Is this Bad.........

[Yanni]

Made my first batch of wine and bottled about 2 weeks ago. I sanitized the bottles and steamed the cork's. I left the bottles upright for 3 days before laying them sideways. Now I just checked them and there seems to be small air bubbles in the wine by the cork. Does air normally pass through the cork.

I am certain that it stopped fermenting because I checked the SG for 3 days and it was .990 all three times.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Well first of all we really need a little more information. Has your wine been degassed? How long has it aged (also helping with excess CO2)? When you bottled did you siphon in gently or abruptly? Did you back sweeten and if so did you add potasium sorbate?

Besides that yes sometimes air bubbles can form as a result of them being moved around and jostled. They should break and not return. If they do then you may have a refermentation due to unused sugar being fermented and or no, or insufficient, or bad sorbate being added. Another possibility is excess CO2 escaping.

Yes corks do breath but not fast. It's more of a slow adjustment.

 

[robie]

No, visibly discernible amounts of air does not pass through the cork.

Some questions:
Did you degas the wine?
How big is the gap between the top of your wine and the bottom of your cork? It should be about the width of two fingers.
Tell us a little more about the air bubbles. Are there just a few bubbles present? Can you shake the bottle and get the bubbles to dissipate?
Are the bottles leaking wine?

Sorry, I really don't know what you mean when you say there are bubbles present.

You don't need to steam corks, you just need to lightly rinse them with a sanitizing solution of Kmeta.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I agree - I think we need a little more info before really answering this.

Could be a few things.

 

[Yanni]

I made a Winexpert Chianti, and I followed the instructions. I did degas the wine by stirring it (5-10 min). After I stirred i used a wine saver vacuum pump and no bubbles came out of solution. The gap is about 2 fingers from wine to cork. If you shake them they do dissipate. And no the wine bottles are not leaking.

Here is a picture of what it looks like. I moved most of the bottles and made the bubble disappear. This is one bottle that had the fewest bubbles. A few bottles had 1 large bubble about the size of a dime.

 

[Yanni]

I made a Winexpert Chianti and followed the instructions. I degassed by stirring vigorously. I also used a wine saver vacuum pump and no gas came out of solution. When you move bottles the bubbles disperse. I will post a picture of one of the bottles

 

[Yanni]

Website wont let me post unless i have atleast 5 post.

 

[Yanni]

post number 4

 

[Yanni]

post number 5

 

[Yanni]

This bottle had the fewest bubbles. I moved most of the bottles. Several of them had 1 bubble that was the size of a dime.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53418607@N05/6266413237/in/photostream

 

[ibglowin]

Picture is not showing up for me but I got it to show up by going to flickr.

First off, NEVER steam or pour boiling water over corks, especially agglomerate ones!

They are held together with a binder that will break down with steam or boiling water, your corks will start to fall apart fairly quickly after you bottle. In your pic, your cork is out almost 1/4" it looks like. Is that all the distance you could insert it or did it get pushed back out over time?

 

[joea132]

Do you have any air space between the cork and your wine when it is standing up?

 

[ffemt128]

Looking at that, I would venture to say its nothing to be concerned about. It's like moving the bottle that has been corked you will get some bubbles from the small amount of air in the bottle mixing with the liquid.

JMHO

 

[Rocky]

Some comments that may or may not be related to your issue:

a. that bottle looks "over full." On the Bordeaux type bottle you only should fill to the "shoulder" of the bottle or slightly above.

b. The cork appears to be a composite of ground cork and a binder. Steaming corks can actually degrade the cork by weakening the binder.

c. You need to put the cork fully inside the neck, just slightly below the top of the bottle. You probably could not do this due to a, above.

d. Recommendation. Use a #9, 1 3/4" cork, not a #8 and not a 1 1/2" cork. Not saying you used a #8, but is sure looks like a 1 1/2".

Don't be discouraged. We have all been there and we are here to help. (And we are NOT from the Government!)

 

[Yanni]

the picture was taken with the bottle on its side, and not being disturbed for 2 weeks. I have about two fingers from bottom of cork to wine. And I did use #8 corks. Does that make a big diffidence.

 

[Rocky]

Two fingers is great! The #8 cork has a smaller diameter and does not seal as well as a #9. However, that being said, it really depends on what you plan to do with the wine. If you just need to cork it for a few months, a #8 will be fine. I have some #8's that I use for partial left over bottles and that will be consumed in the next few days or a week. For longer storage, I would go to a #9. Cost is not that much more and it is just another level of protection for the wine.

 

[robie]

From the photo, the cork looks like it is about 10 years old. The portion that is sticking out of the bottle is starting to come apart. That's likely because you steamed the cork and all the small chunks, which make up the cork, are separating.

Also, the cork is not as far into the bottle as it should be. The top of the cork should be slightly below the top of (into) the neck or at least flush with the top.

As far as I am concerned the bubbles are not an issue, since they break up.

As Rocky wrote, if you are going to drink ALL this wine within a few months, you maybe OK, provided you inspect them periodically. However, if you intend to age longer, I would buy some new #9 corks, sanitized them by pouring a Kmeta solution over them, not soaking them; then cork again.

 

[pete1325]

I agree, I don't think you have a problem. But just to be on the safe side I would stand the bottles up right for a while so you don't blow the cork off in case you have an issue with O2. Hate to waste good wine.

 

[cpfan]

Choice of cork size for some people depends on the type of corker that they have. Many people who have hand corkers find the #8 corks much easier to insert.

Steve

 

[Yanni]

thanks for the help.