its in 6 gal carboy. i actually live in st thomas ontario. not too far from london on toronto. where bouts are you?

 

[rjb222]

If you wine is not clearing and still has lots of CO2 I would bet you have a fermentation of some kind going on more than likely malolactic (not a good thing with a kit) That would be the only explanation. If you have stirred as much as you have then your SO2 levels will be down making your wine susceptible to airborne bugs while the surface is exposed. I would think the person that you were talking to was thinking there was still ferment and was trying to knock it down by using sorbate they should have also given you a dosing of k-meta to add before the sorbate. Do not add the sorbate get some strips to see if you do have a malolactic going on hit it with 1/4 tsp of k-metta melt it first and stir that in put back the air lock ans wait a few days then look for a layer of clearing.

 

[shanek17]

If you wine is not clearing and still has lots of CO2 I would bet you have a fermentation of some kind going on more than likely malolactic (not a good thing with a kit) That would be the only explanation. If you have stirred as much as you have then your SO2 levels will be down making your wine susceptible to airborne bugs while the surface is exposed. I would think the person that you were talking to was thinking there was still ferment and was trying to knock it down by using sorbate they should have also given you a dosing of k-meta to add before the sorbate. Do not add the sorbate get some strips to see if you do have a malolactic going on hit it with 1/4 tsp of k-metta melt it first and stir that in put back the air lock ans wait a few days then look for a layer of clearing.

i dont have any strips to test it, but i do have sorbate. so im wondering if i do a test with sorbate and the wine i should get a geranium smell if its truly malolactic acid.... rite?

 

[rjb222]

The aroma will take a while to happen. If it is a malolactic you should be able to see a fine row of bubbles at the top edge of your wine against the carboy.

 

[shanek17]

The aroma will take a while to happen. If it is a malolactic you should be able to see a fine row of bubbles at the top edge of your wine against the carboy.

oh okay, maybe that test sample i made isnt a good idea after all lol. And there are no bubbles on the side so its probably not the MLF. I think its actually at a decent co2 level now but ill pour a glass later and give it a try. thanks for the help