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- Fizz in my still red wine?
After drinking a glass or two of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, I use the vacuum pump style wine saver system. After a few pumps to remove the air, I notice that the wine has begun to fizz up or release trapped air bubbles. Is this caused by SO2 that has become trapped in the wine or possible late fermentation that the yeasts had not consumed all of the fermentable sugars before bottling? What is the cause? A vigorous decant will also release this I've noticed.
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3027 - Reply by Philip, Aug 31.
MMason - interesting timing. I did the same thing yesterday to a half bottle of chardonnay, and saw a few bubbles rise to the surface. I think, but am ready to be corrected, that it means the winemaker added a tiny amount of CO2 to give the wine freshness. Not enough CO2 to make it fizzy, just enough to give it a prickle on the tongue.
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0390 - Reply by GregT, Aug 31.
You are pumping air out of the headspace no? If you create enough of a pressure differential, then the air or gas dissolved in the wine will bubble up. And the vigorous decant reverses the procedure. If you don't do a vigorous decant, but simply let the wine sit in an open container, it's going to end up pretty much the same.
