frizzante/ lightly sparkling wines

[franc1969]

I am contemplating making something frizzante or lightly sparkling. Maybe not this fall, but I don't know how they really are made. Has anyone tried making their own?
I don't like anything very carbonated, like too much soda or what passes for hard cider lately. Maybe a Lambrusco-type fizz, just a bit of fun for part of a batch. How would adding something like the beer priming tablets that are sold work out? What level of carbonation would I get, and could I use beer bottles or swing-top bottles for this? I do have standard sparkling bottles, and lots of capped bottle options.
Another option, bottling early to capture the last of the active ferment- 'methode ancestrale' I think? What specific gravity is usually used for that? What's the expected pressure?

 

[Boatboy24]

The beer tablets might be the way to go. Putting a tablet that's made for a 12oz bottle into a 750ml bottle might give you that low level of carbonation you're looking for. As far as closures, definitely beer bottles, swing tops, or standard sparkling bottles. Another option I've played around with is simply using a Sodastream and carbonating before consuming. I've done this with some of my off-dry wines and it works pretty well. Just be sure to clean the nozzle well with water to prevent clogs.

 

[salcoco]

ferment the wine dry do not add any k-meta or sorbate wait until wine is clear use fining agent if necessary. add 3/4 cup of sugar for 5 gallons stir very well about 2 minutes to insure sugar is dissolved. bottle in beer or wine bottles. there is enough yeast in wine to restart fermentation yet the amount of sugar will not cause high pressure. should get fizzy wines. method is similar to carbonating beer,

 

[MiBor]

The beer tablets might be the way to go.

Could you please provide a link for the product you're referring to?... I looked up carbonation tablets and all that comes up is sugar tablets that you can put in your beer to restart a little fermentation in the bottle. Is there a product that creates light carbonation in the bottle without fermentation?
Thank you.

 

[Boatboy24]

Could you please provide a link for the product you're referring to?... I looked up carbonation tablets and all that comes up is sugar tablets that you can put in your beer to restart a little fermentation in the bottle. Is there a product that creates light carbonation in the bottle without fermentation?
Thank you.

The sugar tablets were what I was referring to. I guess the only other option would be to drop an Alka-Seltzer tablet in there.

 

[MiBor]

Thanks Jim. I don't think the sugar tablets would work with a finished wine that has been stabilized with K-meta and Sorbate. Alka-Seltzer tabs, now that's ingenious. I could use wine as my go-to cold medicine. And it would probably make me feel a lot better than water.
I'm also looking at the SodaStream Jet. It looks like you can manually control the level of carbonation with this machine and it comes with a 1L bottle and a 60L CO2 cylinder for $80. I have a semi-sweet wine that would benefit greatly from a little carbonation. And I believe a wine bottle with a #9 cork should be able to hold the light carbonation in for a few months. Any thoughts?

 

[ThunderFred]

You can force carbonate using a keging system. They make very small and relatively inexpensive ones. I use one like in the link below for test batches. You don't get the tiny delicate bubbles like in champaigne but it is a quick and easy way to add some carbonation. Easy to control and you don't end up with lees in the bottle. A big downside is that you have to serve it from the keg unless you have a counter pressure bottling system.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088TSQ34S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Boatboy24]

Thanks Jim. I don't think the sugar tablets would work with a finished wine that has been stabilized with K-meta and Sorbate. Alka-Seltzer tabs, now that's ingenious. I could use wine as my go-to cold medicine. And it would probably make me feel a lot better than water.
I'm also looking at the SodaStream Jet. It looks like you can manually control the level of carbonation with this machine and it comes with a 1L bottle and a 60L CO2 cylinder for $80. I have a semi-sweet wine that would benefit greatly from a little carbonation. And I believe a wine bottle with a #9 cork should be able to hold the light carbonation in for a few months. Any thoughts?

I don't know about the corks in a carbonated bottle. Would need someone with more scientific knowledge than me on that, but my guess would be you'd lose the carb within days, if not weeks. For $80, the Sodastream isn't a bad investment to experiment with. And if you have a wine that people like both flat and sparkling, it's a quick way to open a single bottle (if anyone ever does that) and let everyone get what they want.

 

[franc1969]

Could you please provide a link for the product you're referring to?... I looked up carbonation tablets and all that comes up is sugar tablets that you can put in your beer to restart a little fermentation in the bottle. Is there a product that creates light carbonation in the bottle without fermentation?
Thank you.

I was referring to the tablets Jim was- but I specifically thought of the smaller ones where you choose how many go into the bottle, instead of the larger ones which are one per. I need to figure out how much to add for just a bitof fizz.

 

[franc1969]

I'll try this, I had nowhere to start for quantity of sugar.

ferment the wine dry do not add any k-meta or sorbate wait until wine is clear use fining agent if necessary. add 3/4 cup of sugar for 5 gallons stir very well about 2 minutes to insure sugar is dissolved. bottle in beer or wine bottles. there is enough yeast in wine to restart fermentation yet the amount of sugar will not cause high pressure. should get fizzy wines. method is similar to carbonating beer,

 

[salcoco]

forgot to add that bottle caps are the best to use on beer or wine bottles.

 

[GR!]

I use beer bottle caps on my champagne bottles, works like a charm

 

[salcoco]

caution the European champagne bottle require a different size cap 29mm I believe also need to change capper when used.

 

[winemaker81]

And I believe a wine bottle with a #9 cork should be able to hold the light carbonation in for a few months. Any thoughts?

Corks may work ... unless the pressure is above a theshold, at which point the corks will blow. I do not recommend using a bottle not designed for the pressure, e.g., a champagne, beer, or soda bottle. And especially do not use a screwcap wine bottle -- there's no cork to blow so the bottle may explode if the pressure exceeds the strength of the glass.

Many moons ago I used 1 quart glass soda bottles, which accept a standard crown cap. I have no idea is these bottles exist in the modern world.