Is degassing wine always necessary?

[faeyd]

I popped to the local brew chap to pick up a degsser whizzer thing that works on your drill. He said that he had never had to degas wine at all.

What's the wisdom of the forum... when I racke dthe wine it did have a certain zing to it that implied some bubbles - was just below 1.000 on the gravity, but I wondered if the zing naturally falls off or if I do need to give it a good degassing at some point.

[Doingatun]

Hi faeyd,

I use a Wiz Stick being easier than vigorous stirring for ages. Not degassing prior to fining will prevent the wine clearing properly, the gas staying in solution holding yeast in suspension, 23 litres holds onto a lot of gas.

[CyberPaddy66]

I noticed that if you leave your wine racked off in a clean DJ with an airlock for several months it'll naturally degass itself and mature the wine as well, only problem is the space required for lots and lots of dj's

[faeyd]

Thanks guys - sounds like degassing is advisable.

[Duffbeer]

Thanks guys - sounds like degassing is advisable.

Yes very much so, trapped co2 in the wine will cause many problems, one being a bad bouquet and sharp taste another being that the wine can prove very difficult to clear.
The problem with trapped co2 is that it's random, many wines will release it easily with a quick stir, others not so easy.

[Russ]

Not made many wine but the ones I have I've degassed, alway been amazed how much comes out.

It has to be said I've never been in favour of keeping gas trapped

[faeyd]

When is the best tme to do it?

I noticed that most guides indicate very near the end before finings being added. Then there seems to be a school of thought that suggests doing it every day.

[BrewBob]

We usually do initial fermentation in a bucket then after about 10 to 14 days rack to a 5g demi john under an air lock. It then plops away in there until fermentation stops. It is then racked off of the sediment back into the bucket, the crap in the demi john is then rinsed out before the wine is put back. It is then given a good long thrashing to degass before we add the finings, followed by another quick thrashing. It then sits nice and quiet for about 2 weeks by which time it is crystal clear ready for bottling.

[faeyd]

Awesome info, thanks.