Degassing Wine

From my experience, kits were meant to be followed. Pot Meta does not flavor the wine, and is necessary. Also, when it says stirring - it means like a full 2 minutes of aggressive stirring. I use a power stir on a power drill to ensure it stirs enough. Got to get that CD out of the wine, or it will fizz and not be able to be bottled.

I like Shiraz. If you taste before bottling, you'll know if it is good. If weak (ignore the alcohol and off taste), I blend with 10-20% Cab saug, but most wine kids from Ken Ridge are good as is.

DAve

JB wrote:

Ah, good, you found the correct newsgroup for your query. K-meta has nothing to do with removing dissolved CO2; while adding it may result in a flurry of bubbles due to the nucleation sites the powder creates, this is not its primary purpose and there is no guarantee that all of the CO2 will be removed. K-meta sanitizes your wine by releasing sulphur dioxide (SO2), which kills most bacteria and discourages yeast. It's often added at the end of fermentation to prevent infections and to help stop fermentation.

Wine often contains dissolved CO2, created as a byproduct of fermentation. Particularly at the end of fermentation, there is a positive pressure buildup in the headspace of the fermenter which forces the CO2 into the wine. The result is a lightly carbonated wine, which is undesirable when you were planning on a still wine. There are several variations of technique in degassing wine, but the simplest way is to take a sanitized dowel or plastic rod, stir the wine vigorously, then replace the airlock and let the wine settle for half an hour. Repeat until no more CO2 is released when you stir.

Actually, at this stage, the K-meta is primarilarly present as an anti-oxidant. It helps to give your finished wine some shelf life.

Steve

Disclaimer - I have never made a kit wine, and don't know their nuances. But for my red wines, I don't stir / degas. I let time do it's work. I bulk age for a fairly long time - reds are almost never bottled before 20 months from crush - many longer. But my whites always need degassing. Even if I think the wine is completely stable and I bottle without degassing, I'll get a slight spritz in the wine. Not good.

My 2 cents on that: Since I've done many kits (16), I tried following that advice on a Shiraz once - bulk aged it for 6 months - and it oxidized within 2 months of bottling. I might have done something wrong, but when it comes to 30 bottles - I've decided to follow the directions on kits. When I contacted the manufacture, they said they don't recommend bulk aging their kits. (even though some list it as an option)

I've bulk aged recipes (non-kits)and it worked. All I can say - this was my experience. But your mileage may vary - since I am not an expert wine maker. smile.

DAve p.s. what I learned > Disclaimer - I have never made a kit wine, and don't know their

It's actually a stretch using the term 'stabilize' for sulfite; that term is usually used when you are talking about keeping a wine from re- fermenting, especially a sweet wine. Sorbate is usually used in conjunction with sulfite to stabilize a non dry wine although there are better ways to do that if you have the money... Many things can cause instability. Sulfite alone, (at least in normal concentrations) won't keep a wine from fermenting.

Sulfites are used to prevent premature oxidation and MLF; if the free SO2 is high enough neither of those will happen until a lot of time passes and by the time the SO2 is consumed (likely several years) whatever might have caused instability may have given up the ghost.

Anyway to get back to the thread, the best way to do this would be to degas by vigorous stirring (after removing some volume; maybe 1.5 liters in a 5 gallon carboy). Then add the sulfite once the stirring does not bring up more CO2. If you put it in first the stirring will consume the free SO2 which is actually what protects the wine. The SO2 will become bound and basically is of no use to you.

Joe

Thanks to all for the info!