Homemade Wine Degassing
One of the most important parts of making wine at home is the degassing process. Degassing wine involves the removal of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide from the wine. Removing these gases is important to prevent the wine bottles from exploding as well as to maintain the flavor of the wine. There is a very simple way to degas wine using supplies that most wine makers already have in the kitchen. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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1
Place a ruler against the larger end of the bung and measure 1/8 of an inch away from the end. Mark the measurement with a marker. A bung is a stopper, which has a hole in the center, that is placed in the top of a wine jug during the wine-making process.
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2
Insert the larger end of the bung into the bottom of the bottle stopper of the wine vacuum until it reaches the 1/8 inch mark.
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3
Insert the small end of the bung into the top opening of the wine jug.
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4
Place the vacuum tube of the wine vacuum on top of the stopper and pump the handle of the vacuum 12 to 20 times to remove the air and gas from inside the wine jug. You should see bubbles appear at the top of the wine.
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5
Allow the wine jug to sit for 24 hours and then pump the vacuum handle again until you feel a resistance on the handle.
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6
Pull up on the bottle stopper to remove it from the wine jug. You will hear a hiss of air and gas as you do this. Some vacuum bottle stoppers have bars that are raised or buttons that are pushed to remove them. Check the manufacturer's instructions for proper removal technique.
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7
Remove the bottle stopper and bung, and insert a cork into the top of the wine jug.
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Tips & Warnings
The level of wine in the wine jug should be no higher than the base of the bottle neck. If the level of wine is higher than this, pour out some of the wine before beginning the degassing process.
References
- Photo Credit wine bottle image by Albo from Fotolia.com
