importance of degassing and aging.

[rshosted]

I had a BBQ this weekend and pulled out a 16 month old bottle of Borolo that I had made. A few weeks ago I had one and noticed the ever so slight carbonation flavor, like sparkling water. So this weekend I put my FoodSaver Vacum on the bottle (it came with wine bottle corks that allow me to suck air from the bottle). I could see ever so slight bubbles coming up. When I noticed that I shook the bottle for a few minutes to see it foam up.

Well after about 15 minutes, the foam started to subide when I woul shake it. I tried the wine again. It was much better! I couldn't believe the difference. I have 8 bottles of the borolo left. So here is the question (finally).

Will the carbonation ever naturally leave a corked bottle?

Does a little bit of carbonation like that help preserve the wine (i.e. make it age slower)?

I don't think there is enough carbonation to uncork and recork them. I'll probably just vacum-shake then decant them. Just wonder if they have aged more slowly because of the pressure and co2.

 

[Funky Fish]

I've heard that carbonation will never leave a bottle. If you cork it with CO2 in solution, that CO2 will stay in solution (unless you heat it, I suppose).


I'm not sure how CO2 affects aging. Heck, it may not.

 

[geocorn]

With a cork in the bottle, there is no way for the CO2 to escape. If you have a sparkling wine by mistake, open the bottle and either decant it or shake it up to get rid of the gas. Let it sit for 30-60 minutes and the CO2 will be gone.