New member from MS

[user 52843]

Hi all,

I am just getting started on my winemaking journey. I have started two kits of Cabernet.

I am having a very difficult time degassing the first kit. I have used a wine whip, splash transferred the wine, and used a vacuum pump, and it is still not totally degassed.

Any advice regarding how to effectively degass will be very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Ohio Bob]

Rack, add Kmeta, and just leave it alone. In time it will naturally degas.

 

[user 52843]

Is kmeta potassium metabisulphite?

 

[Fencepost]

Is kmeta potassium metabisulphite?

Yes. K is the symbol for Potassium on the Periodic Table of Elements... and meta, well, it's shorten version of metabisulfite.

 

[ratflinger]

Please describe your process. All of those methods will help, but time is the most important. At first I did all those things too, but soon learned that time did it the best, and without all the extra effort. As a new wine maker your toughest challenge will be patience.

 

[user 52843]

How long does it take the natural way? I know it all depends, but is there an average amoint of time it takes?

Thanks for replying to my post.

 

[user 52843]

Yes. K is the symbol for Potassium on the Periodic Table of Elements... and meta, well, its shorten version of metabisulfite.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[user 52843]

Please describe your process. All of those methods will help, but time is the most important. At first I did all those things too, but soon learned that time did it the best, and without all the extra effort. As a new wine maker your toughest challenge will be patience.

I am using a kit wine that includes fermentation, secondary fermentation, degassing, stabilizing, and clearing.

I followed the instructions all the way through to bottling only to find that I still had a large amount of gas present. I have been trying to get rid of it ever since.

I was lucky though; the wine did clear even though it had all the CO2.

After the vacuum pump did not get all of it, I have been letting it sit.

 

[ChuckD]

I am using a kit wine that includes fermentation, secondary fermentation, degassing, stabilizing, and clearing.

I followed the instructions all the way through to bottling only to find that I still had a large amount of gas present. I have been trying to get rid of it ever since.

I was lucky though; the wine did clear even though it had all the CO2.

After the vacuum pump did not get all of it, I have been letting it sit.

How long between pitching the yeast and bottling?

I haven’t made kits but I read a lot of posts here about bottling in as little as 5 weeks per instructions. While you might make decent wine that way, you will almost always make a better product if you are patient. Give the wine two or three months topped up and under airlock then degass if necessary before bottling. With enough time you can also skip the fining agents. The extra time also allows the wine to go through early changes that take off the sharp edges.

 

[user 52843]

How long between pitching the yeast and bottling?

I haven’t made kits but I read a lot of posts here about bottling in as little as 5 weeks per instructions. While you might make decent wine that way, you will almost always make a better product if you are patient. Give the wine two or three months topped up and under airlock then degass if necessary before bottling. With enough time you can also skip the fining agents. The extra time also allows the wine to go through early changes that take off the sharp edges.

Thanks for the great information.

 

[ratflinger]

I'm running 7 months between pitching yeast and bottling. Some folks run longer, some less. At this timeframe I don't have CO2 issues at bottling. This also includes 3 rackings which also helps with degassing.

 

[user 52843]

Thanks for the information. I have ordered some Carboys for long-term storage.

 

[ChuckD]

Thanks for the information. I have ordered some Carboys for long-term storage.

It’s helpful to have a variety of sizes. I have 6, 5, and 3gallon carboys along with 1 gallon and 1/2 gallon jugs.

What kind of kits do you like? Some stick to kits but it seems most start mixing in country wines and/or purchase grapes too.

 

[Jovimaple]

Welcome to WMT!

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome aboard!

 

[David Violante]

Welcome to WMT!

 

[Rice_Guy]

Welcome to WMT

Your thread was on degassing. Warm temp speeds degassing. Basically it won’t actively foam if the temp where you will serve it is similar to the temp of the degassing step. If it doesn’t taste carbonated it is good enough.

 

[user 52843]

It’s helpful to have a variety of sizes. I have 6, 5, and 3gallon carboys along with 1 gallon and 1/2 gallon jugs.

What kind of kits do you like? Some stick to kits but it seems most start mixing in country wines and/or purchase grapes too.

I like dry red wines; I am not a fan of anything sweet.

I am starting with kits to educate myself. I plan to move up to skins and then to grapes. I will accumulate equipment as I progress. Speaking of equipment, do you use any equipment like the Blichmann WineEasy?

As I age, I look for easier ways to do things. What are some of your equipment recommendations?

Thanks again for your input.

 

[winemaker81]

I am having a very difficult time degassing the first kit. I have used a wine whip, splash transferred the wine, and used a vacuum pump, and it is still not totally degassed.

Degassing is often misunderstood. Wine will always have CO2 in it -- the goal is to let the excess out. You can whip and vacuum rack until the sun dies, and you'll still see bubbles in the wine.

In the past few years I degas all wines, but it's a gentle process. I stir (not whip) the wine for 1 minute, changing direction halfway through. That is all that is required. This doesn't remove all CO2 -- it releases a large amount of CO2 and jump starts the process, and the wine completes degassing over the following weeks. Natural degassing can take months, and that's also fine.

I degas as it facilitates clearing -- trapped CO2 will prevent sediment from dropping, so wines clear faster after degassing.

As a new wine maker your toughest challenge will be patience.

@Want2bwinemaker, you're going to hear the "P" word a lot. Winemaking is a procrastinator's paradise -- while fermentation has some time constraints, post-fermentation is a waiting game.

Kit instructions state you can bottle in 4 to 8 weeks. This is absolutely true. But your better choice is to not bottle before 4 months. I typically bottle whites and light reds in 4 to 6 months, heavier reds in 6 to 9 months, and the heaviest reds in 12+ months.

The hardest part for a beginner is that there is a lot of conflicting ideas that are all valid. @ratflinger bottles his wines at 7 months. I do a range. We have a few members that bottle everything at 18-24 months (or longer). These are all valid choices. Pay attention to why folks do what they do, and that will help you decide what you want to do.

As a beginner, you're fine with bottling at 4 months. Those first batches are going to evaporate quickly, more quickly than you will believe. That's ok. With time and experience you'll understand the need for patience.

 

[user 52843]

Degassing is often misunderstood. Wine will always have CO2 in it -- the goal is to let the excess out. You can whip and vacuum rack until the sun dies, and you'll still see bubbles in the wine.

In the past few years I degas all wines, but it's a gentle process. I stir (not whip) the wine for 1 minute, changing direction halfway through. That is all that is required. This doesn't remove all CO2 -- it releases a large amount of CO2 and jump starts the process, and the wine completes degassing over the following weeks. Natural degassing can take months, and that's also fine.

I degas as it facilitates clearing -- trapped CO2 will prevent sediment from dropping, so wines clear faster after degassing.


@Want2bwinemaker, you're going to hear the "P" word a lot. Winemaking is a procrastinator's paradise -- while fermentation has some time constraints, post-fermentation is a waiting game.

Kit instructions state you can bottle in 4 to 8 weeks. This is absolutely true. But your better choice is to not bottle before 4 months. I typically bottle whites and light reds in 4 to 6 months, heavier reds in 6 to 9 months, and the heaviest reds in 12+ months.

The hardest part for a beginner is that there is a lot of conflicting ideas that are all valid. @ratflinger bottles his wines at 7 months. I do a range. We have a few members that bottle everything at 18-24 months (or longer). These are all valid choices. Pay attention to why folks do what they do, and that will help you decide what you want to do.

As a beginner, you're fine with bottling at 4 months. Those first batches are going to evaporate quickly, more quickly than you will believe. That's ok. With time and experience you'll understand the need for patience.

Thanks for the input guys.