Is One Degassing Session Enough?

[IrishBrewer420]

Hey all. I have a 5GAL batch of strawberry/grape wine I'm thinking about bottling within 2 weeks, but I detect a bit of carbonation in the smell. I have not "degassed" it and quite frankly am not sure how to go about this process. I need to know, if I add a a bit of stabilizer and whip if vigorously on bottling day will that be enough to eliminate the carbonation and bottle it? Thanks.

For the record is has been clearing for two months. Are more degassing sessions and aging required?

 

[Yooper]

The only wine I've degassed, besides a kit wine, in the last 30 years or so was a chokecherry wine that was gassy even after a year in a carboy.

Degassing risks oxidation, and I would never do it just to rush a wine to the bottle.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Kit wines need degassing, but fruit wines generally don't.

 

[IrishBrewer420]

Well this isn't so much a "fruit wine", I used a jelly/preserve mixture as my base. Does that still count? What exactly can go wrong with a wine (or beer) if it gets "oxidized"? Do you think I could skip degassing altogether? I should mention that when I bottle the wine I will not be "corking" it in the traditional sense; most of the bottles I plan to use are screw-on caps. If I crack the seal every so often can I avoid carbonation?

I know it's not in my best interest to "rush" a wine to the bottle, but this is not some great wine I'm dealing with here, it's jelly/jam wine that's already been brewing for months and I need to free up my carboy for Cherry Bomb Mead, which is a recipe I'm going to put a GREAT deal of care into and will bulk-age for as long as it takes.

 

[MaxSmart8699]

If you must bottle in 2 weeks I would rack it add the stabilizer and Do the Degassing now over 24-72 hours careful not to make tunnels in the wine as you do the stirring so to limit the the O. then add your clearyifier and let set for at least a week.

 

[jgmillr1]

Hey all. I have a 5GAL batch of strawberry/grape wine I'm thinking about bottling within 2 weeks, but I detect a bit of carbonation in the smell. I have not "degassed" it and quite frankly am not sure how to go about this process. I need to know, if I add a a bit of stabilizer and whip if vigorously on bottling day will that be enough to eliminate the carbonation and bottle it? Thanks.

For the record is has been clearing for two months. Are more degassing sessions and aging required?

As Yooper already said, degassing risks oxidation. Absolutely do not whip your wine! If the wine has been in clearing for 2 months, it is likely already degassed enough. Residual CO2 in the headspace that you are smelling is a good thing as it is displacing oxygen. You will very likely sufficiently agitate the wine enough during your final racking, gentle mixing of your stabilizer, and bottling process. No additional de-gassing is necessary.

 

[IrishBrewer420]

As Yooper already said, degassing risks oxidation. Absolutely do not whip your wine! If the wine has been in clearing for 2 months, it is likely already degassed enough. Residual CO2 in the headspace that you are smelling is a good thing as it is displacing oxygen. You will very likely sufficiently agitate the wine enough during your final racking, gentle mixing of your stabilizer, and bottling process. No additional de-gassing is necessary.

This sounds very good to me, thanks so much you and Yooper for sharing. My target bottling date was the 1st coming up and it sounds like I can go through with it. But would somebody please explain to me why it is so risky to whip the wine? I've decided against taking that measure, but I've had other winemakers I know give me a funny look when I tell them I didn't whip my wine. What exactly is oxidation and how can it harm the wine/beer? I've even heard of the practice of using a power-drill with a special stirring paddle attachment to whip wine; why would homebrewers employ this method if it's so risky?

 

[jgmillr1]

This sounds very good to me, thanks so much you and Yooper for sharing. My target bottling date was the 1st coming up and it sounds like I can go through with it. But would somebody please explain to me why it is so risky to whip the wine? I've decided against taking that measure, but I've had other winemakers I know give me a funny look when I tell them I didn't whip my wine. What exactly is oxidation and how can it harm the wine/beer? I've even heard of the practice of using a power-drill with a special stirring paddle attachment to whip wine; why would homebrewers employ this method if it's so risky?

Oxidation poses many problems:
1) Exposure to air will consume your sulfites. One of their primary jobs is to protect against oxidation.
2) Dissolved oxygen in the wine can feed aerobic bacteria, such as acetobacter, that will happily convert your wine to vinegar. This shortens the life of the wine in your bottle and potentially makes it undrinkable.
3) Dissolved oxygen will oxidize your fruit aromatic esters, resulting in a less fruity wine.
4) Oxidized wine often changes color and develops a brownish hue. This is associated with strong sherry-like aromas and acetaldehyde production.

The bottom line is that oxidized wine will be different and inferior to non-oxidized wine. You can gently mix in stabilizers or stir to attempt to degas the wine without whipping and oxidizing it.

I can only assume that some people whip their wine simply because they don't understand the oxidation risks.

 

[IrishBrewer420]

Oxidation poses many problems:
1) Exposure to air will consume your sulfites. One of their primary jobs is to protect against oxidation.
2) Dissolved oxygen in the wine can feed aerobic bacteria, such as acetobacter, that will happily convert your wine to vinegar. This shortens the life of the wine in your bottle and potentially makes it undrinkable.
3) Dissolved oxygen will oxidize your fruit aromatic esters, resulting in a less fruity wine.
4) Oxidized wine often changes color and develops a brownish hue. This is associated with strong sherry-like aromas and acetaldehyde production.

The bottom line is that oxidized wine will be different and inferior to non-oxidized wine. You can gently mix in stabilizers or stir to attempt to degas the wine without whipping and oxidizing it.

I can only assume that some people whip their wine simply because they don't understand the oxidation risks.

Oh wow, thank you for taking the time to share all that info. I didn't realize the risks were so great. If I may ask, wine can't get oxidized in the primary stage can it? Because my recipe said to stir daily in the primary stage and I did. I haven't had any noticeable problems with my batch, but it still does have that rather unpleasant "new wine" smell. That is normal right?

 

[jgmillr1]

Oh wow, thank you for taking the time to share all that info. I didn't realize the risks were so great. If I may ask, wine can't get oxidized in the primary stage can it? Because my recipe said to stir daily in the primary stage and I did. I haven't had any noticeable problems with my batch, but it still does have that rather unpleasant "new wine" smell. That is normal right?

I'm glad to share. I've made upwards of 9000 gallons of commercial wine so far and counting. There are lots of pitfalls in making quality wine and oxygen is the most common issue, particularly for smaller batches that have larger surface to volume.

Wine actively fermenting in the primary is resilient to oxidation since the yeast can utilize it. I'm sure your batch is fine, especially since you were able to get it into a carboy before the fermentation was finished. The funky new wine odor most people notice is from the yeast. It will diminish as the yeast settles and you rack the wine.

Cheers.

 

[IrishBrewer420]

I'm glad to share. I've made upwards of 9000 gallons of commercial wine so far and counting. There are lots of pitfalls in making quality wine and oxygen is the most common issue, particularly for smaller batches that have larger surface to volume.

Wine actively fermenting in the primary is resilient to oxidation since the yeast can utilize it. I'm sure your batch is fine, especially since you were able to get it into a carboy before the fermentation was finished. The funky new wine odor most people notice is from the yeast. It will diminish as the yeast settles and you rack the wine.

Cheers.

Cheers! Thanks again!