Degassing issue zinfandel

[Frozenpuck]

Hello all

New to the winemakers side of the forum, live this site.

I know this subject has been discussed quite a bit however looking for advise on Degassing a white zinfandel "Ken Ridge" is the brand name. This is a 23 litre (6.5 us gallon) kit which is at the Degassing stage. The instructions state to stir the wine 6-8 times a day for 2 days to Degass and not to move to the clarifying stage until ALL CO2 has been removed. I have been stirring with a wine whip for 5 days, 3 times a day approx 4-5 minutes each time. Each time I stir, the wine goes to a cloudy pink with TONS of tiny white bubbles moving to the top. I end up with 2-3 inches of foam. I have read that some threads suggest pumping the O2 out however they caution that pumping a carboy that is not full can cause implosion of the carboy. Should I continue to whip the crappie out of the wine 3 times a day, let it sit for a few weeks in the hopes it removes by itself or move the wine to a smaller 5 us gallon carboy and pump the CO2? I've included a photo of the foam after a Degassing taken today. Thanks everyone.

Cheers

Frozenpuck

 

[MizzouFermentationScience]

Not sure what "pumping the CO2" means. The current technique will work, but if you start and it does not turn pink/bubbly- stop. The key is temperature, I do not degas wine below 12 C. The best way is to use a sparging stone on nitrogen- displaces CO2 without oxidizing.

 

[Frozenpuck]

Thanks for the reply.

When I say pumping the CO2, I am referring to using a vacuum pump to pull the CO2 out of the wine. Some people use a car brake bleeder kit, others use a full on vacuum pimp like those used for ac units. They connect it to the carboy and create a vacuum to pull the CO2. Can you explain the sparking stone on nitrogen procedure. Thanks!

 

[MizzouFermentationScience]

no idea on the effectiveness of vacuum, sounds reasonable but once again temperature will be an important factor. Partial pressure and solubility are impacted by temperature so it's always easier to degas a warmer wine. If you have enough SO2 in the wine, I'd be tempted to let it warm up to room temp and I bet the gas will be gone naturally in a week (think about a coke left on the counter for a day). Nitrogen sparging is simple if you have the equipment- a tank of nitrogen, a regulator set at ~20 psi, and a sparring stone connected by plastic tubing to the regulator. Drop the stone in, turn on nitrogen, watch 7 days of foam shoot out of the container within a couple minutes and you're done. Seriously though, don't do it in a carboy because it's gonna shoot out like a rocket. Bucket is probably best but take it slow- I've shot a tower of foam out of many 10000 liter tanks while N2 sparging

 

[Frozenpuck]

Thanks for the detailed response. I don't think I'll be going the sparging route, seems like a very advanced method which I would likely mess up . Should I see ALL the foam disappear when the CO2 has been fully extracted? I don't mind continuing to Degass with the wine whip tool, I just want to make sure I know when to stop. Alternatively, is it better to just let it sit for a few weeks at room temp? Note that it has been at room temp for 2 weeks 22 degrees Celsius. Thabks

 

[jgmillr1]

I suggest you let the wine sit at room temp and it will degas on its own over a couple weeks without you actively oxidizing it when you whip it. By then the lees will settle out and you can rack it off them.

Seems to me that there is way too much anxiety around degassing wine with too many solutions offered for something that is really not a problem. Just give it time and all will be good.

 

[DoctorCAD]

With that much foam, there is no way its ready for degassing. Those bubbles are being created because the wine is still fermenting. A "done" wine won't foam that much. Id let it sit undisturbed another couple of weeks.

 

[Frozenpuck]

Thanks guys, I will take the advise and let it sit for a few weeks. Please note that the picture I supplied with the pink foam was taken AFTER I had whipped the wine. Does this still mean that the wine has not fully completed fermentation? It has been in the carboy for 3 weeks.

The kit came with some clarifying agents which were to be added once the wine is degassed. Should I add them now or wait until after the suggested 2 week waiting period?

One last thing, I have some 19 litre carboys, this one is 23 litre, should I move it over to the 19 to remove the additional head space?

Thanks everyone

Cheers

 

[jgmillr1]

After 3 weeks it should be mostly done, but that depends on temperature, yeast nutrients and yeast strain. (I have a Riesling with QA23 yeast that I kept 65-70'F and it took about 4 weeks for the fermentation to complete.) The wine is probably done, so you can rack it and add the fining agents. Would be good to use the smaller carboy to reduce the head space to minimize oxidation risk.

 

[Frozenpuck]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will rack to a smaller carboy, add the fining agents and let it sit for 3 or 4 weeks.

Cheers!!

 

[DoctorCAD]

3 weeks for primary, 3 weeks for secondary should make the wine still.

 

[Frozenpuck]

Thanks doctorcad. I have had it in c secondary for 2 weeks. I'll give it another month and then bottle.

Cheers