problems with my wine kit!

[shanek17]

okay so I am doing an update about my wine kit. I was having problems with degassing this wine and even though I was degassing it for hours it just needed more. I decided to leave it alone and put it in a cool place for clearing, at 62 F. the wine kit instructions suggested the temperature of 50-60F. So i was a little over that which doesnt seem like a big deal. They also said that it should be clear in 7-10 days. Today is the 14th day of clearing and sorry to get off track a bit here but Im starting to wonder why its not clearing ? it looks exactly the same as before I put in the clearing agents.. Any ideas or tips ?

I actually took an SG sample and its stable and done fermenting, also it tastes GREAT! way better than the fruit juice concentrate batches i made. So getting back too degassing , I wanted to find out if it still needs degassing so I put it in the hydrometer test tube and shook it up real good for about 20 seconds. it was noticeably foaming and fizzy and when i took the lid off it , it made a loud pop noise. So i dont understand how this still isnt done degassing. Alot of you were saying that I was getting on the verge of abusing this wine with the degassing but yet it looks like it still needs more.... The problem is , is that at this point you dont want oxygen getting to it , so I dont know if I should be taking the air lock off and doing more degassing.

 

[Medsen Fey]

A wine that is still full of CO2 will be very slow to clear. Despite instructions to the contrary, I'd try letting it sit at room temp for a couple of weeks. CO2 comes out of solution easier at higher temps.

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[shanek17]

A wine that is still full of CO2 will be very slow to clear. Despite instructions to the contrary, I'd try letting it sit at room temp for a couple of weeks. CO2 comes out of solution easier at higher temps.

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oh okay. yea its kind of confusing because its supposed to be kept clear for clearing. but it still isn't degassed , which as you said needs the warm temperatures to clear co2. Do you think it would hurt to degas it myself with a stir spoon or degas whip?

 

[shanek17]

like I currently have it sitting at room temperature or higher so this should help it degas you said. but what about clearing, won't the heat hinder the wine from clearing?

 

[Medsen Fey]

Once you've de-gassed it, you can chill it down to speed clearing.

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[akueck]

If you have a way of pulling a vacuum that will help get the CO2 out. I've contemplated trying to fit one of those wine-vacuum things (Vacuu-Vin?) into the neck of a carboy and seeing what that does. Although it could be too small a vacuum to really help. If I try it I'll let you know.

 

[wayneb]

On that note, I will again mention that I've used a Mityvac (http://www.mityvac.com/info_sheets/MV8010PIS.pdf) to successfully degas meads in the past. Fit plastic tubing to the pump and take the other end to a piece of stiff plastic tubing that can be inserted into a carboy stopper. It works incredibly well.

 

[Nathan K]

I agitate my fermenters every day during primary fermentation, by rocking them, to prevent any buildup of CO2. CO2 releases much easier at warmer temperatures than at colder temperatures. Using one of those whip devices, at a warmer temperature, should be effective.

 

[shanek17]

oh okay. yea its kind of confusing because its supposed to be kept clear for clearing. but it still isn't degassed , which as you said needs the warm temperatures to clear co2. Do you think it would hurt to degas it myself with a stir spoon or degas whip?

opps TYPO , i meant to say its supposed to be kept COLD for clearing.

 

[Chevette Girl]

like I currently have it sitting at room temperature or higher so this should help it degas you said. but what about clearing, won't the heat hinder the wine from clearing?

I'm not sure why cold makes wine clear faster, but dissolved carbon dioxide can really hinder the effectiveness of your clearing agent, according to the directions on the wine kits I've made.

If you have a way of pulling a vacuum that will help get the CO2 out. I've contemplated trying to fit one of those wine-vacuum things (Vacuu-Vin?) into the neck of a carboy and seeing what that does. Although it could be too small a vacuum to really help. If I try it I'll let you know.

Kind of works. I fit the vacu-vin stopper over the hole in a bung and pump it out, if you can hold it straight and steady so it doesn't collapse under the vacuum, it can be made to work.

 

[Medsen Fey]

I'm not sure why cold makes wine clear faster,

With lower temp there is less kinetic energy allowing molecular bonds between particles in suspension to produce larger aggregates. These bigger chunks drop out faster.






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[TheAlchemist]

With lower temp there is less kinetic energy allowing molecular bonds between particles in suspension to produce larger aggregates. These bigger chunks drop out faster.

Brilliant. Thanks

 

[byathread]

I'm not sure why cold makes wine clear faster, but dissolved carbon dioxide can really hinder the effectiveness of your clearing agent, according to the directions on the wine kits I've made.



Kind of works. I fit the vacu-vin stopper over the hole in a bung and pump it out, if you can hold it straight and steady so it doesn't collapse under the vacuum, it can be made to work.

I always use a VacuVin for degassing wine and it works great for me. I start off by hitting it with a stir-mixer for a few minutes, then replace the bung and the base of your 3-peice airlock (dump the water first), affix the VacuVin onto the base of the airlock (perfect fit) and pump about 25 times. I often release the vacuum and repeat a few times over the next 36 hrs, but either way, there is no CO2 in solution after that. Clearing proceeds promptly once the wine is fully degassed.

Cheers!