kartracer088
Junior Member
So I am wondering how important degassing is if the kit is bulk aged with an air lock for several months before bottling. I just started my 4th W.E. kit, and following the instructions, it is about time for the degassing and clearing step. On the first kit I did, I degassed using the drill/paddle method, which I could see took out a lot of gas, but 6 months later after bottling, still is a little fizzy when I open the bottle. On subsequent kits, I added the step of using a hand vacuum pump on the carboy for a day after the manual degassing. The result is better. I am just wondering, if I delayed bottling the wine for a few months after the last clearing step, would it be necessary to manually degas or would the CO2 naturally exit through the air lock? I have over a hundred bottles of wine in my cellar now, so I have time wait. Thoughts?