RJ Spagnols Suggestions for my Valpolicella Ripassa

[AlFulchino]

degassing is much more thorough at about 75 degrees

achieve that any way you can

time will also do it but much slower

 

[ibglowin]

68 is not warm enough. Get it up to 72 at least and 74 is even better. I use both Brew Belts and a Heating Pad these days.

The thing I really like about the heating pad is that it heats from the bottom up and not the side. I am getting lower ending SG's with the Pad.

I attach a digital thermometer (indoor/outdoor) type with some duct tape to the side of the carboy and add a folded piece of paper towel over the sensor tip for a little added insulation and more accurate reading. I also wrap the carboy in a heavy beach towel for more insulation. You may not need the towel but its 55 degrees in my winery/cellar in the Winter so its perfect for wine storage but way too cold for much else without turning on the heat which defeats the purpose of the cellar.

Set the Heating pad on a table and turn it on low or medium at the most and just keep checking back on it every few hours. It should come up to temp in 3-4 hours. Also make sure to check back often at first as some heating pads will turn off automatically after a few hours.

 

[AlFulchino]

read the article from the link below...a brilliant twist to degassing...the key is temp control throught your winemaking process....but that can sometimes not be possible

http://winemakermag.com/blogs/chasing-the-fizz.html/blogger/Tim Vandergrift/

 

[tonyt]

With the use of an electric blanket wrapped around the carboy for a few hours I got the temp up to 75. Added all of the proper additives for stabilizing and clearing, stirring each step of the way with drill mounted mix/stir. Worked great and got billions of tiny gas bubbles. Took on the look of pink mousse, I wish I would have taken a picture to post for y'all, I have never seen such frothy gas bubbles.

And thanks for all the help. The link was great too, you smart guys could talk for pages and pages about Tim's article.

 

[ibglowin]

Don't forget to keep it warm for about another week.

It will clear faster and any residual CO2 will escape faster if its kept warm for another week. After that you can remove any extra heat and let it fall to room temp which will still be pretty warm compared to a lot of us!

 

[Wade E]

Great article and thanks for sharing Al.