WineXpert Degassing...

[Ieatrice4dinner]

Hello I started my cabernet sauvignon Lodi ranch 2 kit a few weeks ago. I am now on the degassing portion. I picked up one of those little brake bleeders the other day to help. So far i got most of it degassed i can get it past 20 but if i leave it for a half hour it goes back down to about 15 and when i shake it it goes down to 15. when it gets up to 20 i dont see any bubbles unless i shake it. I was at it on and off all day and its still got co2 lol. I went till i could not squeeze the pump anymore with both hands. My question is can i do this over the week that the wine clarifies? should i use the mix stirrer again or keep using the pump? any input would help alot.

 

[Wade E]

If you can hold 15" of vacuum then your fine. What ever you do, do not use this while you are using a fining agent or you will have a big blog on top instead of the bottom where it is supposed to be. Trust me, I speak from experience!

 

[Ieatrice4dinner]

i mixed all that in with the mix stirrer for awhile... degassing is deff not fun

 

[PolishWineP]

You too noticed that degassing isn't any fun. I don't think that anyone enjoys the process.

They especially don't enjoy it when they think they're done and later find out they weren't done have have to go back to it. Not fun at all. But, very necessary.

 

[Wade E]

I'll take care of your degassing if you will clean and de-label all my bottles!

 

[Waldo]

How do they do the degassing at the big wineries?

 

[Ieatrice4dinner]

from what i read the barrels allow the gas to escape... i could be wrong tho.

lighter fluid works wonders on sticker residue i wonder if it will work on the bottles

 

[Wade E]

The barrels also provide micro oxygenation which can not be achieved with bottles or carboys.

 

[PeterZ]

In big wineries the main degassing technique is time. You don't need to worry about degassing if you are bulk aging for two years. For fast-production wineries they probably vacuum degass on a big scale, with agitation to release the gas.

 

[dfwwino]

Peter, I would agree for fresh grape and fruit wines. Before making kits, I never degassed and let my wine bulk age for a year or more and never had CO2 issues. However, in 2004, I made a VR Shiraz and did not degas. I let it bulk age two years. When I bottled, it still had major CO2 issues when I opened the bottles. I wonder if the concentrate process binds up CO2 unlike with fresh grapes. As a consequence, I will always degas kit wines regardless of how long I bulk age. Edited by: dfwwino

 

[scotty]

Im resorting to de gassing about 5 times with a 15 minute break for the drill

lol


Then doing it again the next day. This is of course after stabilizing.Edited by: scotty

 

[Casper]

I tough, I would share the method I use to degas my wine. And here are pictures.

Just need a manual pump, stopper and 2 liter plastic pop. I cut the plastic container and use it on top of the carboy. When I start to pump the plastic create a vacuum and stick to the carboy. I do that for 3 to 4 days after degassing with the drill. And yes the wineries do not degas time do it, it is like leaving a glass of pop on a table for a long time it will eventually get flat.