Slight carbonation?

[Mike]

Both red wine kits I've made have had what I'm concluding is a very small amount of carbonation to them after aging 6+ months. It is a VERY small amount, almost unnoticeable taste-wise. The only reason I can tell (assuming that it's actually carbonation) is when I pour a glass, there is a thin white ring around the glass at the top of the wine. I didn't notice this in the one white kit I made, but it may have been because the white ring was hard to see without looking on top of the white wine.

Is this a very small level of carbonation? Is it some issue with bottling? The FGs of these wines have been the expected ~0.996. Even if they were being stored in a warmer area, I don't think the yeast has any sugar left to eat to create CO2.

 

[Tom]

What you have is trapped GAS. Almost all wines should be degassed during fermentation. Next time you make wine get a degasser and degas your wine. To solve you problem now just decant before drinking and swirl the decanter.

 

[Mike]

I have a degasser (a drill-powered mix stirrer) and I degassed the sh*t out of the wine before I bottled.

 

[Tom]

You missed a few bubbles.. Musta been hiding...

 

[Mike]

Fair enough! I'll degas more in the future. How many minutes do those that use a drill-powered mix stirrer degas for? I usually do it for 4 minutes or so (2-3 recommended in the instructions), but it's hard to really get after it without ending up with wine on the walls. Perhaps I'll get an extra lid and drill a hole in it for the stirrer to go so I can let 'er rip. :>

 

[Tom]

Sounds good what U R doing. Do not use HIGH rather "stir" the wine on LOW speed

 

[Mike]

I use the highest speed I can without spilling. I'd call it "medium".

 

[Tom]

You are aerating the wine. That is introducing air into the wine. Some here use high but only in spurts not for 4 minutes you are doing. You should be adding more k-meta so it don't oxidize with your method. Next time use slow.

 

[Mike]

Will do. Thanks. It doesn't taste oxidized. How many RPMs are we talking for "low"? Can you estimate?

 

[Tom]

50 min...

 

[Mike]

50 RPM? Wow that's really slow.

 

[Tom]

oops
Thought you meant something else.
I use the "screwdriver" speed and a little higher

 

[Mike]

I'm on schedule to bottle a shiraz and melbac (kits) today or tomorrow. I just took a sample to see if the wines are clear and they both are. I sampled each and with the melbac, I'm not sure if I am confusing what I found with the sharpness of alcohol burn, but I thought I sensed the same very slight carbonation that I've had issues with before that is apparently a result of not enough degassing. I'm not sure how to better degas if that is, in fact, the issue. I have a drill-powered degasser and mix for about 5 minutes, until I feel confident with the degassing.

Could it be gas still present? I didn't see any white ring around the sample glass. Is there anything I can do at this stage any way?

 

[phermenter]

Mike: A good test is to put a few ounces in a small bottle (one of the individual wine bottles or a beer bottle or something) then shake it a bit. If there is a pfft or poof or however you want to describe it, then there is still gas. Sometimes you have to degas wines several times to get it all out. Also, it helps to have the wine at about 75 degrees or so. It releases the gas better at warmer temps.

Jim

 

[Wade E]

What temp are you degassing at, you should be dgassing at 75* for proper degassing as cooler temps will hold C02 in suspension. You dont want to operate the drill in one direction, you want to get the wine slightly going in 1 direction and then reverse it until it just gets going in that direction. You want to disturb the wine, not stir it!

 

[Mike]

The wine is probably between 65-70 when I degas it, whatever the temp is in my basement. If it fails the bottle test, what should I do at this point? Is it too late to degas again?

 

[Wade E]

If i isnt bottled then its never to late to degas, get the temp up by putting the carboy in a water bath to get the temp up to 75* it will help you degas much better.

 

[Mike]

Ok cool. I normally use oil heaters on low beside my wine carboys to raise their temp. This week, I'll do that and then use the stirrer on a much lower setting to basically agitate the wine not really stir it. Thanks Wade.

How long should I let it sit after I do this before I bottle? 2 weeks?

 

[Hillbilly Bill]

Ok cool. I normally use oil heaters on low beside my wine carboys to raise their temp. This week, I'll do that and then use the stirrer on a much lower setting to basically agitate the wine not really stir it. Thanks Wade.

How long should I let it sit after I do this before I bottle? 2 weeks?

You should be able to bottle immediately after degassing unless your wine needs to settle. After you have degassed to your satisfaction, when to bottle is entirely up to you.

 

[Wade E]

Agree with HB. Just let the foam settle if you create some and then your good to bottle.