WineXpert WE Selection Australian Chardonnay

[wineinmd]

That stinks.

I'd be very gentle with the pour and would have some serious reservations over shaking it for fear of oxidation. Some quick reading though makes it sound like a sulfited wine might be able to handle it. I'll defer to the experts.

 

[Boatboy24]

Get it back in the carboy and be patient. I know that's hard to do, but it's worth it. If you can't get an AIO, spend the $20 or so on a brake bleeder from Harbor Freight. It's simple to operate and will make a big difference.

 

[jgmann67]

Get it back in the carboy and be patient. I know that's hard to do, but it's worth it. If you can't get an AIO, spend the $20 or so on a brake bleeder from Harbor Freight. It's simple to operate and will make a big difference.

I'm doing this today. Is there any concern with oxidizing the wine when I pour it back into the carboy?

 

[Boatboy24]

I'm doing this today. Is there any concern with oxidizing the wine when I pour it back into the carboy?

Yes. But I assume you had reasonable levels of sulfite when you bottled. Another dose at this time wouldn't hurt. You're not going to kill the wine by simply pouring it into a carboy, but you will 'blow off' some of that sulfite and will want to replenish it.

 

[jgmann67]

Yes. But I assume you had reasonable levels of sulfite when you bottled. Another dose at this time wouldn't hurt. You're not going to kill the wine by simply pouring it into a carboy, but you will 'blow off' some of that sulfite and will want to replenish it.

Yes, I did. So, I'll give 'er another dose and get cracking...

 

[jgmann67]

It's now under about 24" of pressure and looks like a fresh glass of soda. Figure I'll leave it pull the co2 for about an hour, keep the pressure up and see what happens. Maybe these get back in the bottle tonight.

I'm leery of leaving it in the carboy too long. There's about 5.5 gallons of wine in a 6.25 gallon glass carboy.

 

[ceeaton]

It's now under about 24" of pressure and looks like a fresh glass of soda. Figure I'll leave it pull the co2 for about an hour, keep the pressure up and see what happens. Maybe these get back in the bottle tonight.

I'm leery of leaving it in the carboy too long. There's about 5.5 gallons of wine in a 6.25 gallon glass carboy.

Jim, were did you get your brake bleeder equipment at?

BTW, my Viognier didn't pass the "remove a glass and shake up the bottle" test. Had a nice CO2 head on it. Wifey is off this weekend and promised to help me uncork 28 bottles if I make her another batch of her favorite wine. Guess my lack of patience is paying dividends.

 

[jgmann67]

Jim, were did you get your brake bleeder equipment at?

BTW, my Viognier didn't pass the "remove a glass and shake up the bottle" test. Had a nice CO2 head on it. Wifey is off this weekend and promised to help me uncork 28 bottles if I make her another batch of her favorite wine. Guess my lack of patience is paying dividends.

I went with the harbor freight $25 special. It has a bunch of adapters. So, I was able to find one that fit fine in the bung for the glass Carboy. It's pulling 24" of vacuum pressure for about 2 hours and I'm still getting bubbles.

 

[sour_grapes]

Two things help quite a bit: have the wine warmish (~75F) and agitate it. I put a towel under the carboy for cushioning, then tilt and shake it while under vacuum.

 

[jgmann67]

Well, the wine is about 72*. Under pressure for 3.5 hours. Agitated for the last 20 min, until it stopped losing pressure. Back in the bottles, corked and tucked in for the night... Good night from the basement of the science building.

 

[Boatboy24]

I went with the harbor freight $25 special. It has a bunch of adapters. So, I was able to find one that fit fine in the bung for the glass Carboy. It's pulling 24" of vacuum pressure for about 2 hours and I'm still getting bubbles.

You will always get some bubbles. I've found that 20" for even 30 minutes will get pretty much all of it out. And as Paul said, make sure your wine is a little on the warm side. 70-75F.

I'm not the expert on vacuums, but IIRC, Vacuumpumpman has said that you can start to 'boil off' the alcohol with too much vacuum for too long.

 

[wineinmd]

A quick Google search shows that alcohol can be removed under pressure through vacuum distillation. The end result might get you kicked off the site.

 

[sour_grapes]

I'm not the expert on vacuums, but IIRC, Vacuumpumpman has said that you can start to 'boil off' the alcohol with too much vacuum for too long.

The dangers of this have been greatly overstated. If you are using a brake bleeder to supply the vacuum, there is essentially no chance of harming your wine that way.

 

[jgmann67]

A quick Google search shows that alcohol can be removed under pressure through vacuum distillation. The end result might get you kicked off the site.

How much alcohol could I have lost doing what I did??

Learning a lot this week. So, vacuum for 30 about minutes, 20" vacuum, temps at 75* and a little jostling while under vacuum = enough.

I'm thinking that when I rack the Eclipse Merlot next month, I'm going to pop it in the glass carboy, degas as described above, then dose with KMeta and rack again into plastic carboy and WAIT another 3 months before bottling.

 

[wineinmd]

How much alcohol could I have lost doing what I did??

Learning a lot this week. So, vacuum for 30 about minutes, 20" vacuum, temps at 75* and a little jostling while under vacuum = enough.

I'm thinking that when I rack the Eclipse Merlot next month, I'm going to pop it in the glass carboy, degas as described above, then dose with KMeta and rack again into plastic carboy and WAIT another 3 months before bottling.

No idea. I imagine there would be a ton of variables involved, but considering the temperature you were at and the time you spent under vacuum, I imagine it wouldn't have been that much in a 5.5 gallon volume.

 

[Boatboy24]

Learning a lot this week. So, vacuum for 30 about minutes, 20" vacuum, temps at 75* and a little jostling while under vacuum = enough.

It depends. On a lot. That's all I can say. In my experience, that's been fine. Your mileage may vary.

 

[jgmann67]

So we opened a bottle last night to see how it had progressed. There's a lot of mineral and some floral on the nose. Not much fruit. It needs more time, maybe?

 

[jgmann67]

I don't want to sacrifice too many bottles... How long should I wait to open then next one?

 

[jgmann67]

Two months later and the wine is substantially better. More fruit, less floral. Still has a harder edge that will mellow in time.

I think another 6 months and the chard will be in its prime.

The test: asking my wife if she drank a bottle, would she buy another...

For $15 - maybe.
For $10 - probably.
How about the actual cost of $3.50 - she'd buy a case or two.

 

[ceeaton]

I'm having about the same experience in flavor development on the Pinot Grigio juice bucket I did in May. One thing is that the "hard edge" is somewhat appropriate to the Pinot Grigio flavor profile. It has a nice acidic slap you in the face flavor at this point. A lot of fruit comes through. Though it finished dry my Mom thought it was off dry, that is either all the fruit coming through or the Opti-white I added at the start of fermentation.

Becoming my wife's go to wine, all but one of the 375 ml bottles are gone (had 10 of them to start).