splash racking to degas?

[Tall Grass]

I dropped by one of the local kit shops to pick up a few supplies and watched an employee racking a bunch of carboys with a pump & filter and she was just letting the wine splash all over the inside. I asked her how long the wine had to go before the customer picked it up and she said the next day.

I should have asked but I'm assuming this how they degas their wine on the quick. I'm just an amateur but something about splashing the wine around this just doesn't sit well with me. Anybody here use this technique?

 

[wines just fine]

You are right at that stage splash racking is not recommended.

Some folks will however splash rack once more if they do it in a vacuum. At the bottling stage the less oxygen the better.

 

[smurfe]

Actually it depends on which brand kit you were brought up on. I made mostly Wine Expert, they stress don't splash. I make Mosti kits now and they state to do just as you described in your post when you rack to help degas. It actually all depends on the sulfite levels in the wine. K-Meta is an anti oxidant that protect the wine from oxidation in these situations. In reality I wouldn't say they were doing anything out of the ordinary.

 

[MN-winer]

If you do splash rack and you weren't supposed to when will the oxidation start to show? I filtered my wine the other day with a vinbrite filter but didn't read the instructions about attaching the plastic tube to the bottom of the filter so it splashed into the carboy. Its real clear and totally degassed but I'm a bit worried about oxidation now. I bottled it last night and it looked fine.

 

[Malkore]

It will start to oxidize immediately if there's not enough sulfite in solution to bind the oxygen.
But the question is as it begins oxidizing, how long before its detected in the taste? You won't see oxidation unless its a lighter fruit wine that starts turning brownish.
You taste oxidation. Its stale...lack of flavor and aroma. Won't make you sick and might still be ok to cook with depending on oxidation level.

None of that should scare you...who knows if your wine even became oxidized...

 

[wines just fine]

Smurfe, Which kits are you making?

The instructions that I read on Mosti's site doesn't mention splash racking at all.

Not even on the first rack.