Degassing

[rosa6329]

So I degassed my wine and I topped it off with another cab sauv. Can I degas again at any point or is it required to be done at the beginning before aging? Reason being said is I am not sure if I degassed it enough.

 

[PCharles]

So I degassed my wine and I topped it off with another cab sauv. Can I degas again at any point or is it required to be done at the beginning before aging? Reason being said is I am not sure if I degassed it enough.

Hi Rosa, My guess is that this is a kit wine right? How did you degass? If you're using a vacume pump, you can hook it up and hit it again. If your using a drill mounted degasser, you may have a tough time.

Provide additional info. Have you added k-meta? What pressure is your vacume? I'd hit it until it stops giving up gas.

PCharles

 

[rosa6329]

Hi Rosa, My guess is that this is a kit wine right? How did you degass? If you're using a vacume pump, you can hook it up and hit it again. If your using a drill mounted degasser, you may have a tough time.

Provide additional info. Have you added k-meta? What pressure is your vacume? I'd hit it until it stops giving up gas.

PCharles

I did drill mounted then that broke and I have some shredded plastic that fell into the wine. Then I used a spoon to finish the degas. Not sure if I did it correctly. I also have to filter out the plastic that fell in. When do you recommend doing that. I already added kmeta and clearing agents

 

[Flem]

Since you've added the clearing agents, wait until it clears, then rack it to a clean, sanitized carboy. This will aid in getting rid of any excess gas plus your sediment, including the plastic pieces.

 

[PCharles]

I did drill mounted then that broke and I have some shredded plastic that fell into the wine. Then I used a spoon to finish the degas. Not sure if I did it correctly. I also have to filter out the plastic that fell in. When do you recommend doing that. I already added kmeta and clearing agents

Rosa, I use a vacume pump. For kit wines, good degassing is very important. I find disolved gas to be much less of a problem with my own wines made from local fruit.

I'd encourage you to look into methods of vacume degassing. I found my first few kits had too much dissolved CO2, which I could taste. Most of my wines are from local fruit so this is not so much of an issue now. I have a pump though if I need it.

 

[AlFulchino]

a temp of 70 degrees or thereabouts of the wine itself will aid in permitting the gas to escape by itself and also w your methods to extract the gas....as prev suggested here look into methods to see how to remove....one simple way is to purchase a small hand held brake bleeder from an auto store like V.I.P , these usually sell for about 19.99 and take the hose that extends off the bleeder and run it thru the hole on a bung...to seal this you can buy a small can of rubber paint .....all you do is insert the bung in your carboy and hand squeeze the pump/brake bleeder...people vary in recommendations about how high to bring the vacuum to on the guage, but you will be safe at a pressure of 18-22 and holding for 5 minutes

i would recommend you do this before adding your k meta as it will pull free so2 out after your co2 is out

others will chime in to refine what i said, but this is a cheap way to be pretty sure all the gas is out and less violent than a drill

 

[robie]

Al knows his stuff; lots of experience.

One reason why you want to do degassing now is -
If the wine is very gassy, it will not clear as fast or as well.

Yes, you can always go back and degas some more later, but if you don't use some sort of vacuum device, each time you degas, you will be introducing more air into the wine, which is not a good thing to do.

If you do buy a brake bleeder or some other form of vacuum device, you can degas again anytime between now and bottling.

Again, it is best to do a good job of degassing (get most of the CO2 out) before you start clearing.

 

[rosa6329]

Al knows his stuff; lots of experience.

One reason why you want to do degassing now is -
If the wine is very gassy, it will not clear as fast or as well.

Yes, you can always go back and degas some more later, but if you don't use some sort of vacuum device, each time you degas, you will be introducing more air into the wine, which is not a good thing to do.

If you do buy a brake bleeder or some other form of vacuum device, you can degas again anytime between now and bottling.

Again, it is best to do a good job of degassing (get most of the CO2 out) before you start clearing.

I dont have a vacuum just a stir stick, should I go back and do it with a drill?

 

[AlFulchino]

Rosa Rosa Rosa.....here is where you are at and we all face this, it is the good, better best scenario.....the drill is the simple method it has its pros and cons....that is good......a brake bleeder is better, its pros are a better degassing without all that air introduction and no stirring up sediment, and then there is best...a mechanical system like Wade sells where you flick a switch and all happens by itself

so you have to choose where you wish to take this wonderful hobby!

 

[Flem]

Al, I'm sure you have forgotten but, Wade doesn't sell them anymore.

However, one of our sponsors, vacuumpumpman (check his banner), sells an outfit that racks, bottles and degasses.

 

[rosa6329]

Rosa Rosa Rosa.....here is where you are at and we all face this, it is the good, better best scenario.....the drill is the simple method it has its pros and cons....that is good......a brake bleeder is better, its pros are a better degassing without all that air introduction and no stirring up sediment, and then there is best...a mechanical system like Wade sells where you flick a switch and all happens by itself

so you have to choose where you wish to take this wonderful hobby!

I plan to get one later down the road. But when do you recommend me racking it so I can get the plastic shreds out?

 

[Flem]

Like I said in a previous post, after it clears.

 

[robie]

I plan to get one later down the road. But when do you recommend me racking it so I can get the plastic shreds out?

I wouldn't worry about the plastic in the wine as long as you rack when the instructions say to rack. Plastic being in there for a few weeks won't hurt a thing.

I made wine a long time before I purchased an electric vacuum pump. I had to buy new gadgets a little at a time. Until you get a vacuum pump, you can stick with your drill stirrer.

If you do degas again after the wine is racked and cleared, make sure you go slow and don't create a huge vortex with the drill stirrer. That vortex pulls a lot of air into the wine. Stir in one direction; when you see a vortex stating to form, switch directions. If you stir with a spoon, cpfan has recommended stirring back and forth with the spoon, instead of round and round.

 

[rosa6329]

I wouldn't worry about the plastic in the wine as long as you rack when the instructions say to rack. Plastic being in there for a few weeks won't hurt a thing.

I made wine a long time before I purchased an electric vacuum pump. I had to buy new gadgets a little at a time. Until you get a vacuum pump, you can stick with your drill stirrer.

If you do degas again after the wine is racked and cleared, make sure you go slow and don't create a huge vortex with the drill stirrer. That vortex pulls a lot of air into the wine. Stir in one direction; when you see a vortex stating to form, switch directions. If you stir with a spoon, cpfan has recommended stirring back and forth with the spoon, instead of round and round.

Yeah I wish I read this before I did create a vortex. Should I just leave it?

 

[robie]

Yeah I wish I read this before I did create a vortex. Should I just leave it?

No problem, wine is very forgiving.

If it is still fizzy on your tongue, sometime before you bottle, you will need to degas it. But if it doesn't clear properly, you will need to get the temperature up to 72-75F and degas it some more. Then it should clear.

 

[AlFulchino]

you may consider running the wine thru a kitchen screen thing that women have in the kitchen to make sure you catch that plastic...i dont know if its floating orjust settling down to the bottom...good luck!

 

[rosa6329]

you may consider running the wine thru a kitchen screen thing that women have in the kitchen to make sure you catch that plastic...i dont know if its floating orjust settling down to the bottom...good luck!

I bought a filter screen like a cheese cloth. I can see a lot of crap on the bottom of the carboy. When should I filter it?

 

[AlFulchino]

if you are now at the degassing stage, i would go ahead and rack that off to make sure the plastic is out now...proceed to degas and then stabilize

 

[rosa6329]

if you are now at the degassing stage, i would go ahead and rack that off to make sure the plastic is out now...proceed to degas and then stabilize

I already stabilized. The plastic shreds fell in while i was degassing.

 

[AlFulchino]

well then rack it off onto that cheese cloth...finish the degassing by any way you choose and get this stabilized right after that

ps i will pick up a bottle my next trip down there ....just kidding