After a Visit to the White Pages

[Rojoguio]

I have a question concerning oxygen exposure. I TIG Weld custom aluminum T-Tops so I have Argon everywhere. I have had the practice of filling my carboys with argon before racking, my 6 gallon glass big mouth bubbler (where I filter my wine for bottling), any carboy actively fermenting but will excessive headspace (air lock is bubbling), etc. Is this practice of keeping oxygen exposure reduced excessive? Thanks

 

[winemaker81]

A lot of folks use Argon and other non-reactive gases. It works.

I don't use it for large headspace, because I can't see it.

Sounds crazy, right?

Well ... logically speaking, I realize if you pump enough argon into the headspace, it will displace the air. But I have no idea how much is enough, and I have no way to prove it. OTOH, when I fill the headspace with a compatible wine, I know 100% what is in that head space.

You're on my Whitepapers page. Read this one for my thoughts regarding O2:

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/oxygen-is-not-the-boogie-man-in-winemaking/

 

[Rojoguio]

Your white page subject on oxygen prompted the question. Seems the bottles corked with #8 corks smooth quicker than the bottles corked with #9 corks. Also the #8's will have a wet line up the sides of the cork a 1/4 to 1/2 inch where the #9's will not have any wet on the sides when pulled. The wines under the #9's taste like they are still green. The White Pages are fantastic!

Argon is heavier than air, I use a very low cubic feet per hour setting as I don't use regulators I use flow meters. Once in a carboy it only exits by displacement.

 

[winemaker81]

Your white page subject on oxygen prompted the question. Seems the bottles corked with #8 corks smooth quicker than the bottles corked with #9 corks. Also the #8's will have a wet line up the sides of the cork a 1/4 to 1/2 inch where the #9's will not have any wet on the sides when pulled. The wines under the #9's taste like they are still green.

If wine is showing evidence of going 1/4" to 1/2" up the cork, the cork is too small. The most likely reason the wine is aging faster is because it's getting O2.

If you're drinking the wine relatively quickly, say within 6 to 12 months of bottling, it's probably fine. I say "probably" because there is no guarantee. The longer the wine ages, the higher the likelihood that oxidation will ruin the wine.

Time is always a factor in winemaking. I make some whites, which age faster and are used up faster. I make occasional lighter reds for quicker consumption. Most of my production is heavy reds, which are bottled at 12+ months, and often need a year in the bottle for good aging.

A while back one of our members stated something like, "we are always making wine for the future." I wish I could remember who said it, as it's true.

The one good solution to your aging problem? Make more wine and have patience. Make more than you can drink, and make some early aging wines, which gives the others time to age.

 

[Rojoguio]

Thank you for the advice. I'm out of #8 corks. The vendor had #9's on sale, a better grade like the ones that sealed so well so I picked up 500 last spring while the sale was going on. I did make much more than I could drink last time and plan 200+ bottles this time. There is 150+ bottles in the racks now. I'm sitting on two full size upright freezers full of vacuum chamber packaged fruit we raised this growing season. If we didn't take the direct hit from the Tornado April 10th I would have had to buy another freezer, our trees were loaded with fruit. The Tornado stripped off a lot of green fruit and threw my 200 gallon planters with our citrus assortment all over the place reducing our harvest. Citrus is just now starting to ripen, we pick thru January.

 

[Rojoguio]

This what's on hand. All the bottled wines are 2 years or older. I color code the wines with the seals using a gold leaf adhesive tab for the type & date.

The Carboys are full of Muscadine except for one that is the Dark Sweet Cherry.