Degassing

[lynneks]

My rhubarb wine is clear & ready to bottle. I'm going to ask this dumb question. You always need to degas wine? How do you know if its done? by taste?

 

[Malkore]

well, its supposed to be degassed once fermentation ends, when you add fining agents and/or sulfite and sorbate.

otherwise the degassing process tends to resuspend every piece of sediment.

So for example, you had in primary for 10 days until it was 1.010...racked to secondary and let it finish. once its done at say 0.995 and stable, you sorbate, sulfite, and degas. then let it clear, then bottle.

I've only got one batch in the bottle, and even using a drill mounted degasser, I didn't degas enough so my bottled wine has a tingle on your tongue unless you let it breathe in a caraf first.

 

[lynneks]

Ok So if when you degass the sediment does get mixed up & suspended do you just let it set until it clears?

 

[Tom]

DEPENDS. iF THIS WAS A KIT THEY ADD CLEARING AGENTS AND SUGGEST TO ADD IT TO THE SECONDARY WHEN ITS FINISHED. iF MAKING A FRUIT wine I would degas, add k-meta and sorbate degas again then add clearing agents. the clearing agents like to "grab" onto something and then fall to the bottom. Let it sit 2 weeks and rack. Continue racking till clear.
(sorry for the caps)