I've noticed when degassing WE kits, that whites are much gassier than
reds and foam up like crazy during the degassing stage. Is there a good
explanation for this? .....andy j.

May I also add that I'm working at a WOP and using a Fizz-X agitator to
degass. I'm suprised at the amount of work involved in degassing
completely.It's taking a full 8-10 Hr. day, 6-8 stirrings 2 minutes a
time and I still get foam. Am I being overly cautious before adding
fining agent?....andy j.

I think you are overly cautious, or it's still fermenting. If this is
a wine on premises what do they think? two minutes of stirring seems
like a long time if you are really spinning it too. Your goal is to
just get the gas out and a good spin gets that going.

Joe

wrote:
> May I also add that I'm working at a WOP and using a Fizz-X agitator to
> degass. I'm suprised at the amount of work involved in degassing
> completely.It's taking a full 8-10 Hr. day, 6-8 stirrings 2 minutes a
> time and I still get foam. Am I being overly cautious before adding
> fining agent?....andy j.

> May I also add that I'm working at a WOP and using a Fizz-X agitator to
> degass. I'm suprised at the amount of work involved in degassing
> completely.It's taking a full 8-10 Hr. day, 6-8 stirrings 2 minutes a
> time and I still get foam. Am I being overly cautious before adding
> fining agent?....andy j.

I wonder if your not creating the foam by stirring.
Air could be mixing into wine.

Don

If it continues to produce gas then it must still be fermenting.
Take a hydrometer reading..........


> wrote in message
oups.com...
> May I also add that I'm working at a WOP and using a Fizz-X agitator to
> degass. I'm suprised at the amount of work involved in degassing
> completely.It's taking a full 8-10 Hr. day, 6-8 stirrings 2 minutes a
> time and I still get foam. Am I being overly cautious before adding
> fining agent?....andy j.
>

What's the SG? Are you sure fermentation is complete? If not all the
stirring in the world won't degas it. :-)

Bryan


On 25 Nov 2006 02:52:24 -0800, "Joe Sallustio" >
wrote:

>I think you are overly cautious, or it's still fermenting. If this is
>a wine on premises what do they think? two minutes of stirring seems
>like a long time if you are really spinning it too. Your goal is to
>just get the gas out and a good spin gets that going.
>
>Joe
>
wrote:
>> May I also add that I'm working at a WOP and using a Fizz-X agitator to
>> degass. I'm suprised at the amount of work involved in degassing
>> completely.It's taking a full 8-10 Hr. day, 6-8 stirrings 2 minutes a
>> time and I still get foam. Am I being overly cautious before adding
>> fining agent?....andy j.

As for if they are still fermenting?.......rest assured they are not.
All measure 0.994 to 0.990, so I'm safe in that respect. And according
to Wineexperts introducing air is really not an issue when srirring.
It's a new WOP and I'm the onsite "expert". However I'm a coverted
hobby wine maker now having to go strictly by the kit instructions. At
home We always let our kits sit for months ,don't we. .....andy j.

wrote:
> I've noticed when degassing WE kits, that whites are much gassier than
> reds and foam up like crazy during the degassing stage. Is there a good
> explanation for this? .....andy j.
>

I noticed the exact same thing with two white wine kits I just
completed. Lots and lots of foam. I never did seem to get rid of it. The
SG was right. I too am wondering if this is normal.

Andrew

No....the S.G. is fine . Fermentation is complete. Wine has been
stabilized. Must degass. It seems to me that lower end wine kits and
whites hold onto CO2 the most. Can anyone else confirm? The trouble
is with this group of wine makers here is we all bulk age our wines. We
do not bottle at 4-6 weeks or someone may have run into this problem.

Andy,
I don't make kits but I am a metrologist so I understand a little bit
about gases in liquids from that field. At some point, a liquid is
saturated with a gas. Since the gas is emanating from this particular
liquid I'm sure it's saturated no matter whether its a kit or not. I
doubt that has anything to do with it.

Could it be the following:

The 'dirtier' the wine the easier it is for the bubbles to form though.
That could have a little bit of an influence.

temperature changes? (doubtful)

MLF?

I don't buy that 'air introduced during stirring is no problem' theory,
that makes no sense unless they are just assuming the wine will be
drunk before the oxidation takes it's toll. I'm not saying they don't
know what they are talking about, just that I don't buy it, especially
on a white.

Joe


wrote:
> No....the S.G. is fine . Fermentation is complete. Wine has been
> stabilized. Must degass. It seems to me that lower end wine kits and
> whites hold onto CO2 the most. Can anyone else confirm? The trouble
> is with this group of wine makers here is we all bulk age our wines. We
> do not bottle at 4-6 weeks or someone may have run into this problem.

> > May I also add that I'm working at a WOP and using a Fizz-X agitator to
> > degass. I'm suprised at the amount of work involved in degassing
> > completely.It's taking a full 8-10 Hr. day, 6-8 stirrings 2 minutes a
> > time and I still get foam.
> I wonder if your not creating the foam by stirring.
> Air could be mixing into wine.

Again I wonder if stirring a completely de-gassed
wine won't produce foam just from the air and the
must. If you think it's completely de-gassed then
try using the Fizz-X on a slower speed and after
you stop see if there is only a light to non-existant
foam. If you agitate it faster and it produces more
foam then this could prove that you are creating it
by the act of de-gassing.

Don

I don't make kits but couldn't temperature explain this phenomenon? I
typically ferment my whites at cooler temps. Cooler liquids can hold
more dissolved gas. Also, less CO2 will have been released during
fermentation leaving that much more to be manually driven off.

RD

Foaming is not the best proof of a gassy wine. To check for too much
gas or not, pour about 200 ml of wine in a 375 ml bottle, cover the top
of the bottle with your thumb, shake the bottle, and remove your thumb.
If you hear a "poof" sound, it means the wine is not fully de-gassed.
No or not much of a "poof" sound indicates no or not much gas,

HTH,
Guy