Methods for Degassing Wine

Winemaking
1

Hello Everyone,

Now that I’ve got my first batch of wine (Coastal White) fermenting in primary, I’m looking ahead to secondary fermentation and then stabilizing, but seem to be seeing contradictory information.

Reading the instructions that came with the wine kit, I see that I’m told to:

1.Rack to a secondary carboy once gravity falls below 1.010
2. Wait until final gravity (~0.996) is reached
3. Add metabisulphite and sorbate
4. Degas
5. Add Isinglass
6. Stir
7. Top up
8. Leave for ~14 days to clear

All of the above being done in the secondary carboy

Then I came across this video from Northern Brewer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9G9zpYf ... _Q&index=7

The video suggests:

  1. Racking from primary to another 7.9 gallon bucket (presumably after final gravity is reached)
  2. Degassing in the bucket to facilitate quicker and easier degassing (30 minutes in the bucket with a wine wand vs. 60 minutes in the carboy)
  3. THEN rack from the bucket to a secondary carboy
  4. Add the metabisulphite and sorbate
  5. Stir once again with wind wand for 2 minutes
  6. Then add isinglass, stir, top up, and clear.

After viewing the video, I wondered:

  1. Would degassing according to the video’s method (in a bucket) oxygenate or otherwise adversely affect the wine? I see the benefit of more surface area being exposed to help in degassing, but wonder if all that surface area could also invite trouble.

  2. Would racking from primary to a bucket and then degassing before adding the other finings interfere with the clearing process? The kit instructions make a point about not racking before stabilizing because the sediment needs to be stirred back into suspension so that the wine will clear properly. The video’s method does not seem to allow for this.

  3. Lastly, if I followed the video’s method, I would need to rack from primary to a carboy and then back to my original primary bucket (after washing and sanitizing) to degas since I only have one bucket that big. If I followed the video’s directions, would adding the extra step be a problem?

Since this is my first time around the block with a wine kit, I’m just wondering if there are multiple approaches that work. My instinct is to follow the instructions that came with the kit, but I’ve always found Northern Brewer’s advice very valuable in my brewing. Any direction would be appreciated!

2

I don’t see the need for the additional racking to a bucket. Not to mention you are adding another step that you have to worry about sanitation. If you warm to 75F and do a proper degassing with a mix-stir or wine wand, degassing in the carboy should be simple.

3

Thanks, BB.

How long have you found it takes to degas in a carboy with a wine wand?

4

Depends on what kind of weather system is in the area, the speed of fermentation, and amount of bulk aging. IME slower fermentations seem to absorb more co2.
As long as you are warming to 75F and there is no high pressure systems in the area most will degas after a few 30 second bursts with a mix-stir. I find it best to degas, wait 30-40min, degas, repeat until degassing is complete.