Making Wine @ Home (part 4)

Be sure to check out the other posts in the series to follow a winemaking kit from fermenter to glass.

Secondary fermentation is complete for my Chilean Pinot Noir kit, so now it is time to stabilize and degas.

Stabilizing mostly means killing the yeast to ensure that fermentation will no longer continue. This is especially important if reserve juice is being added for sweetness. If the yeast is still active, that juice would be fermented as well. Worst case scenario is that fermentation keeps rolling along after bottling resulting in dangerous "bottle bombs".

Degasing basically refers to stirring the heck out of it to release any CO2 dissolved into the wine during fermentation. When brewing beer, we harness the CO2 production to create carbonation. Unless you are after a sparkling wine, CO2 in wine is not very pleasant and significantly detracts from the flavor, residual CO2 can also result in popped corks or bottle bombs.

Most kits contain Potassium Metabisulfiite and Potassium Sorbate for use as stabilizers.  Potassium metabisulfite (also used in the form of camden tablets) is used to kill any wild yeast or microrganisms that may have found their way into the wine and also serves as an anti-oxidant to help maintain flavor and color.  Potassium Sorbate prevents yeast from multiplying and prevents any other molds or yeast from getting a foothold over time.  Wines that are designed for aging rather than immediate consumption typically increase the dosage of these ingredients.  They are also the reason for the warning "Contains Sulfites"  found on commercial wine labels.

Mix these ingredients with a 1/2 cup filtered water and add to your fermenter.  Now the fun part,

time to stir the heck out of it to drive out CO2.  I use an wand attachment for my drill with a stopper that fits the mouth of a carboy.  This is much more effective that any stirring you can do by hand.  Just be careful not to let the stopper pop out and spray the walls : )

I stir with the drill for at least 5-6 min taking breaks every minute or two.  This stirring also suspends any sediment in the bottom which will also help clarify the wine as it settles again by dragging other particulate matter down with it.  That brings us to the clarifying agent which we add at this time as well.  Kits will come with either Chitocan (made with shellfish shells) or isinglass (from fish swimbladders) to aid in clarifying the wine.  Who knew winemaking was so fishy  : )  These additives may sound disgusting, but they are tried and true methods to accelerate the settling of any solids suspended in the wine used by winemakers for decades or longer.

Once you add the clarifying agent, then stir the heck out of it again, top off with a similar wine (water will just water it down), cover and let sit for at least ten days to let gravity do its work.  Next we will rack into a clean carboy off of the sediment (leaving the fishy stuff behind) to finish clarification.

Be sure to check out the earlier posts in the series.
Cheers,

-D

Comments

[Karrie Sullivan]

Nice blog! You've given me a few ideas. Funny - we're aging the Chocolate Raspberry Port and I just started a Chilean Pinot. A friend of mine has had the Chilean Pinot in the bottle for about a year now - tasty. The Chocolate Raspberry Port is fall on the floor yummy.