Dry Ice / Oxidation

[Mkwine]

As an idea to help reduce and prevent oxidation, my idea is to stop by my local ice store and buy a few pounds of food grade dry ice. 10 bucks worth for 5 pounds.

The idea is to drop a few nuggets into the carboy prior to rack transferring and let the carboy fill up with CO2, displacing oxygen. As the wine transfers, it should be in a oxygen free carboy, helping to optimize flavor. CO2 being heavier than air...

Just wondering if anyone has ideas or suggestions or is this just a bad idea?

My original idea was to buy a CO2 compressed gas cylinder however after reviewing with my wife, Im on to plan B, dry ice.

Let it rip fellas!

 

[sour_grapes]

My opinion is that there is nothing wrong with your plan, and it should work as you envision it. However, IMHO, this seems to be a solution in search of a problem. I don't think the O2 exposure due to a racking will have any deleterious effect on your wine. I think you would see better results by spending the $10 at the liquor store than the ice store!

 

[Ajmassa]

My opinion is that there is nothing wrong with your plan, and it should work as you envision it. However, IMHO, this seems to be a solution in search of a problem. I don't think the O2 exposure due to a racking will have any deleterious effect on your wine. I think you would see better results by spending the $10 at the liquor store than the ice store!

I agree Paul. But in MY humble opinion, not only do I think racking would not have deleterious effects (assuming deleterious is a real word lol) but the little bit of exposure can be beneficial for big reds.
I think getting my wine mature quicker is a good thing—— for example, Say your opening 2 bottles of an expensive cab from 2012. But if I decanted one every year for a few minutes and recorked it, after 6 years which wine would taste better?
All that said— I think the ice idea is pretty cool. And in spite of my thing for o2, theres plenty of situations where exposure is not ideal. Btw- How much ice (co2)can go into the wine before any deleterious effects? (Real question [emoji6])
I’ve also seen videos of small wineries giving each bottle a little shot of co2 right before filling. A nugget of ice may be just as efficient I’d think.

 

[kuziwk]

N

As an idea to help reduce and prevent oxidation, my idea is to stop by my local ice store and buy a few pounds of food grade dry ice. 10 bucks worth for 5 pounds.

The idea is to drop a few nuggets into the carboy prior to rack transferring and let the carboy fill up with CO2, displacing oxygen. As the wine transfers, it should be in a oxygen free carboy, helping to optimize flavor. CO2 being heavier than air...

Just wondering if anyone has ideas or suggestions or is this just a bad idea?

My original idea was to buy a CO2 compressed gas cylinder however after reviewing with my wife, Im on to plan B, dry ice.

Let it rip fellas!

Ever used dry ice but not sure I would feel comfortable putting something like that in the wine. For one you can risk cracking the carboy or freezing the wine...however unlikely that would be. My personal opinion is if you Sulphites your wine racking is fine and can help the wine mature faster. I just don't think it's necesary.

 

[StevenD55]

Pure CO2 is heavier than air, especially cold CO2. I suppose if wanted to try it without putting it in your carboy directly, you could let the gas flow in via a funnel at the mouth of the carboy. A vent tube for the air to escape might be helpful.

 

[kuziwk]

Pure CO2 is heavier than air, especially cold CO2. I suppose if wanted to try it without putting it in your carboy directly, you could let the gas flow in via a funnel at the mouth of the carboy. A vent tube for the air to escape might be helpful.

Maybe it would be easier and safer to use a CO2 tank? I've heard of some wineries doing this...maybe they are the organic wineries?

 

[ASR]

I have heard of wineries using nitrogen to top off tanks for bulk aging. I don't think it displaces all the air, but it forms a barrier layer between the surface of the wine and the air

 

[C B]

just let the dry ice evaporate, then it's not "in your wine". I wouldn't have the cold dry ice touch any of the wine due to it's temperature, but once it evaporates it should be completely safe to rack into

this is an interesting idea

 

[sour_grapes]

I have heard of wineries using nitrogen to top off tanks for bulk aging. I don't think it displaces all the air, but it forms a barrier layer between the surface of the wine and the air

No, this is not true. Gases freely mix on a timescale of a few minutes. Any oxygen left in the tank or headspace has unfettered access to the wine. There is no "blanketing effect."

(Not to mention that air is mostly nitrogen, and air is slightly denser than nitrogen anyway.)

However, you can reduce the amount of oxygen if you can successfully displace nearly all of the air.

 

[Michael Alspaugh]

As an idea to help reduce and prevent oxidation, my idea is to stop by my local ice store and buy a few pounds of food grade dry ice. 10 bucks worth for 5 pounds.

The idea is to drop a few nuggets into the carboy prior to rack transferring and let the carboy fill up with CO2, displacing oxygen. As the wine transfers, it should be in a oxygen free carboy, helping to optimize flavor. CO2 being heavier than air...

Just wondering if anyone has ideas or suggestions or is this just a bad idea?

My original idea was to buy a CO2 compressed gas cylinder however after reviewing with my wife, Im on to plan B, dry ice.
I would not drop dry ice in my carboys that I paid over 30+ dollars for and have the super cold ice crack the bottom. I think an all in one pump is better and will last for years and it has a head space eliminator option that is the BOMB!

Let it rip fellas!