Gas in white wines............

I've noticed when degassing WE kits, that whites are much gassier than reds and foam up like crazy during the degassing stage. Is there a good explanation for this? .....andy j.

Reply to
jomuam
Loading thread data ...

May I also add that I'm working at a WOP and using a Fizz-X agitator to degass. I'm suprised at the amount of work involved in degassing completely.It's taking a full 8-10 Hr. day, 6-8 stirrings 2 minutes a time and I still get foam. Am I being overly cautious before adding fining agent?....andy j.

Reply to
jomuam

I think you are overly cautious, or it's still fermenting. If this is a wine on premises what do they think? two minutes of stirring seems like a long time if you are really spinning it too. Your goal is to just get the gas out and a good spin gets that going.

Joe

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

I wonder if your not creating the foam by stirring. Air could be mixing into wine.

Don

Reply to
dshesnicky

If it continues to produce gas then it must still be fermenting. Take a hydrometer reading..........

Reply to
frederick ploegman

What's the SG? Are you sure fermentation is complete? If not all the stirring in the world won't degas it. :-)

Bryan

Reply to
Jake Speed

As for if they are still fermenting?.......rest assured they are not. All measure 0.994 to 0.990, so I'm safe in that respect. And according to Wineexperts introducing air is really not an issue when srirring. It's a new WOP and I'm the onsite "expert". However I'm a coverted hobby wine maker now having to go strictly by the kit instructions. At home We always let our kits sit for months ,don't we. .....andy j.

Reply to
jomuam

I noticed the exact same thing with two white wine kits I just completed. Lots and lots of foam. I never did seem to get rid of it. The SG was right. I too am wondering if this is normal.

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew

No....the S.G. is fine . Fermentation is complete. Wine has been stabilized. Must degass. It seems to me that lower end wine kits and whites hold onto CO2 the most. Can anyone else confirm? The trouble is with this group of wine makers here is we all bulk age our wines. We do not bottle at 4-6 weeks or someone may have run into this problem.

Reply to
jomuam

Andy, I don't make kits but I am a metrologist so I understand a little bit about gases in liquids from that field. At some point, a liquid is saturated with a gas. Since the gas is emanating from this particular liquid I'm sure it's saturated no matter whether its a kit or not. I doubt that has anything to do with it.

Could it be the following:

The 'dirtier' the wine the easier it is for the bubbles to form though. That could have a little bit of an influence.

temperature changes? (doubtful)

MLF?

I don't buy that 'air introduced during stirring is no problem' theory, that makes no sense unless they are just assuming the wine will be drunk before the oxidation takes it's toll. I'm not saying they don't know what they are talking about, just that I don't buy it, especially on a white.

Joe

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

Again I wonder if stirring a completely de-gassed wine won't produce foam just from the air and the must. If you think it's completely de-gassed then try using the Fizz-X on a slower speed and after you stop see if there is only a light to non-existant foam. If you agitate it faster and it produces more foam then this could prove that you are creating it by the act of de-gassing.

Don

Reply to
dshesnicky

I don't make kits but couldn't temperature explain this phenomenon? I typically ferment my whites at cooler temps. Cooler liquids can hold more dissolved gas. Also, less CO2 will have been released during fermentation leaving that much more to be manually driven off.

RD

Reply to
RD

Foaming is not the best proof of a gassy wine. To check for too much gas or not, pour about 200 ml of wine in a 375 ml bottle, cover the top of the bottle with your thumb, shake the bottle, and remove your thumb. If you hear a "poof" sound, it means the wine is not fully de-gassed. No or not much of a "poof" sound indicates no or not much gas,

HTH, Guy

Reply to
guy

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.