I'll have to disagree with droopy. Even though I wait almost a year before
bottling, from carboys with several rackings, I invariably got too much
CO2 in the bottled wines before I started degassing. I use a bottle-brush
in a variable speed drill once the weather warms up in May and yes, sometimes
it foams too violently, which just means lower the speed for a while.

Once in the bottle, it can take years for the CO2 to dissipate. My
'02s are just now losing their tingle.

Droopy wrote:
> Robin & Dianne wrote:
>
>>A buddy and I have been making wine for quite a while, and while the results
>>have been acceptable, better would be fine. One place where we may fall down
>>is the degassing. We bought a wand that fits in a drill and the ends flare
>>out when the drill is turned on. Initially we did this at slow speed but
>>perhaps lately got a little carried away. The last couple have foamed rather
>>violently. Should we discontinue its use, use it only at slow speed, or just
>>give up on it and use the spoon. Is just hard to tell when the wine has been
>>completely degassed. We have noticed a tingle on the tongue in some bottles,
>>but not all. Is that incomplete degassing?
>>
>>Thanks in advance
>>
>>RB
>
>
> Just to point out, you only need to degas wines that have very short
> secondary times. Wines that bulk age for months to years really do not
> need degassing.
>
> That tingle can very well be excess co2 in the wine.
>


--
ernie San Francisco Bay AVA
California, USA
to reply, rack off the lees.