The first step is maintaining purity by avoiding turbulence. When using carbon dioxide or argon to create a successful blanket, it is important to understand that the gases readily mix with each other when moved. When attempting to purge headspaces with inert gas, the gas’s flow rate as it exits the tubing acts as the determining factor in the purity of the final volume of gas. Higher flow rates lead to the creation of a churning effect that causes the oxygen-containing ambient air to mix in with the inert gas. If this occurs, the inert gas’ ability to protect the wine is diminished due its decreased purity. It is necessary to ensure that the delivery method attempts to avoid turbulence as much as possible in order to have a pure layer of inert gas that is lacking oxygen. The ideal flow rate needed to accomplish this is generally the lowest setting on you gas regulator. Usually, this means between 1-5 PSI, depending on the tubing size.
The second step to creating a protective inert gas blanket is to reach the highest volume of gas that can be delivered while still maintaining the low flow-rate necessary to avoid creating turbulence and thus mixing the gas with the air we are attempting to eliminate. While any size tubing can utilized in the delivery of an effective inert gas blanket, the amount of time it requires will increase as the delivery tubing diameter decreases. If you want to hasten the process of purging without compromising the gentle flow necessary to creating a successful blanket, the diameter of the output tubing should be expanded. One way to easily do this is to attach a small length of a larger diameter tube onto the existing gas line on your regulator.
The third and final step to effectively creating an inert gas blanket is to have the gas flow parallel to the surface of the wine, or laminar, instead of aiming the flow of gas directly at the surface. This leads to the inert gas being less likely to mix with the surrounding air when being delivered because it will not bounce off the surface of the liquid. An effective and easy way to do so is to attach a diverter at the end of the gas tubing.
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