RogerD wrote:
> Nitrogen ?
> CO2 ?
>
> Although I don't notice it my wife, and several others, have
commented that
> my wine "tastes" fizzy.
> Looking at the bottle there are bubbles clinging to the glass on the
surfce
> of the wine - that does not go away quickly.
> Tiny bubbles can be seen rising if looked at closely.
> If I pull a partial vacuum on the bottle - with one of those vacu-vin

> corks - larger bubbles are drawn out.
>
> I keep my red wine in stainless 58 litre beer kegs.
> When wine is required I decant it from the keg for immediate use.
> Wine is decanted from the keg with nitrogen (not CO2 or beer-gas)
running at
> about 5-10 lb.
>
> Not knowing any better I have assumed the bubbles were nitrogen.
> Recently someone suggested the bubbles are CO2 and I should "degass".
> None of my books mention degassing.
>
> I make my wine outside, from grapes, in October.
> After the primary the wine sits in a 200 litre blue plastic barrel
(full)
> under an airlock.
> I rack three or four times with the final rack to the SS beer kegs in
March.
> At that time the wine is still and clear.
>
> Can anyone comment ?
> Anyone have this "fizzy" problem ?
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger

It's CO2, either left over from the alcoholic fermentation or from your
wine undergoing ML in the kegs. Do a chromatography test to check for
the latter possibility.

Degassing is often required for wines fermented in colder temperatures
and bottled relatively young. It's usually not a big issue for reds,
but your procedure sounds like there is not enough time for the wine to
degass on its own, so you might have to help it with some vigorous
stirring in the drum.

Pp