Other Costco kit in 2nd racking continues to 'bubble'

[johnnyvintner]

This is a Costco Merlot. I should say that in the primary it overflowed the bucket (I suppose it's possible I put too much water in). The process went well after that. Once the sg reached .995 I Racked to a secondary, waited about a week and then "killed" and clarified and moved it to what is now it's 2nd racking, where I had to top off with 4 litres of similar wine. That was in May/2010. My dilemma is that it seems be laying bubbles on top of the wine in the carboy right now. I've stirred it and just now checked the sg (it's about .990).

Any suggestions anyone?

 

[winemaker_3352]

CO2 bubbles - have you degassed?

Could have been a little fermentation going on - it looks like it dropped .005. If the SG has remained the same for 3 plus days - fermentation is done - and it is probably CO2 gas escaping out.

 

[johnnyvintner]

Costco kit continues to 'bubble'...

Jon

I'll need to rack again anyway, so if anything it should help disperse any gas, wouldn't you say? Then, after a week or 2, I should be able to safely bottle, I'm hoping. (^_^)

 

[cpfan]

Jon

I'll need to rack again anyway, so if anything it should help disperse any gas, wouldn't you say? Then, after a week or 2, I should be able to safely bottle, I'm hoping. (^_^)

I doubt strongly that racking on it's own will be sufficient to degas the wine.

Steve

 

[Green Mountains]

I doubt strongly that racking on it's own will be sufficient to degas the wine.

Steve

Yes, what Steve said. You need to stirrrrr vigourously per the instructions...I'm guessing that the kit directions mentioned this, the all generally do.

Don't be too quick to bottle....

As Tom say's .... the three P's.

 

[xanxer82]

Drill mounted Mix-Stir. Give it lots of time in the carboy. A couple more months.

 

[mmadmikes1]

don't bottle any wine quickly that is having gas problems unless you want to clean up the mess it makes when a low preasure system comes in and corks start flying. Merlot will stain everything in its path. Give it time, you can only help it but going fast can HURT it. CPFAN, Why do kits tell people to bottle wine so fast?

 

[diggerdan17]

CPFAN, Why do kits tell people to bottle wine so fast?

Its simple, the quicker one gets into a bottle the quicker they will consume .Then they head back to the wine shop and buy another. High turnover is what its all about, even though it may make for an inferior wine.


My 2 cents

Digger

 

[cpfan]

CPFAN, Why do kits tell people to bottle wine so fast?

You should ask the manufacturers, not me.

However, having run a Ferment on Premises, I can tell you that lots of folks don't even want to wait 4 weeks. Also, the FoP stores don't want the "ready to bottle" wine occupying their shelf space. However, a good FoP is going to talk steps to degas thoroughly, and probably filter. So some of the problems inherent with quick bottling won't occur.

Some FoPs are now using 7-day yeast packs to get the product into the customers hands even faster.

Steve

 

[johnnyvintner]

I am so thankful for this community...without it I might have bottled far sooner than I ought to have (even though it's been 2 months - a long time for a kit wine), and even though I've always followed the kit instructions, it's a relief to know that sometimes 'feeling' your way through a kit process can make the difference.
I'll take all the advice I've been given to heart. I'll start a new batch soon and, in the meantime, baby this one along and see how it turns out.

Thak you, everyone!

 

[Green Mountains]

The wine kit directions are just for luring then uninitiated. It takes longer to make a good wine..... it's OK to buy a kit, I've bought a lot of them but time and aging can make a world of difference in the final product.

 

[winemaker_3352]

There are also alot of folks on here who don't degas - they just do a lengthy aging process - time will get rid of CO2.

If you do degas - do it in temps about 73-75 degrees - it will help let out CO2.

 

[xanxer82]

Just keep your airlocks full and wait it out.

 

[NDGWines]

Gas?

My first post here and just wanted to say it is good to find another informative group to learn from!
De-gassing your wine is crucial for sure as others have said. Good wine takes time, that makes sense too... but if you follow the Argentia Ridge instructions and invest in a degassing tool for your power drill it will make a big difference. Another method is to invest in a small vacuum pump and use it to rack your wine from the primary to the secondary this too helps. I use an Enolmatic like many of the FOP places, it is the best investment I every made and it racks and degasses my wine, helps to avoid bottle shock by removing the air from the bottles when I bottle and generally makes your like as a home wine maker one heck of a lot easier!