Degassing naturally through bulk aging

[PJ805]

I'm making a one gallon batch of wine from fresh grapes which is now bulk aging and will continue to do so for a few months. One reason among others is to let it naturally degas. My assumption is the CO2 would escape via the airlock however there is no movement in the water in the airlock. Am I missing something as to what happens with the CO2? The water isn't level due to the initial pressure from attaching the airlock so there are no leaks.

 

[NorCal]

Left to its own, it’s very gradual and you would not see it unless you just so happened to be watching at the right time. Now if you apply a vacuum at 70 degrees ambient, you will see bubbles galore.

 

[jgmann67]

I was just going to ask, what’s the ambient temp where you store your wine? If it’s too cool, you won’t get too much action at all.

 

[cmason1957]

I have often wondered how big a difference a few degrees of temp make in the degassing effort. I'm sure there is some relationship between temp and how easily co2 comes out, but wonder what the curve looks like between say 60 and 75 f.

 

[1d10t]

I have often wondered how big a difference a few degrees of temp make in the degassing effort. I'm sure there is some relationship between temp and how easily co2 comes out, but wonder what the curve looks like between say 60 and 75 f.

When bottle carbing beer we need to take the temps into consideration because that determines how much extra sugar is needed at bottling time. You might be able to get some idea poking around for beer carbonation rates.

http://beerandwinejournal.com/residual-co2/

 

[PJ805]

I was just going to ask, what’s the ambient temp where you store your wine? If it’s too cool, you won’t get too much action at all.

It's around 60 degrees. If that's the case, should I be concerned that it won't degas completely over a 9 month period?

 

[jgmann67]

It's around 60 degrees. If that's the case, should I be concerned that it won't degas completely over a 9 month period?

Yep. I would be concerned.

I’ve had wines that sat in a 65* -ish room that didn’t fully degassed in that amount of time. Had to coax the remaining co2 with an AIO.

 

[ceeaton]

It's around 60 degrees. If that's the case, should I be concerned that it won't degas completely over a 9 month period?

I've had full carboys (6 gallons) that have not degassed at 62*F (average) after two years, and that included a few AIO rackings. I'd suggest a warmer temperature if you want it to "naturally" degass.

My wife says that when I lay on my side in bed at night turned away from her that I degass much quicker than if I lay on my back or turned towards her, so maybe you could lay the one gallon jug on its side a bit and that would help?