Best place for degassing (wine)

[Flem]

I have my RJS, Winery Series, Washington Merlot going through secondary in a 6 gallon glass carboy. My instructions say I can degas either inanother carboy (after racking off the lees), or in the primary bucket. George's video shows it being done in the carboy. After you guys have put "the fear of the Lord" in me about the dreaded volcanoes, it kinda' makes more sense for me to do it in the bucket and then rack back to the carboy. It also seems like you can do a better job of degassing as well as mixing up all the additives.
Your comments and suggestions please!


Thanks!
Mike

 

[tonyt]

I degassed my first several kits in glass carboy. always used mix stir on electric drill. always heard of ans was scared of volcano but never experienced it. For my last few kits I have started racking back to a primary bucket for degassing. And good thing I did. The last kit I degassed ( RJS Valpolicella Repasso http://www.finevinewines.com/p-1835-24445.aspx ) foamed up so much that it almost overflowed the primary bucket. I at once realized what they were talking about. Had I been using a glass carboy I would have had wine foam everywhere. Bottom line, degass in primary bucket.

 

[Goodfella]

I always rack to a bucket to degass.... Then I transfer to a carboy and finish with a vacum pump.

 

[tdeyette]

I have a 6.5 gallon carboy that I use for degassing as well as stirring in the stabilizers and clarifiers. The extra space helps hold in any foaming and I don’t have to worry too much about over spray or splashing.<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />

I’ll then rack back to the 6 gallon carboy for clearing.

 

[robie]

In the carboy, you can minimize the volcano effect by stirring very slowly at first, then after several stirrings, when much of the gas has left, speeding up the process.

If at degassing the carboy is really full, do the degassing in the fermentor bucket.

 

[AlFulchino]

correct me if i am wrong here and anyone can cal me all wet because i am no expert in this

w grapes essentially there is never a gas problem because we press after ferment...and the length of time for a wine from grapes to bottling time is longer than a kit....but w all that i read on kits degassing is always an issue...here is my idea.....

when you go to rack from primary to secondary your wine is loaded w co2 and thereby protected....why not splash rack 2 or more times in a 72-75 degree environment and see what that gives you...

it is just an idea, hence the leeway with my saying 2 or more times....perhaps over time it can be established that 3 times is a good guide, i dont know, just theorizing here....i would think that this could easily be tested w reds and personally i would not worry about whites either

and as an added idea...what if you splash racked thru a strainer to accentuate the splash and possibly strip more co2...at this point you would place under airlock....follow your kit rules and then stabilize

if anyone tries this, i would be curious to hear if it provided you with less degassing at the end or maybe even no degassing

 

[Randoneur]

I dothe degas in the primary bucket,much easier tomix in theadditives too.

 

[Runningwolf]

Al that is an interesting concept but I don't have an answer for that. I also siphon to a primary, stabilize with a stir mix on the drill and then splash rack back into a clean carboy with a vacuum pump.

 

[Wade E]

I know many people have been stating that even using a vacuum to rack they dont do so with a racking cane way down in the bottle and just a nub through the bung and that the wine splashing down from the top of the carboy does quite a bit. Ill try this next time I do so. That being said I ferment to dry in primary always which really helps the wine let more gas out.

 

[Bartman]

At the risk of angering the wine gods, I must admit that I do not de-gas at all anymore. I ferment to dry in the bucket, and bulk age all my wines at least six months. By the time of bottling, I have racked it at least 3 times. I have not had a problem since my first kit, which I did not let ferment to dry in the bucket.

Not only do I save time and effort, I also don't have to make sure my cordless drill is charged.

 

[fiat84]

My local wine kit store who also sell fresh grapes and fresh juice, have mentioned degassing a kit wine by quickly pouring it at high height between two pails a few times to get a violent pour. Basically when your in a hurry and want to physical workout.

At Christmas my sis bought a non-sparkling, pricey, dry white wine that was fizzy with a prickly sensation and very tiny CO2 bubbles in your glass after pouring. Similar to those kids candy rocks that foam up, pop, crackle in your mouth, the same sensation. First time I tasted a wine with this major flaw and proved to me that my kit wines do not contain too much CO2 gas comparatively.

 

[robie]

I have never heard of degassing that way... pretty much a big-time splash racking I guess. Wonder if it might introduce a little too much oxygen into the wine?

After you do that, the only way you will know for sure if you have fully degassed the wine is to stir it really hard (at about 75 degrees F or above), and look to see if any of those tiny CO2 bubbles are still rising out of the wine. The CO2 bubbles are much smaller than typical air bubbles, like the ones that fizz up when you shake a can of coke.

It's easy to see them rise, if your wine is in clear-sided carboy.

Let us know how this works for you, fiat. It sounds a lot like what Al suggested.

 

[tonyt]

Just what we need . . . another method to degass. Do I stir, do I use
an electric drill? Do I let it sit for 12 months? I have an idea we
should try.

Remember these? They managed to take the bubbles OUT of Champagne rather efficiently.