Inert GasWhat about using Argon. Its a noble gas and heavier than air and readily available from welding supply stores...
Specific Gravity ThingieYou can usually buy a tall thin cylinder for the hydrometer. My test cylinder takes just a bit less than a cup of the must. After you pour the must into the...
I have recently been trying my hand at making proper champagne but have hit a problem with getting it into the bottle. The method I'm experimenting with has been to carryout the secondary fermentation in a stainless steel pressure vessel (11 litre cornelius keg) - pressure built up to 2.5bar (35-40 psi) & held for 2 months at room temperature. noticeably to about 1bar (14psi). So far so good (I think) !! However when I try to fill the bottles (chilled bottles & long filling pipe reaching to bottom of bottle) what I get is a great tasting, very clear wine but with very little 'champagne sparkle' & a persistant head that would do credit to a pint of lager !!!!!!!!! I suspect the problem may be a too high dispensing pressure remaining in the barrel but wonder if anyone else in the group can suggest what I may be doing wrong. Should I reduce the keg pressure to zero just before bottling and use something like a foot pump to provide a minimal pressure to shift the wine from keg to bottle ???? I'd be quite happy to leave the wine in the cornelius keg but when it comes to romantic seduction situations an 11 litre stainless steel container dips right out c.f. a proper chanpagne bottle ...... or so I'm told !!
