Oxidation question

[Trucifer_x]

I am a relative newcomer here. Have been making small batches (read single bottles) of wine for a couple years as well as beer kits, and have recently started doing 5-6 gallon batches of wine, usually from store bought fruit juice. I don't have an auto siphon (live in northern Canada so to buy one online with shipping is ~$40). I have been just carefully pouring wine from carboy into the bottling bucket (beer kit plastic bucket).

To date I haven't had any oxidation problems but the batches I've made usually only sit a couple months. They've mostly been in the 7-8% ABV range. My question is this: is there some measured amount of kmeta I could/should be adding prior to bottling knowing I'm going to aerate the wine by pouring it?

 

[salcoco]

standard is 1/4 tsp for 5 gallons. should get you close to 50ppm dependent on ph.

 

[Trucifer_x]

Awesome, thanks a bunch

 

[TonyR]

Why pour it? Get a hose and siphon it.

 

[Trucifer_x]

I've tried it with a hose but without an auto siphon or racking cane you've got very little control and it tends to be unsanitary priming the gravity feed with water/plugging the hose with a finger.

 

[TonyR]

Have always put the full carboy on a table, empty on the floor, hose in full carboy sucked a little air out of the hose and placed hose in empty carboy and it flows nice. And if you get a mouthful of wine all the better

 

[newBendOrfanatic]

When I first started, I had some luck starting the syphon by sticking a sanitized turkey baster in the hose end with the bulb compressed.

 

[Tnuscan]

I've tried it with a hose but without an auto siphon or racking cane you've got very little control and it tends to be unsanitary priming the gravity feed with water/plugging the hose with a finger.

Maybe you could get some sterilized gloves.

 

[Arne]

If siphoning out of a carboy and you have one of those big orange carboy caps with the two openings in it, put the racking cane in one opening, snap the lid on the carboy, blow in the other opening. OH, make sure you have the racking hose on the cane. Anyway, instant siphon. I also put a small hose in the opening you blow in. Just goes a bit into the opening, not clear down into the wine. Makes it easier to get to. Arne. By the way, I can't take credit for this. It came from a post on WMT years ago.

 

[kevinlfifer]

I insert the racking cane in the center/shorter stem. Place the cap on the carboy, set up your bottle with the filling wand in the first bottle to be filled. Then blow into the longer stem. The positive pressure starts the siphon.

You really need to get a tip for your racking cane. It redirects so the cane draws from above.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/3-8-curved-racking-cane-15-length.html

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47707&page=2

 

[tbayav8er]

I know someone who degases his wine by pouring the wine from his carboy into a plastic pail, and dumping it back and forth between pails several times until there are no more bubbles. He just adds 1/4 tsp of k-meta, and I've tasted wines of his that are 3 years old, and they are great. His technique is a little risky for my liking, but to each their own I guess.

 

[wineforfun]

As TonyR stated, just suck on the end of some hose to get the siphon going. Have been doing it this way since I started.

 

[Floandgary]

I know someone who degases his wine by pouring the wine from his carboy into a plastic pail, and dumping it back and forth between pails several times until there are no more bubbles. He just adds 1/4 tsp of k-meta, and I've tasted wines of his that are 3 years old, and they are great. His technique is a little risky for my liking, but to each their own I guess.

Much the same as splash racking @3 month intervals as you age for a year!