recently bottled 5 gallons of petite syrah I made last fall, and opened
one up a couple nights ago and it had a pronounced pop when the cork
came out. I didn't feel the need to check SG , as the wine is pretty
dry, and the alcohol is sitting at 13.5 %, and the air lock has been
inactive for months.I don't use sorbate, don't like the taste. Should I
have racked the wine vigorously prior to bottling to release CO2 ? the
wine doesn't taste "sparkly" or anything, but I think I can see a tiny
bit of efervescence ( ? ) on the surface when I first pour it in a
glass.Any thoughts ?

If you like how it tastes and can't detect the CO2 on the back of your
tongue... and it's not objectionable- think of how easy it was to
remove the cork

I've 20 gallons of reds that have to be dry and non-effervescent and
I've yet to hear of an effective approach, save letting them sit, for
CO2 removal.

Of course I do have this tiny vacuum pump I found...

"treetoad" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> recently bottled 5 gallons of petite syrah I made last fall, and opened
> one up a couple nights ago and it had a pronounced pop when the cork
> came out. I didn't feel the need to check SG , as the wine is pretty
> dry, and the alcohol is sitting at 13.5 %, and the air lock has been
> inactive for months.I don't use sorbate, don't like the taste. Should I
> have racked the wine vigorously prior to bottling to release CO2 ? the
> wine doesn't taste "sparkly" or anything, but I think I can see a tiny
> bit of efervescence ( ? ) on the surface when I first pour it in a
> glass.Any thoughts ?
>

Treetoad,
Perhaps your Petite Syrah went through malolactic fermentation after it was
bottled.
Lum
Del Mar, California, USA

Speaking of bombs, this Friday morning 4 Grolsh bottles of carbonating
root beer suddenly exploded in the kitchen.I was left with four intact
glass disks on the counter. Besides that there was not a piece Grolsh
glass larger than the head of a thumbtack to be found. I didn't
accurately measure the yeast this time and I realize how important that
is now.

what would've triggered it? doesn't the wine need to be innoculated for
this to happen?

"treetoad" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> what would've triggered it? doesn't the wine need to be innoculated for
> this to happen?
>

Malolactic bacteria are on the grapes when they are picked, and the bacteria
are carried over into the wine. Sometimes the bacteria multiply and produce
a malolactic fermentation and sometimes they don't.

mdginzo wrote:
> Speaking of bombs, this Friday morning 4 Grolsh bottles of carbonating
> root beer suddenly exploded in the kitchen.I was left with four intact
> glass disks on the counter. Besides that there was not a piece Grolsh
> glass larger than the head of a thumbtack to be found. I didn't
> accurately measure the yeast this time and I realize how important that
> is now.

I would think it's the amount of sugar that matters and not yeast, no?

Pp

>I would think it's the amount of sugar that matters and not yeast, no?

That is more than possible and probably likely.

"treetoad" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> recently bottled 5 gallons of petite syrah I made last fall, and opened
> one up a couple nights ago and it had a pronounced pop when the cork
> came out. I didn't feel the need to check SG , as the wine is pretty
> dry, and the alcohol is sitting at 13.5 %, and the air lock has been
> inactive for months.I don't use sorbate, don't like the taste. Should I
> have racked the wine vigorously prior to bottling to release CO2 ? the
> wine doesn't taste "sparkly" or anything, but I think I can see a tiny
> bit of efervescence ( ? ) on the surface when I first pour it in a
> glass.Any thoughts ?

Yes. Two, actually.

(1) Your wine probably hadn't quite finished ML when you bottled it - hence
a bit of spritz.

(2) The title to your post is sure to raise some eyebrows at Homeland
Security.

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com

"mdginzo" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Speaking of bombs, this Friday morning 4 Grolsh bottles of carbonating
> root beer suddenly exploded in the kitchen.I was left with four intact
> glass disks on the counter. Besides that there was not a piece Grolsh
> glass larger than the head of a thumbtack to be found. I didn't
> accurately measure the yeast this time and I realize how important that
> is now.

You need to use champagne bottles with crown caps to handle that much
pressure. It can be as high as 90 psi.

BTW, it has nothing to do with the quantity of yeast.

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com

mdginzo wrote:
> >I would think it's the amount of sugar that matters and not yeast, no?
>
> That is more than possible and probably likely.

Actually,

With Root Beer you're usually adding a lot more sugar than you need to
create the right level of carbonation. Dry Root Beer doesn't taste very
good.

The Root Beer is usually very lacking in nutrients, so using a small
amount of yeast is a common technique to get them to quit at the right
time - before they consume all of the sugar. The pressure also helps
them to give it up, but really you need to crash cool it at the right
time and keep it cold to prevent problems.

IMHO, glass bottles are a hazard for sodas. I use 2 liter pet bottles.
It prevents glass grenades and you can tell when it's carbonated
properly because the bottle will get very hard.

Andy