Dispensing Wine from a Keg

[Closet Fermenter]

I’ve been kegging my wine for a couple years now. My only option has been dispensing it with CO2. My procedure has been to use the inline valve to just put a short burst of CO2; just enough to push the wine out a party tap into a bottle. Whether I fill one, or multiple bottles, I try to work it where the pressure approaches nil as the filling is completed. I vent any remaining pressure with the prv.

Recently, I got a great deal on Craigslist on a brand new, unused, nitrogen tank and regulator. I’m not sure what I need to ask the gas vendor for. Recently, somewhere on HBT, I saw a comment that wine should be dispensed with beer gas, the N/CO2 blend, and not pure nitrogen. However, looking online at the gas vendors beverage gas page, it says that they have CO2, beer gas, and nitrogen for dispensing wine. So now I am confused.

Should I ask for beer gas or nitrogen? I have not used this vendor before, but it is a lot closer than the brew supply store where I have been exchanging my CO2 bottles. I don’t think they do the beer gas or nitrogen exchange.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Any still wines (red or white) should be dispensed with 100% nitrogen or argon. Only sparkling wines should be put on CO2.

For me, it is rare to find a homebrew supply that actually offered beer gas or nitrogen. I use a gas supplier like Matheson or AirGas when I need a refill/swap.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Any still wines (red or white) should be dispensed with 100% nitrogen or argon. Only sparkling wines should be put on CO2.

For me, it is rare to find a homebrew supply that actually offered beer gas or nitrogen. I use a gas supplier like Matheson or AirGas when I need a refill/swap.

Thank you so much. I should have detailed that I am dealing with still wines. Much of this wine goes to the church for weekly communion where sparkling wine would not be acceptable. My process was one that I used to enable bulk storage of the wine and keeping it from oxygen exposure. However, it is slow filling, a little wasteful of gas, (not too much), and always carries the risk of carbonation. On the other hand, I wanted to keep the keg sealed with a little pressure. I think these are mutually exclusive.

One follow up; what is a typical pressure used for nitrogen on wine to dispense and keep the keg sealed?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

One follow up; what is a typical pressure used for nitrogen on wine to dispense and keep the keg sealed?

It's been a while, but I think I served at ~5 PSI and honestly, I would just keep it at serving pressure (or a touch higher) for storage. That will help the lid and poppets to stay sealed.

 

[whoaru99]

I used 100% N and thought it worked fine. That said, I've seen commentary by at least one member opining he felt the wine tasted flat (not flat as in not fizzy, rather perhaps more like bland) or something slightly off with 100% N and (I think) said he uses beer gas now.

 

[Bobby_M]

If still wine tastes better on beer gas, it is likely that the acid level was subpar to begin with. That is, the acidic boost from serving on CO2 is more an indicator of a inherent flaw rather than the solution.

 

[DuncB]

Why not put the wine in a wine bag. These are double skinned or foil. Then you can dispense using atmospheric pressure. Still stays oxygen free and you can then use your keg, regulator and beer gas to dispense a stout.
The wine bags are reusable and cheap.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Why not put the wine in a wine bag. These are double skinned or foil. Then you can dispense using atmospheric pressure. Still stays oxygen free and you can then use your keg, regulator and beer gas to dispense a stout.
The wine bags are reusable and cheap.

Thank you for this; I didn’t know that these were available. I might have opportunity to use these in the future. For my particular need at the present, 1.5 liter bottles work best, but I may be able to effect changes to accommodate this option.

The good news is that using beer gas for my stouts is not excluded by using the nitrogen on my wine; I just got a lot of equipment from some guys giving up the hobby that will allow me to do that as well.

Thanks again, and cheers!

 

[DuncB]

I was thinking you'd decant from the wine bag into whatever vessel you wanted. Wasn't suggesting the use of a wine bag at the altar. Tucked under the arm like a half set of bag pipes is an amusing image.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I was thinking you'd decant from the wine bag into whatever vessel you wanted. Wasn't suggesting the use of a wine bag at the altar. Tucked under the arm like a half set of bag pipes is an amusing image.

Right. We don’t take a bottle to the altar either! I am just thinking through the handling process in the setup. For now, the ladies pour from a bottle into a flagon. I’m thinking, maybe erroneously, that it might become awkward as the boxed bag becomes light and requires one hand holding the flagon and one to operate the tap. I could possibly build an elevated stand for the box that holds it in place and where the flagon can placed on the counter underneath the tap.

This option has the benefit of keeping air exposure to a minimum. I’ve sometimes noticed a change in the wine over couple weeks it takes to get through a bottle.