De-gassing tips

[Julie]

I get emails from George from the Winemakers' Toy Store adn in this email he gave some tips on de-gassing that I thought everyone would benefit from. So here it is:

De-Gassing Your Wine


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We continue to receive questions about de-gassing your wine, so we thought we would offer some pointers.

1. Try to de-gas when the temperature of the wine is above 70 degrees, preferably 75 degrees. Colder liquids don't release the gas as fast as warmer liquids.
2. Don't over stir. When using a drill mounted stirrer, stop the drill when the vortex forms. Then allow the foam to completely die down before stirring again; otherwise, you will just be stirring the CO2 back into the wine.
3. Remember, we are trying to remove most of the CO2, not all of the CO2. Some residual CO2 will improve the flavor of the wine.
4. If you are not sure if the wine is de-gassed, put a sample in a glass and taste it. If you can taste the gas (a prickly sensation on your tongue), then de-gas more; otherwise, you are done.
5. Filtering the wine also helps de-gas your wine. If you are constantly having problems with CO2, a filter might be your answer.

If you open a bottle of wine that has a fizz, just decant it . The decanted wine should give up its gas in 30-60 minutes.

One more point, the longer you wait to bottle the wine, the less CO2 to remove as gravity will slowly de-gas the wine for you. Just make sure that you have plenty of SO2 (sulfites) in the wine to prevent it from oxidizing.

 

[robie]

George knows his stuff!
Good advice, thanks.

 

[Luc]

One more point, the longer you wait to bottle the wine, the less CO2 to remove as gravity will slowly de-gas the wine for you. Just make sure that you have plenty of SO2 (sulfites) in the wine to prevent it from oxidizing.

All are sound advice but this is the one rule I live by.
Never bottle to early patience is your friend.

Luc

 

[Pumpkinman]

Great Post

 

[Boatboy24]

I really enjoy those emails from George.