Vacuum Degassing Issue

[Sudz]

I have been vacuum degassing my kit wines for awhile now. It's been working well but seems to take longer than I expected. So in an effort to reduce the time involved I went with a slightly higher vacuum for a much shorter time (2-3 minutes @ 25"Hg).

I went ahead and performed my clearing routine and set things aside for a couple of weeks prior to bottling. In prep for bottling I pulled a sample to check my chemistry and also tested for remaining CO2. I found I still had CO2 present indicating my degassing had been inadequate.

So I'm now about to hit it again with the vacuum to complete the degassing.

My question is this.

The wine is perfectly clear at the moment and I expect the degassing will destroy the clarity. Will this settle out given some time or will I need to go through another clarifying sequence with the isinglass?

 

[rjb222]

Why would removing CO2 change the clarity? If there is too much CO2 there will be particulate matter in suspension but if your wine has dropped clear it should remain that way.

 

[Kev]

My experience at the same amount of vacuum, is that it can take 5 minutes or more to get the job done with some wines. You can of can of course tell, by seeing the small bubbles still rising to the top. Sometimes a little shake of the carboy helps.

If you have clarified, but not racked the wine off the sediment, the vacuum will cause some of the sediment to rise, affecting clarity. If you rack the clear wine to a new carboy, degassing will not affect clarity.

 

[DoctorCAD]

I leave my wines under vacuum for 45 minutes, and sometimes that isn't long enough.

 

[Chiumanfu]

2-3 mins is not long enough. I will typically degas for 5 mins at 23inHG then remove the vacuum and give it a quick stir then put it under vacuum for another 5 mins. Usually it takes 3 or 4 cycles of this to completely degas. Also it is very important to make sure the temp is at 25 degrees C.