To degas or not to degas

[jayv]

Bottled some wine #1 the other day. I added vinclear after racking and left it to clear. I degassed it (partially) before bottling as a result of the comments here. I siphoned off a litre for immediate consumption and then bottled it as per the wine #1 instructions. This first lire tasted very nice and fruity.So far, the ones that were bottled taste different. It's hard to describe, but they just don't taste as fruity. It's not oxidised, it just tastes a bit preserved. Dried fruit v fresh fruit sort of difference. Any ideas? Too much residual sulphite in the bottles?

Thanks
J.

[Cellar_Rat]

indeedy

Don't get carried away I am still still trying to find chapter in Principles and Practices of Winemaking discussing it

[lockwood1956]

haha

Im not asking you to believe me, discover it for yourself, take two bottles of your wine, take a glass from one of them, and degas the remainer of the bottle thoroughly using a vacu-vin....

then pour a glass from each bottle and taste the two side by side, you will see a remarkable difference.

[Cellar_Rat]

I am not saying I don't believe you. I have seen it using aforesaid method. It just beats me as to why it is not a commercial issue.

[makaholic]

I am a bit confused her are we saying that Vacu Vin is the BEST tried and tested method to degas above other home methods such as shaking, stirring etc.?? and therefore the resulting wine has a far better quality?? or have I got the wrong end of the DJ!!!!!/stick

[NorthernWiner]

I am a bit confused her are we saying that Vacu Vin is the BEST tried and tested method to degas above other home methods such as shaking, stirring etc.?? and therefore the resulting wine has a far better quality?? or have I got the wrong end of the DJ!!!!!/stick

I think you're expending far too much effort worrying about it. Just use any method available to remove as much gas as you can. But don't lose sleep over it. I've known people who have spent so much time whipping and whizzing their wine to get rid of gas that it ends up oxidised - and that's far worse than having a small amount of CO2 fizziness.

[SiSandrine]

Bottled some wine #1 the other day. I added vinclear after racking and left it to clear. I degassed it (partially) before bottling as a result of the comments here. I siphoned off a litre for immediate consumption and then bottled it as per the wine #1 instructions. This first lire tasted very nice and fruity.So far, the ones that were bottled taste different. It's hard to describe, but they just don't taste as fruity. It's not oxidised, it just tastes a bit preserved. Dried fruit v fresh fruit sort of difference. Any ideas? Too much residual sulphite in the bottles?

Thanks
J.

You may have residual sulphite - personally I always rinse with clean water after cleaning and sanitising the bottles. Also after bottling wine can do this. A phenomenon known as bottle shock. I am not sure of the chemistry or reason why it just happens sometimes. It can be a little flat or mildly insipid.
Either way you will just have to wait it out a couple of months.

[piagio2000]

"It can be a little flat or mildly insipid"

Amazingly that's the perfect description of the "comedy" film of the same name!

"Bottle Shock" that is.......not degassing!

[jayv]

Thanks Simon!