White bubbles

[rhenson]

We have had a few bottles of our first batch - a vinters reserve French Cab.

4 weeks in it was a bit flat and had a heavy plum tone to it, but tonights, at 5.5 weeks in the bottle had a real change - it got me excited enough to get moving on the second kit - no water this time - i will be looking for another cab, but expecting this one will need more time to age.

Anyway - trying to learn - when pouring, there is a thin layer of white bubbles on the surface around the glass on the surface of the wine - something I am not used to with store bought wine. Is this normal, or an indication of an issue in my process?

All in all, a great experience...we are sharing a second bottle tonight!

 

[Tom_S]

Sounds to me like the wine wasn't totally degassed before being bottled. Are there bubbles around the inside surface of the glass? If so, that's a good indication. Having just a little bit of carbonation is what's known as a "crackling" wine, as opposed to a sparkling wine like champagne.

 

[derunner]

Degasing can be tough to figure out. I've had one bottling and there is a bit of gas in it. I thought I had the gas out and it as very clear, but now I know there is some gas. I now have a vacuvin wine bottle stopper system and when i pump the air out of a bottle of this wine some bubbles form in the bottle. For a commercial wine that does not happen.

There are a lot o threads lately about degassing and I have been trying to learn from all of them.

 

[Tom_S]

Well I've found that if you let your wine age for a year or so, there's usually no gas left in it. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about a little bit of CO2 in the wine, at least it should help prevent against oxidation. However, I prefer my wine to be completely flat and without carbonation unless it's a sparkling wine.

 

[grapeman]

We have had a few bottles of our first batch - a vinters reserve French Cab.

it got me excited enough to get moving on the second kit - no water this time -

When you say no water this time- be sure you add the proper amount of water at the front end of the process, just no additional water to top it up when in the carboy. If you don't add the water at the start of a Vintner's Reserve kit, you will mess up the balance of the kit. You can add less water by choosing a larger size kit, which like you say will need plenaty of aging time.

 

[rhenson]

Thanks for the info everyone - I was hoping that it was just a degasing issue.

Yes, by no water, I meant a larger kit...sorry, I was a bottle in!

Looking at this one:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...lar-craft-showcase-red-mountain-cabernet.html

Thanks again!