Degassing Questions

[MBurly31]

So for starters, I am working on my first batch. I have looked up countless different opinions and I'm just curious as to what you guys have done. My situation....
Mixed berry wine
Fermentation has stopped
Racked and starting to clear( about a week)

When should I re-rack to get it off the sediment?
Should I degass and then re-rack?
Do I need to add potassium metabisulfate?

 

[Johnd]

Generally speaking, the process should be similar to this:

1. Near the end of fermentation, move the wine out of the fermenting vessel and into a carboy to complete fermentation
2. When fermentation is complete (evidenced by unchanged SG readings three days in a row, below .998), rack off of the gross lees within 2-3 days into another carboy, adding potassium metabisulfite, make sure your carboy is topped off and you have a good airlock in place
3. If you intend to degas manually (as opposed to just waiting), do so, you only need to rack when you have a reasonable accumulation of sediment, if you choose to allow the wine to degas naturally, again, just rack when your sediment accumulates.
4. Every three months, add sulfite to protect the wine, if you can, it's easier to rack and sulfite at the same time on three month intervals, most wines will degas naturally in 6 - 8 months as long as they are not stored in a colder environment. Always make sure your vessel is topped up and your airlock is properly filled.

If you degas manually, you can degas and sort of combine steps 2 and the first option in 3 at the same time, ie, degas at the same time you rack the wine. It's easier to degas when your vessel isn't filled to the brim.

 

[mhopkins]

So for starters, I am working on my first batch. I have looked up countless different opinions and I'm just curious as to what you guys have done. My situation....
Mixed berry wine
Fermentation has stopped
Racked and starting to clear( about a week)

When should I re-rack to get it off the sediment?
Should I degass and then re-rack?
Do I need to add potassium metabisulfate?

Welcome!

Here is a link to Danger Dave's Triple Berry Blend wine (adapted from Skeeter Pee).
https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/easy-peesy.14706/page-2#post-338499

Lotsa detail here. I have used this as a starting point to flex off of for a good number of different fruit wines.

Let us know how the batch turns out!
Mark

 

[MBurly31]

Johnd,

So I currently finished step 2 with what you said. A little more sediment is building up at the bottom. Should siphon out the wine and degass now? Or wait it out for a month first

Thanks!!!

 

[Johnd]

It's up to you. If you've already left the gross lees behind, you really don't need to be in a hurry to rack again. If you want to degas manually, it would be a good idea to rack the wine off of the sediment that is in there now before degassing, no sense stirring it all back up into the wine. You could do that now, or in a month if you like. If you haven't done so already, make sure to get some sulfite on board, manual degassing exposes the wine to lots of oxygen, and sulfite helps protect it from oxidation.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Generally speaking, the process should be similar to this:

1. Near the end of fermentation, move the wine out of the fermenting vessel and into a carboy to complete fermentation
2. When fermentation is complete (evidenced by unchanged SG readings three days in a row, below .998), rack off of the gross lees within 2-3 days into another carboy, adding potassium metabisulfite, make sure your carboy is topped off and you have a good airlock in place
3. If you intend to degas manually (as opposed to just waiting), do so, you only need to rack when you have a reasonable accumulation of sediment, if you choose to allow the wine to degas naturally, again, just rack when your sediment accumulates.
4. Every three months, add sulfite to protect the wine, if you can, it's easier to rack and sulfite at the same time on three month intervals, most wines will degas naturally in 6 - 8 months as long as they are not stored in a colder environment. Always make sure your vessel is topped up and your airlock is properly filled.

If you degas manually, you can degas and sort of combine steps 2 and the first option in 3 at the same time, ie, degas at the same time you rack the wine. It's easier to degas when your vessel isn't filled to the brim.

What is too cold to degas on it’s own?

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

My wine is aging in the garage and it is around 65 degrees.

 

[Johnd]

What is too cold to degas on it’s own?

Rusty, I’m not too sure I can give you a temp divining line, but suffice to say, mid 70’s is a great place to be for degassing, and as your temps decrease, the time increases. If you’re in no rush, no big deal. My wines degas in carboys and barrels in my wine room at 55 F, but I’m usually in the 1 - 2 year time frame for aging. Try to adjust your expectations to the temps you can provide, but it will degas when it’s darn good and ready!!

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Thanks John. I am not in any rush. They are both kit wines. I plan on aging them six to nine months. I was planning on tasting them each time I rack over and if one taste really good then I will bottle. I am planning on buying the all in one wine pump and from what I understand that will help with degassing.