Aerating Wine

[Jsbeckton]

I am a long time brewer giving a 1 gal wine kit a try for the first time. I have read that you want the wine to "breathe" for yeast growth early in fermentation so an airlock is a bad idea. Can I just aerate with pure o2 for 60s and then add an airlock just like I do with beer before pitching or does it require actual air contact?

I also have a chest freezer that I ferment beer in, that would also inhibit free airflow as well so that might not work if that's needed. It was just nice to have w temp controlled place to set it and forget it with beer, is the fermentation really that different that you need actual air contact?

I might also note that my primary is in a 6 gal bucket so I have 5 gal of head space. Will transfer to a 1 gal jug for secondary.

 

[Jsbeckton]

Also, is there an equivalent of the BJCP guidelines for wine? My kit said the OG should be between 1.080 and 1.097 which seems like a huge range so I wasn't sure if that was for any table wine or my kit. It was a Cabernet and I was about 1.095, hope that's in the range for this style!

 

[DoctorCAD]

Wine is SO MUCH LESS stressful than beer. Just leave the top open and covered with a towel, do not oxygenate...ever!

the range in SG is pretty normal, wines range from 10 to 15 percent, the alcohol content can vastly change the taste of wine. I try to keep mine somewhat low, around 12.5% to allow the grape flavor to come through. 1.095 is "the new normal" for Cabs, seems high alcohol wines are in style lately.

 

[Jsbeckton]

Thanks. Yeah, seems pretty stress free as I "made my wine" while waiting for my wort to boil! I am cringing at the thought of an open bucket of red wine laying around with a 3 year old who loves curious George. Guess I will have to find a good spot.

 

[lukebuz]

I belt a board/plywood to the bucket to keep my kiddo out. No way it's airtight, but would allow him to even sit on the bucket without worry.

Bucket - Thin Towel - Board - Belt.

 

[Mismost]

Thanks. Yeah, seems pretty stress free as I "made my wine" while waiting for my wort to boil! I am cringing at the thought of an open bucket of red wine laying around with a 3 year old who loves curious George. Guess I will have to find a good spot.

I just pour/splash into my fermentation bucket, pitch the yeast, and just sit the bucket lid on top to keep flies/bugs/dust and crap out of the bucket. If I have added fruit or grape pack (in a bag), I punch down the fruit/bag every day with a big spoon sprayed down with starsan. After about a week I snap on the lid and airlock it.

I would keep it away from toddlers because They are just the right size to topple in head first and then not be able to get out.....it could be a real hazard. Sorry, just remembered you have one gallon batch...so you would just a big mess.

 

[mrchaos101]

I am a long time brewer giving a 1 gal wine kit a try for the first time. I have read that you want the wine to "breathe" for yeast growth early in fermentation so an airlock is a bad idea. Can I just aerate with pure o2 for 60s and then add an airlock just like I do with beer before pitching or does it require actual air contact?

I also have a chest freezer that I ferment beer in, that would also inhibit free airflow as well so that might not work if that's needed. It was just nice to have w temp controlled place to set it and forget it with beer, is the fermentation really that different that you need actual air contact?

I might also note that my primary is in a 6 gal bucket so I have 5 gal of head space. Will transfer to a 1 gal jug for secondary.

As far as I know the yeast only needs 02..not air contact. So as long as you aerate it often enough not to stress out the yeast I think you would be fine. Would seem like less of a chance to get a baddie in there before your alcohol levle gets up enough to help protect its self some..... I would love to see your set up? Can you post pics?

Head space on the primary should not matter while it goes... but you don't want head space once your done. Going to the 1 gal jug is the right idea.

 

[Barley-and-Hops]

So it is harder to answer this without more info about the kit, is it white, red? does it have grape skins in it? With skins you always want to "punch down the cap" 1-2daily during fermentation. For whites and no-skin reds you'll want to stir the wine lees once a day during primary to prevent a reductive wine that can have sulfurous problems. I would never use an O2 tank/stone, it is really easy to overdo it with oxygen leading to brown oxidated wines and possibly vinegar notes. You need to walk the line between overly reductive and overly oxidative. I would do this with an air lock and stirring the wine daily. With no cap I would not go open bucket and always screen it from fruit flies if you do.

 

[Jsbeckton]

Yeah, I still have not heard what makes wine so different from beer yeast as far as aeration. I love the fact that I can put O2 in my beer then toss on the airlock and put it in my keeper at whatever temp I desire. This "open to the air" concept has my dragging a carboy around my house trying to find a spot with the right temp. I think I will be adding put O2 to my next batch at the onset just like beer to see if it's really worth this hassle.

For what it's worth, have been making big reds with and without skins. Will prob be sticking to skins from now on.

 

[Barley-and-Hops]

Reds are always bigger and better with skins in my opinion, the main difference between O2 in wine and beer is not the yeast requirements but the damage that O2 can do to other compounds in wines. There is also a considerably longer aging cycle and dissolved O2 remaining after fermentation leads to spoilage. Anaerobic fermentation can lead to unhealthy sulfurous odor producing yeast and stuck fermentations; over oxygenated must leads to brown wine, acetic acid(vinegar) production. Exposing the wine to air slowly (punch downs/stiring during fermentation) is better than blasting it with an O2 and over saturating it. A good analogy is watering your garden a little bit each day vs flooding it once a month.

 

[Jsbeckton]

Yeah, if both yeasts only need O2 during the reproductive stage that punching down the cap 3 days in seems too late. I have make Belgian beers that I have added O2 to and aged them 5 years so I have also not experienced storage issues. Has anyone actually tried this and had issues are are these all just boogeyman stories like hot side aeration?