Airlocks are a vital part of the winemaker’s
Airlocks are a vital part of the home brewery winemaker’s equipment. Fitting into a bung or rubber stopper that is used as a closure for the carboy (secondary fermenter), an airlock should allow carbon dioxide gas to escape while keeping air out. Many new winemakers don’t seem to know exactly what do with an airlock. I’ve seen two wrong ways of using the cylinder shaped airlocks: 1. An Empty Airlock – An airlock needs to have liquid in it in order to stop air from entering into the carboy and possibly contaminating the wine. An empty airlock, while allowing carbon dioxide gas to escape, is offering zero protection to the wine as air and bacteria can get in. The liquids that are commonly used include plain water, a potassium metabisulfite and water solution, or vodka.
