Bucket headspace

[Okie Parrish]

Got 5 gallons of tropical fruit dragons blood ready to backsweeten Thursday I racket it into a 7 gallon added kmeta and sorbate per package instructions then discovered my GF used my sugar to make cookies
Dont want to put it in carboy an dilute it with anythi g just to dilute it even more with sugar/water so I clamped the lid on and put it away....do you think it's ok being expossed to that much headspace for 4 days the lid was clamped tight and I did use 5 Camden tabs and sorbat.....i finally have time to sweeten tomorrow any suggestions on what to do anything i should add or is sorbate N kmeta from thursday enough

Also any thoughts would this be better as slightly sweet, Simi sweet, sweet or dry......obviously ima test a sample of it 1st just need idea on where to start

 

[Jal5]

Backsweetening is really a matter of your taste. I like a semi sweet fruit wine but that’s just me.

 

[tradowsk]

I think you are okay on the headspace for that short of time. The dose of kmeta will have protected you. But always trust your smell/taste tests.

As for sweetness, I found that my favorite local fruit wines are around SG 1.020-1.030 which would qualify as sweet. So that's where I would personally aim. But I definitely would go at least semi-sweet on that.

Lastly, I would add maybe a 1/4 dose of kmeta before bottling if you plan to have this around for more than 8months. You may have lost some SO2 to the headspace so I would be on the safe side if you can't test the SO2 levels

 

[barryjo]

I agree with you on diluting just to obtain the correct headspace. Since CO2 is heavier than air, if there is still some fermenting going on, there should be no problem. If there is no fermenting, adding some CO2 would be a solution. How to add?? Here is an unyet tested solution. Using a clean wine bottle with a drilled stopper and appropriate tubing, add a small amount of baking soda and a small amount of vinegar to the bottle. cork the bottle and allow the CO2 to flow into the bucket.This will produce sufficient CO2 to blanket the surface of the wine. If there are reasons not to do this, I welcome any suggestions.

 

[Johnd]

I agree with you on diluting just to obtain the correct headspace. Since CO2 is heavier than air, if there is still some fermenting going on, there should be no problem. If there is no fermenting, adding some CO2 would be a solution. How to add?? Here is an unyet tested solution. Using a clean wine bottle with a drilled stopper and appropriate tubing, add a small amount of baking soda and a small amount of vinegar to the bottle. cork the bottle and allow the CO2 to flow into the bucket.This will produce sufficient CO2 to blanket the surface of the wine. If there are reasons not to do this, I welcome any suggestions.

I suggest that you not pump anything into your wine headspace that was off-gassed out of a solution of vinegar and anything. I don't even open a bottle of vinegar in the vicinity of my winemaking area..............

 

[barryjo]

Thanks for the speedy reply. I may have to go back to the drawing board. Out of curiosity, is your concern that the wine will absorb
an off-flavor from the vinegar? Or might it be something else.

 

[Johnd]

Thanks for the speedy reply. I may have to go back to the drawing board. Out of curiosity, is your concern that the wine will absorb
an off-flavor from the vinegar? Or might it be something else.

Acetic acid is what makes vinegar taste like vinegar, when acetobacter (the bacteria responsible for the conversion) gets into your wine it can slowly convert the alcohol into acetic acid. Though acetobacter is everywhere, there's no sense tempting fate, at least not in my opinion............

 

[barryjo]

Well, another fine idea shot down with facts and logic. Maybe I will try using an old bong as a filter for the CO2!
Thanks again.

 

[Johnd]

Well, another fine idea shot down with facts and logic. Maybe I will try using an old bong as a filter for the CO2!
Thanks again.

You could just get a little CO2 tank and drizzle a little in there, perfectly safe. There are other inert gases you could use as well.

 

[sour_grapes]

.This will produce sufficient CO2 to blanket the surface of the wine. If there are reasons not to do this, I welcome any suggestions.

But be warned that CO2 will not "blanket" the wine. Yes, CO2 is heavier than air, but this has no practical advantage. Gases freely mix on the timescale of minutes. Any oxygen in your headspace has free access to your wine.

If your wine is evolving CO2, that will push O2 away from the wine, but if it is just sitting there for more than a few minutes, the O2 can get at your wine.