Degasing

[bandit409]

How do i know when my my wine is degased?

 

[Elizajean]

I'm struggling with this as well. When I use the "whip" to degas, it still foams up, but I am wondering if that is just the action of the "beating". Interested in responses as well.

 

[Brian55]

How do i know when my my wine is degased?

Bulk age it for 6-12 months. Then pull a vacuum on it prior to bottling to assure there's no residual gas.

 

[Scooter68]

I've worked under the assumption that if you age a wine at least 6-12 months degassing should not be needed as long as you don't age it at too cold a temp. Perhaps I'm wrong but that's what I have gleaned from reading on here. TIME is the best cure for manyl wine conditions.

 

[jgmann67]

I've worked under the assumption that if you age a wine at least 6-12 months degassing should not be needed as long as you don't age it at too cold a temp. Perhaps I'm wrong but that's what I have gleaned from reading on here. TIME is the best cure for manyl wine conditions.

Time (6+ months) and temp (70+ degrees) will degas a wine, sure. But you know by taste and test.

Does your wine taste like it should or is there are sharp, acid or fizz taste to it?

Do the"poof" test - fill a bottle 2/3 the way to the top. Put your thumb over the top and give it a good 1-2-3 shake. Is there a frothy head on it? Does it go "poof" when you remove your thumb? If yes, you still have gas.

 

[KevinL]

I cut the bottom tip off of a Vacu vin wine preserver. I have a bung that fits the top, and then I use the little vacuum pump that comes with it. I pump it every few days, and eventually the bubbles stop. Once that has happened I know the wine is degassed.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKv-xPAL9Wk[/ame]

This is where I got the idea from.

Time will take care of it for the reds I've aged, but for Skeeter pee, and kits with a short turn around time this is what I use.

 

[AZMDTed]

How do i know when my my wine is degased?

That's a great question, which is a little different than how to degas. There's a couple 'tests' that are usually discussed:

1. Poof test. Fill your hydrometer tube half full and plug it with your palm. Shake it and when you release your palm if you hear a forceful poof, you've got gas. This doesn't really work for me as I can get a poof just using warm water.

2. Prickly tongue. Take a sip and see if you can feel that diet soda fizzing on your tongue feel. If so, you've got gas. My tongue is too burnt out from daily diet cokes for this to be sensitive enough for me.

3. Stir test. Put a serving of wine in a wine glass. Take a sip. Is there any 'bite' to it? Now stir it with a fork for a minute. Take another sip. Does it taste the same or better than your first sip? If it's the same then you're probably degassed already. If the stirred sip tastes better it's probably because you drove the CO2 out with the stirring and you need to degas more. This is the most effective test for me.

There may be other tests but those are the most common that I've tried and heard about. Best of luck. Degassing is a PITA and a source of several holy war threads here over the years. For me, one major key is having your wine at 75 degrees before and during degassing. That's the biggest factor that I've found. If you get to a point where you can age, especially in a barrel, then it will likely finish degassing on it's own. If not, then for me the only effective degassing technique I've found is stirring with a wine whip followed by a Harbor Freight vacuum degassing which is discussed in a couple threads.

Good luck.

 

[Floandgary]

You can make this enjoyable too ,,,,, simply take a mouthful, slosh it back and forth thru your teeth. You'll know if there's any fizz (CO2 gas). Then swallow and enjoy

 

[Smok1]

I vaccum rack my carboys upwards of 4 times or more before bottling. I also use the poof method, i will bottle my first bottle, put my thumb over it and shake, if i get a little poof when i release my thumb and theres bubbles that form at the top i will vaccuum rack again.