how to know wine is de gassed

[doughussey]

How does one know if their wine is degassed? I have a batch of wine that i would like to bottle for christmas, but after a couple attemps to degas it i am still getting the occasional bubble in the air lock

 

[vinny]

When did you start it? What is the SG?

 

[ratflinger]

Yeah, we need the full history of the wine in question.

 

[winemaker81]

Bubbles in the airlock is not a clear sign of anything. Fermentation, outgassing, and changes in temperature or air pressure can produce bubbles.

Details regarding what you've done to the wine are required, else we are guessing.

 

[BigDaveK]

Definitely need more information.
However...
You could put a sample in a small jar and shake the crap out of it for a couple seconds. Lots of gas will give a foamy head. Less gas fewer bubbles. It's really interesting to see the difference if you do it during the course of bulk aging. If nothing else it will give you a rough idea.

 

[balatonwine]

How does one know if their wine is degassed? I have a batch of wine that i would like to bottle for christmas, but after a couple attemps to degas it i am still getting the occasional bubble in the air lock

A lot has to be based on experience. After twenty years doing this I kind of know when the wine varieties that I make is degassed. But even then I still let it sit a while to bulk age. Which takes care of cold stabilization and microbial stabilization without me having to think about them

But if you want to bottle for Christmas is another problem. Then you need to think about above mentioned stabilization issues. Not just CO2. There are a few wines are early to bottle. Such as Pinot Gris, or Beaujolais (known as "Thanksgiving wine" due to it early bottling options). For most other wines.... it is complicated. With wine time is your friend. Being impatient may be problematic. You may bottle and be okay. Or not. In short, it will be up to you when to pull the trigger.

Years go, bottling too early, I would go the the cellar and see broken bottles and wet ground. Bottling too early can be.... explosive.

 

[balatonwine]

Oops... Forgot to mention.....

Test your wine before bottling. To make sure it is dry, or fully fermented. Once I did not do that, despite being in the fermenter for 6 months and the wine while quite "still" I assumed it was t full fermented.

Oops. Being a tech quy I should have known better. But..... I am sad to say, I did not measure it. (lesson learned ... Never assume, always measure, since the world is complex and not what one assumes)

After bottling...... corks were popping out all over the place. Very embarrassing. Post analysis, the wine was not fully fermented (assumed got "stuck").

So always test your wine that fermentation is done (by Brix or specific gravity)..... before bottling.

Hope this helps. And hope this helps other wine makers about when to bottle. Experience matters. And I can only hope my experience adds to yours.