Degassing out of primary ?

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tjgaul

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Now that I have my new AIO wine pump I have a question about CO2 when transferring out of primary. If you're going to rack out of the primary vessel to a carboy at S.G. 1.000 - 1.010 and want to go totally dry then you would still have some fermentation yet to complete. Does using the AIO for this racking, and thus degassing (to some extent) in the process, assist or inhibit the completion of the fermentation? Is the accumulated CO2 helpful to finishing the sugar conversion or will degassing actually accelerate the ferment?

Would the answer be different if you were planning to leave the 1st racking on the fine lees for an extended period of time?
 
Now that I have my new AIO wine pump I have a question about CO2 when transferring out of primary. If you're going to rack out of the primary vessel to a carboy at S.G. 1.000 - 1.010 and want to go totally dry then you would still have some fermentation yet to complete. Does using the AIO for this racking, and thus degassing (to some extent) in the process, assist or inhibit the completion of the fermentation? Is the accumulated CO2 helpful to finishing the sugar conversion or will degassing actually accelerate the ferment?

Would the answer be different if you were planning to leave the 1st racking on the fine lees for an extended period of time?

Congrats on the AIO Tim. Since I have had mine it has made no difference. I usually rack below 1.000 though, but have between 1.000 and 1.010, they still finished dry. I don't think they finished any quicker or slower due to the AIO. If you're racking in that range it will be releasing more co2 through getting to dry.

I think with most kits you're fine. Kit with skins though might drop too much gross lees at that point needing another racking.
 
Thanks John & Paul,

I'm toying with the idea of leaving my current Sauv Blanc and possibly a future Riesling on the fine lees for a period of time. I'm probably spending too much time listening to the winemaking podcasts. According to several of the folks in a recent series focused on Riesling, leaving the wine on the fine lees without battonage can improve the complexity and mid palette without inducing too many other attributes. It may be different with kits vs. real grapes, but since most white grapes are pressed right away I figured there ought to be a correlation.

I'll say this about the AIO, it sure worked on the Sauv Blanc. I did a moderately long fermentation (about 25 days) and when I racked it with the AIO the wine went almost fully clear in a week without any of the fining agents added. Not to mention the ease of it all.

For the red kits with skins I'm pretty much going with the EM treatment so I'm not racking them until they are bone dry. No worries there.
 
Thanks John & Paul,

I'm probably spending too much time listening to the winemaking podcasts. According to several of the folks in a recent series .

What winemaking podcasts do you recommend? I listen to podcasts when I travel, so I'd like to check out a couple.
 

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