To degas or not to degas? That is the question.

[Madriver Wines]

I have seen several discusions concerning degassing. They have me confused. I understand that fruit wines dont need to be degassed like grape wines. I have had people tell me to always degas and others who have never degassed. Any real rule of thumb? Also is using the whip enough or do you need to attach a vacume pump? I am getting close to bottling the first batch of strawberry and I am getting anxious!!

 

[Tom]

I degass every wine I make. True some wines have less gas. But, they ALL have gas. I start degassing in the secondary before you add the fining agents. You do not want to "whip" rather stir. I use the SS paddle hooked up ti a drill. I degas again when I transfer just to make sure.

 

[Madriver Wines]

I degass every wine I make. True some wines have less gas. But, they ALL have gas. I start degassing in the secondary before you add the fining agents. You do not want to "whip" rather stir. I use the SS paddle hooked up ti a drill. I degas again when I transfer just to make sure.

So I stir the heck out of it. Do I stir until no gas escapes? No need for a vacuum pump? In the future I want to make a Merlot and I am thinking I will need a pump setup. As you can see I have a whole lot more questions than answers at this point in my obsession !

 

[Tom]

If your planning on making alot of wine then I suggest get a degasser s/s one works best. Either way you dont want to stir so hard you create a froth. Start SLOW as you may get an eruption LOL.
I dont feel a pump is necessary for you since you just started. Some have one most don't.

 

[cpfan]

Madriver:

I haven't made many fruit wines, so I don't know if you need to degas. I have a wine made from apple juice and white grape juice. I forgot to degas it. It needed to be degassed.

So taste a sample of the wine. If it feels fizzy, then it needs degassing. If it doesn't taste fizzy, then great you're ready to go. If you like the taste of it fizzy, then you're also good to go.

Steve

 

[Wade E]

It is the other way around, grape wines made from grapes rarely need to be degassed as when they are done fermenting they are run through a press which bascally degasses the wine at that time.

 

[St Allie]

My apple, peach and plum wines are generally gassy.. the apple was the worst.. I just leave them in the carboys with airlocks to work it out over time..

 

[smurfe]

Many fruit wines have to sit in the carboy forever fermenting and dropping clear. Over that time frame the wine can degas naturally. Wine made from grapes that is aged in barrels will degas as well through the barrel. Kit wines and other wine meant to ferment quickly and be bottled soon will need some help.

 

[Madriver Wines]

Thanks, I will have to invest in a degasser. It looks like the first 5 gal. of strawberry my son-in-law started this obsession with will be ready to bottle in a couple weeks. I'l have to post the results. I last tasted it at the second racking and it was fruity, acidic and quite tasty. This is where it really gets to be fun.

 

[Luc]

Smurfe is right.
I make only fruit wines and never have to degas.

Fruitwines take longer to finish and clear. And
waiting while it clears,degasses it. Racking helps also.

Kit wines have far more tight schedule. They are finished in a month or so.

Wade I do not agree with your last statement.
The pulp of the grapes is pressed after a few days or even
after a few weeks. But at that time fermentation is still going on.
The must further ferments in the secondary.
Think about white wines. The red grapes are pressed immediately and give a white juice which is then fermented.
Blush wines are pressed after a few hours or a day.
So the pressing is mostly far more earlier in the process...

Luc

 

[Wade E]

Luc, i know about white and blush wines and should have specified reds. Most of the fermentation is done at the point of pressing or should AI say the violent part and the act of pressing gets rid of most of the gas and most of the people that do make reds have pumps also which usually have impellers in them which do quite a # on the gas also. Ive had fruit wines bulk age in my wine room which stays around 66-68* most of the year in carboys for a year that still had plenty of gas left in them. Maybe I sense gas in a wine more then others!

 

[JaimesBeam]

Anyone ever try de-gassing a bottle of wine by sticking a (hollow?) needle through the cork? I'd rather not add a bunch more chemicals to my wine, or re-bottle it!

Thanks, Jaimes Beam

 

[Tom]

Don't see how that would work.

 

[Deezil]

Anyone ever try de-gassing a bottle of wine by sticking a (hollow?) needle through the cork? I'd rather not add a bunch more chemicals to my wine, or re-bottle it!

Thanks, Jaimes Beam

That would work if the gas were just simply in the bottle, however the gas is saturated within the wine inside the bottle. Your idea would bleed the pressure off the top, but would not remove the co2 from the wine itself.

 

[Kujo66]

Not sure how stirring the heck out of wine de-gasses it... Arent you putting air into it more than getting it out?

 

[merlin]

I have been making Merlot for the last few years. I think it needs de gassing because it sometimes feels a bit fizzy. I don't understand the process of degassing, does anybody have a link to a good step by step article, Thanks

 

[Rocky]

Merlin, Here is a video that goes through the de-gassing process. If you notice, there are a series of great videos listed along the left side of the panel. They run for various times and are very instructive.

http://www.finevinewines.com/Round3_flash_110308F/page3/wine_page_3F.html

 

[FTC Wines]

I de-gas all my wines now. Started with a stirring rod & went to vac pump a few months ago. If you make more than 30 gals. a year it's the only way to go. Great for racking & filtering & well worth the $125 if you have a bad back like me! Roy

 

[mrpoland]

I had to degas one wine in my life and it was only because I left it for a year without touching in glass carboy. Every other wine was fine and I noticed, that racking the wine from time to time is enough to keep it without gas. Usually I rack he wine every 2-3 months to remove the sediments. Having gas in wine depends of the temperature of the room where you keep you wine if it is cool then gas better dissolve in wine. When I had to degas that one wine I brought the carboy to the warmer room for 3 days then I rack it once a day for 3 days and then bottle it and it was fine. I never heard about degassing machine and I can’t imagine how it works but I guess it use some kind of pressure.

 

[Wade E]

Unless you are letting yor wine splash down from the top of your carboy I cant see how you dont need to degas a wine unless you like your wine with some carbonation.