Trapped CO2??

[Pam]

I sure appreciate this list for questions. We started several differnet wines new years eve. Instead of drinking it, we made it. We made concord, Wild grape, a bottle of 1/2 wild and 1/2 concord and a couple others. All the wines quit working vigorously about 2 weeks later. I racked it 3 times. (once a month). The SG was .992 the end of march. At that time I added gelatin fining as it just wasnt cyrstal clear yet. I have never had this happen but today when I went to bottle it and rack it for the last time. The concord and the wild grape were so fizzy that I couldnt even use a siphon to get it out of the bottle. The wine was very clear and the SG was still .992. It would start bubbling in the tubing and stop the flow. I have siphoned before so I know I wasnt loosing my prime from incorrect method etc. The 1/2 wild and 1/2 concord which was made out of the same fruit done at the same time and part of the concord was added to the left over wild. this was not fizzy at all. I stirred and stirred these wines. It was better but it was not gone. I called a local wine supply and they told me to add my Pot metabisulfate and the Pot sorbate and then put it back in the jug and let it sit. This was such a mess. It was not enjoyable to try and try to siphon the wine. I got the first jug siphoned mostly by using a turkey baster. The second jug was very traumatic. I tried gently pouring it out. The first jug is still fairly clear. The second is now cloudy and I will have to start over racking it etc. Before starting working with the wine today, it was really clear and there was just a hint of bubbles on the surface when I moved them from one room to the other.
What did I do wrong. . I dont want to have to go through this again. I have had wines a little fizzy before but never so bad that I couldnt get them out of the jug. Do you think this is just trapped CO2?
Thanks a bunch. If you can help it would be appreciated.

 

[Tom]

Sounds like it's just traped gas. You can stir it and drive the bubbles up (called degassing). Next time try degassind in the secondary. CHEERS !

 

[Wade E]

What did you use to degas, I use a drill mounted mix stir and an electric vacuum pump but the drill mounted mix stir is really needed to properly degas. I have included a website below with a few variations of this tool, just dont buy the plastic 1 as it will break over time. Use this when the wine has just finished fermenting as it will help the wine clear faster also as trapped gas keeps sediment suspended in the wine also.

http://www.finevinewines.com/Home-Wine-Making-Equipment-Stirrers.asp

 

[Pam]

trapped gas

I have had a little CO2 before but never like this. The wine was pretty clear before I put the gelatin fining in. AND there was no fizz then. this all happened in the last month. In the past I had stirred the wine with a long stir stick. This was beyond that. This was more like champagne fizz.
I dont want this to happen again. Is it the type of yeast I used? I may have topped off with frozen grape juice the last racking. thanks
Pam

 

[arcticsid]

I have a neighbor that shakes when he gets mad, next time to de gas I think I will call him over , have him put the carboy on his lap and piss him off, if the wine doesn't get spilled, it should do the trick.
Troy

 

[arcticsid]

Sorry Pam, all sarcastic aside, go get a piece of tubing and siphon it next time, use a friend to make sure you dont suck off the nasties on the bottom of your vessel, to degass wine, search this site. Most will recommend a SS degassing wand but it is not absolutely necesarry, but it is really the way to go, stirring and stirring is not really the best way to release the gas. The SS wand most talk about however is really the way to go, it hooks right up to a drill, and works, don't buy the plastic one, way too many horry stories about em breaking up.
Troy

 

[Tom]

I was wondering. Even though you had a low gravity reading, did you add Sorbate to the wine. There is a chance that since you added more sugar you got it to restart.

 

[Malkore]

When I read the posts, it sounds like it was topped off with grape juice, and later the pot. sorbate was added. if that's the case it makes sense there was more CO2 created.

i'm only on my first wine kit, but it was pretty fizzy when I did the degassing after racking to secondary. I opt'd to get the drill degasser wand from the get-go.