Sodastream experiment

[tonyhibbett]

In an attempt to inject gas directly into a champagne bottle of wine, I clamped a tube over the nozzle and cut a hole in the top and bottom of a hollow champagne stopper to take the other end of the tube, with a football inflater pump adapter at the end, below the surface of the wine, with a 2 inch air gap. Having fully inserted the stopper and secured it with a wire cage, I gave 15 short bursts of gas, removed the stopper and found the wine only slightly carbonated. Gas was clearly getting in under pressure but escaping through the poor seal of the holes cut for the tube. I have filled the stopper with sealant and am now waiting for this to cure.
I was wondering if anyone had attempted anything similar...?

 

[chrig]

How cold was the wine?

 

[tonyhibbett]

5 c., same as I use directly with the Sodastream. I tried improving the seal by paring down a synthetic cork, inserting it into the stopper cavity, drilling a hole through and then inserted the tube through. Unfortunately this makes the stopper too stiff to insert into the bottle! Another issue is that the Sodastream bottle is designed to leave 150 ml of airspace to allow for compressed gas, as liquid itself cannot be compressed. To allow an equivalent space in a champagne bottle, allowing for the stopper too, means removing about 120 ml of the wine first and topping up after. On balance, carbonating the wine in the Sodastream bottle then transferring it to a wine bottle still seems to be the better option. At least it works! Equipment is available for direct carbonation into bottles but a cost only viable for mass production and sale.

 

[tropicalpisshead]

Tony, just a thought. I wonder if using an old fashioned soda syphon might work.
Fill the syphon with wine and then carbonate it and bottle it.
might work :wha:

 

[chrig]

Would a lower batch / lower cost option be one of those beer guns for use with co2 and a keg.

A keg full of white wine is firmly on my 'to do list', removing the sediment from the bottles of sparkling wine I have made has been a pain in the arse so far.