Oxyidation

[Bazin]

Hey everyone,

I recently started making my own wine (I bottled my first kit about a month ago) and of course, I couldn't wait to drink some of it earlier than the bottle aging time that I had planned.

The wine is quite nice and I can tell that it will improve with age. However, since I am the only person in the house that drinks wine, I often have a portion of the bottle that I have to keep overnight to drink the next day and I am finding that my wine (and my friend's) don't keep like a commercial wine.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Is there anything I can do (during the making of the wine, or after opening the bottle) to prevent the wine from turning on me? Obviously, drinking the whole thing is the "best" solution, but it isn't quite practical.

So, thoughts?

 

[Tom]

1st Welcome
2nd goto UserCp and fill in your location.
Need more info on what you do during fermentation and bottling and how long it takes before you think the wine went south. What kind of wine you are making?
I am thinking you may need to add K-meta at bottling.
Waiting for more info..

 

[smurfe]

First thing, welcome aboard. Glad to have you here. It is really quite simple. Kit wines are not sulfited nearly as high as a commercial wine. Many think that the sulfites are there to kill the yeast to inhibit re-fermentation but it's main goal is as an anti oxidant. Less sulfites equal less oxidation protection.

One tool you should buy is a Vacu Vin hand pump and a few stoppers. You can find them about anywhere that sells wine. This tool will create a vacuum seal on the bottle and allow you to save it for several days. I have kept wines for extended periods of time using this tool. I took a bottle out of the fridge recently that had been in the back for months. The stopper still "popped" when I removed it and the wine was still OK.

http://www.vacuvin.com/Vacuum_Wine_Saver_215.html

 

[Bazin]

Thanks for the responses.

I suspected that the sulfite levels might have been different between mine and the commercial wines, but I wanted some confirmation on that, which it seems I've been granted.

My kit was an RJ Spangols Grand Cru International South African Chenin Blanc kit. I'm not sure what brand and what sort of processes my friend's wines were subject to, but I noticed the oxidation with both.

I had added a sulfite package during the stabilizing/clearing phase that came with the kit, so I'm not sure how much there was in it. At bottling, I had added 1/4 tsp of sulfite as per the kit instructions for longer-term aging.

I can't say that I've seen a Vacu Vin here in Edmonton, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for for one.

Any other (preferably zero-cost) suggestions in the meantime?

 

[Wade E]

Even beter then the vacu-vin would be to get some cans of the inert gas in a can inwhich you spray in the bottel before you put your opened bottle away for the night, it displaces the 03 with the inert gas protecting it better then tha vacuvu=in can. Ive noticed a little flavor and aroma loss with the vacuvin.

 

[smurfe]

Even beter then the vacu-vin would be to get some cans of the inert gas in a can inwhich you spray in the bottel before you put your opened bottle away for the night, it displaces the 03 with the inert gas protecting it better then tha vacuvu=in can. Ive noticed a little flavor and aroma loss with the vacuvin.

Whats O3? ::

 

[Wade E]

Oops, fast typing and lots of drinking does that!

 

[Hillbilly Bill]

Whats O3? ::

Ozone... for future reference.

 

[rawlus]

if u are the only one drinking wine and also not likely to finish a bottle on your own, then i would consider bottling in 375ml bottles.

if that is not possible, obtain at least a few 375ml bottles and tasting corks, when you open a bottle, first pour half that into the 375 to the very near top and then stopper with the tasting cork so that a little wine squeezes out, essentially a complete seal with no headspace... then you can drink the rest of the bottle and the first half should keep alright for a day or two under optimal conditions.

wine enthusiast sells a fancy kit of the same idea, a 187ml flask and a 375ml flask, both with glass stoppers, you fill the flask first and then stopper so that wine leaks out just a bit. then drink the leftover.

 

[AlFulchino]

since we are mentioing oxidation...has anyone ever used something such as mentioned below, i am wondering specifically about what your thoughts are on a white wine that has seen some oxidation ...any thoughts would be appreciated thanks :

AL, FROM 'HOME WINEMAKING STEP BY STEP' POTASSIUM, CASEINATE (CELLAR TEM) CONSIDER FINING WITH CASEIN IF YOUR WINE HAS EXCESS ASTRINGENCY, GREENESS, EXCESS OAK, OFF FLAVORS OR COLORS, OR SLIGHT OXIDATION. IT IS RELATIVELY HARSH AND SHOULD BE USED SPARINGLY. IT WILL COAGULATE AS SOON AS IT IS MIXED INTO WARM WATER AND WILL DISSOLVE IN A COUPLE HOURS WITH OCCASIONAL STIRRING. FOR MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS, IT SHOULD BE FORCED INTO THE WINE IN A FINE STREAM WHILE RACKING AND BE STIRRED VIGOUROUSLY TO DISPERSE IT AND MINIMIZE CLUMPING. ALONG SYRINGE WITH A FINE TIP WOULD BE IDEAL. VERY LITTLE SHOULD BE NEEDED--TRY .L4-.26 G/5 U.S. GALLONS (.007-.014 G/L)

IF I FIND ANYTHING MORE, I WILL LET YOU KNOW.

 

[Dhorton]

I re-use 16oz Grolsch flip top beer bottles just for this reason. I bottle all my wine into 1 gallon jugs and let it bulk age. Then when its time to drink I transfer 1 gallon over to 8 grolsch bottles. I get 2-3 glasses per bottle, which is about a single nights worth for me...