Degassing

[Foldyard]

So I racked off the gross lees and had a go at degassing with a whisk attached to a drill. Result - virtually zero gas came off.
There were a lot of bubbles during the primary fermentation and I pressed when the sg was at 0.996. So I was a little surprised, but I guess it just means fermentation completed and the wine is dry. However Brix is at 5, so I am a bit puzzled.

Any thoughts?

 

[sour_grapes]

So I racked off the gross lees and had a go at degassing with a whisk attached to a drill. Result - virtually zero gas came off.
There were a lot of bubbles during the primary fermentation and I pressed when the sg was at 0.996. So I was a little surprised, but I guess it just means fermentation completed and the wine is dry. However Brix is at 5, so I am a bit puzzled.

Any thoughts?

When you say that "Brix is at 5," how was that measured? Refractometer? If so, you cannot (easily) determine Brix with a refractometer after alcoholic fermentation has commenced.

 

[Foldyard]

So I racked off the gross lees and had a go at degassing with a whisk attached to a drill. Result - virtually zero gas came off.
There were a lot of bubbles during the primary fermentation and I pressed when the sg was at 0.996. So I was a little surprised, but I guess it just means fermentation completed and the wine is dry. However Brix is at 5, so I am a bit puzzled.

Any thoughts?

Here is pic of my wine.

 

[Foldyard]

Yeh a refractometer. It started diverging from sg as fermentation progressed.

When you say that "Brix is at 5," how was that measured? Refractometer? If so, you cannot (easily) determine Brix with a refractometer after alcoholic fermentation has commenced.

 

[Raptor99]

If you know the original and current Brix, you can calculate the true current SG with this calculator: Homebrew Refractometer Calculator. You should ignore the SG scale on your refractometer, as it is only accurate before fermentation has begun. The Brix is accurate, but you need the calculator to determine the current SG once fermentation has started.

 

[sour_grapes]

Yes, your fermentation is finished. Ignore all that confusion about the Brix measured by the refractometer. Your fermentation is finished, and you need to move on to the next stage.

From your OP, I gather that the wine is pressed and racked off gross lees. Is it in a carboy(s)? If so, I would recommend that you sulfite the wine (~50 ppm) and have the wine topped off into the neck.

 

[Rice_Guy]

From the original post, I don’t see if this is a kit with skins or fresh grape. Normal is different if you are doing a 90 day kit or a year in the carboy wine.
Thoughts;
In a kit the presence of CO2 delays the clarification process. It helps suspend fine particulate therefore there is value on getting rid of it. ,, But CO2 is protective in a wine. I mainly do year long process country wines so I avoid degassing till I am ready to bottle. ,, Grandpa’s wine in 1910 would use bubbles as an indicator. Basically wine is a preservative, when the sugar is gone most families of microbes won’t grow so it was stable. If gramps was making a cider at 5% the CO2 added another level of protection. Does it taste slightly sweet?,, if so there is some spoilage risk,, if dry you should be stable.
,, What does visible gas mean? The only thing that you should assume is that the solubility of CO2 is less than the partial pressure at your temperature. If you drop the pressure / pull a vacuum you will see bubbles and if you raise the temperature you will see bubbles. If it is fall and your temperature is lower than when the fermentation started more gas will stay in solution.

 

[Foldyard]

From the original post, I don’t see if this is a kit with skins or fresh grape. Normal is different if you are doing a 90 day kit or a year in the carboy wine.
Thoughts;
In a kit the presence of CO2 delays the clarification process. It helps suspend fine particulate therefore there is value on getting rid of it. ,, But CO2 is protective in a wine. I mainly do year long process country wines so I avoid degassing till I am ready to bottle. ,, Grandpa’s wine in 1910 would use bubbles as an indicator. Basically wine is a preservative, when the sugar is gone most families of microbes won’t grow so it was stable. If gramps was making a cider at 5% the CO2 added another level of protection. Does it taste slightly sweet?,, if so there is some spoilage risk,, if dry you should be stable.
,, What does visible gas mean? The only thing that you should assume is that the solubility of CO2 is less than the partial pressure at your temperature. If you drop the pressure / pull a vacuum you will see bubbles and if you raise the temperature you will see bubbles. If it is fall and your temperature is lower than when the fermentation started more gas will stay in solution.

I used Italian Montepulciano grapes. Fermented. pressed and degassed at 72 degrees F. I added 60ppm sulfite during fermentation. I haven't added any more yet. I was thinking of adding more at the next racking.

 

[winemaker81]

I used Italian Montepulciano grapes. Fermented. pressed and degassed at 72 degrees F. I added 60ppm sulfite during fermentation. I haven't added any more yet. I was thinking of adding more at the next racking.

I add 1/4 tsp k-meta for 19-23 liters at every racking, post fermentation.

 

[Leon Boyd]

When you say that "Brix is at 5," how was that measured? Refractometer? If so, you cannot (easily) determine Brix with a refractometer after alcoholic fermentation has commenced.

True, usually a Brix of 5.0 is about as low as you'll see, especially when mixed with alcohol.

degassed