Avoiding Oxidation

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Segarram

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I'm new to winemaking and had a quesiton on how to avoid oxidation after racking to the secondary carboy. I like to leave my wines in the secondary carboy for 6 months before bottling and often times there is not enough wine to top off.

I was wonder what methods experience winemakers do to prevent oxidation.
 
I personally will top off with a similar wine. or transfer to a smaller carboy.

I know others who use glass marbles - just be careful dropping them in.
I personally am not a big on argon or any other heavier gas,especially for that long of a time that you mentioned.
 
I was looking into using marbles but couldn't find any where the manufacturer would guarantee it was safe to put in drinking liquids. I've been using inert gas myself.

Do you top off with commercial wine or homemade similar wine?
 
I am very intrigued with joeswine nitrogen setup, I'd like to talk to him more about this!
 
I was looking into using marbles but couldn't find any where the manufacturer would guarantee it was safe to put in drinking liquids. I've been using inert gas myself.

Do you top off with commercial wine or homemade similar wine?


I will typically top off with anything store bought or not that is similiar -
 
Just as a side note - ensuring you have adequate k-meta in your wine while aging will help protect against oxidation, regardless of whether you top up or displace with marbles (my recommended approach).

Incidentally, it was pointed out in previous threads on the topic that we use glass carboys all the time without explicit guarantees that the glass does not use lead. Why worry about the marbles, then?
 
As for topping up, every winemaker should try finding different vessels for secondary aging. When we can't fill a carboy, we will use gallon jugs instead. We also have some half gallon jugs, but those large wine bottles are the same size. We use marbles or glass spheres that are used for decorating glass jars, which you can find in craft stores or the Dollar Store. Glass is inert, so it is safe to use. Just put them into a meta soak for a few minutes and then add them to the jug. We've been using them for many years with good success.

There are some other principles to keep in mind too. You should always know the PH of your wine because this dictates how much free SO2 a wine needs to avoid oxidation. Using .8 mol as a target, a wine with a PH of 3.3 needs 30 PPM---while a PH of 3.8 needs 80 PPM.

Additionally, keep the fluid level up in the airlock, don't remove the airlock repeatedly, don't thief the wine lowering the level too far, and don't manually degass unless you are doing kit wines.
 
<Sigh>

THANK YOU VACCUMEPUMPMAN.

This topic comes up every now and then. Please read the threads sited by vaccumepumpman! The only thing I will stress is that it is very dangerous to rely on inert gas to prevent oxydation!

The best way to prevent oxydation is to...

1) Use the appropriate amount of k-meta,

2) Keep that vessel full of WINE, right to the top, at all times after fermentation is complete!

3) Check PH and ensure its appropriate level.

4) Add a light shot of ascorbic acid the minute you sense oxydation (which should be very rare if you follow the above 3 steps)

I have followed the above rules, only used ascorbic acid 1 time in 20 years. Have not had any oxydation in 19 years. Please note that none of the above rules refer to inert gas!
 
I was looking into using marbles but couldn't find any where the manufacturer would guarantee it was safe to put in drinking liquids. I've been using inert gas myself.

Do you top off with commercial wine or homemade similar wine?

1) Just find glass marbles if you want to try it. Of course they're not going to say it's safe to put in liquids because they'd have to hire a lawyer.

2) I top up with similar wine, store bought or homemade. As it's not a huge portion of the carboy, I don't worry about using "cheap stuff" to top up. Just try to use something vaguely similar. don't top up a white with a red, unless you want to end up with a rosee... I will top up robust reds with "less robust" reds, as it's only a top up, but usually try to keep to "similar" wines...
 
Question for those who use marbles -
Do you find that you have extra wine trapped between the marbles that the racking can't get out. I only ask because I can vision this happening, but then I haven't used marbles yet -
I lost mine long ago !!!!! (LOL)
 
Thank you all for the replies.

JohnT you posted a reply that prompted me to raise some questions.
1.) Number 4 above in your post suggests "Add a light shot of ascorbic acid the minute you sense oxydation" ... How can I tell when oxidation is beginning to set in? Is there equipment or signs I need to look for to determine beginning stages of oxidation?

2.) for number 1 in you post above suggests adding K-meta. My question is... How much k-meta should I add and when? Should I add some after each racking to ensure free sulfites thus protecting the wine from potential bacterior or would this be overkill.

Thanks again.
Marty
 
Question for those who use marbles -
Do you find that you have extra wine trapped between the marbles that the racking can't get out. I only ask because I can vision this happening, but then I haven't used marbles yet -
I lost mine long ago !!!!! (LOL)

You're losing me too - what do you mean by 'extra wine trapped between the marbles'? The wine is not 'trapped' because it can flow between the marbles. If I use a lot of marbles in one carboy (where they are stacked 3-4-5 marbles deep), I can stick the racking cane down into the marbles, which help keep any sediment settled down. I find the marbles helpful in keeping any sediment from getting disturbed while racking or bottling. The only problem with marbles is cleaning out the carboy and 'reclaiming' the marbles for use next time - they are easier to put in the carboy than to get out, especially when you have to hold a ~14 pound glass carboy upside down and shake it around.
 
Like I mentioned before - i have never used marbles yet - I would assume that the racking cane would sit on top of the marbles and all the sediment and wine would also would fill the void between each marble per say -
 
Oh, no, that's what's great about the marbles - you add the marbles when you rack for long term aging (especially if it is a second racking and you need to top up), before any sediment has fallen out. After month or two, the sediment falls out and settles on *top* of the marbles - so when you put the racking cane in to bottle, you can 'dig' into the deepest end (if you have tilted your carboy with a wedge or whatever underneath) of the marbles, careful to disturb the sediment as little as possible, and only the last bottle will have any appreciable sediment, if that.

I have measured the displacement of my flattened-shape marbles - they displace about 60% of the volume (the other 40% being the air/wine in between). So 1 cup (8 oz) of marbles displaces about 4.8 ounces of wine/air. It would be nice if that was about 80% but I deal with it.
 
Thank you all for the replies.

JohnT you posted a reply that prompted me to raise some questions.
1.) Number 4 above in your post suggests "Add a light shot of ascorbic acid the minute you sense oxydation" ... How can I tell when oxidation is beginning to set in? Is there equipment or signs I need to look for to determine beginning stages of oxidation?

2.) for number 1 in you post above suggests adding K-meta. My question is... How much k-meta should I add and when? Should I add some after each racking to ensure free sulfites thus protecting the wine from potential bacterior or would this be overkill.

Thanks again.
Marty

1) Taste it. You should be doing this on a regular basis.

2) I try to maintain around 30ppm, but it varries based on your PH level.
 

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