CO2

Dave, It sounds like your on the right track. Keep degassing until there are no more bubbles (co2). Most people stir their wine vigorously or use a Fizz-X rod on a drill to do this. I have seen somewhere, a vacuum device like the one you've made advertised somewhere on the net so it should work ok. Just make sure you don't pull enough vacuum to implode a carboy!! BTW, excess co2 is usually the result of lower fermentation/storage temperatures (below 70F I believe). Your kit probably recommends a 65-70 fermentation temp after the first racking anyway everything you've done sound normal. Hope this helps. Al

It is not unusual to have to degas several times over a few months if you bother to degas. You might move it into a warmer part of the house first. Cool wine will hold more CO2 than warm and is therefore harder to degas. The vacuumed is questionable. I have never used that technique but some say that you will loose a lot of volatile compounds that will effect the bouquet and taste that way. Another trick is to use a bottle brush. Break the plastic handle off so you can fit it in an electric drill, insert it in the carboy and let it do the work. You may need to draw off some wine first so it does not climb out of the carboy when you are doing this.

Ray