Just looked up International Pipe Smoking Day; I had no idea. Looks like I'm a couple of days late, but I'll catch up this afternoon.
Beautiful Pipes, BTW. My dad smokes basket pipes. My best pipes are Petersons. A friend keeps promising me his Meerschaum once he finds it as he has sworn...
If it has a black finish on it it's called Japanning and it is not like a cast-iron skillet finish. Do not strip it off until you're willing to redo the entire thing. Soapy water; use; rinse; repeat.
Update: Gravity hit 0.996, so we pressed Monday evening.
We found it interesting how the taste of the wine changed as the press progressed. We probably cut the press a little short, but figured quality over quantity was the wise choice. Yielded a total of 8+ gallons.
Another Update:
The Lalvin BM 4X4 batch hit 1.030 and the Wyeast 4767 gravity is 1.034. I pulled off 14.2L of wine (7L of each) and blended for an average of 10.9% ABV. I fortified with 5.25L E&J XO Brandy for a calculated 18.8% ABV.
What a glorious thing! Now to find a 5 gallon oak barrel...
You'd think, but these were leftovers after the commercial harvesters had their fill. You can bet I kept their name and number and that I will drop off some of the grape jelly and wine I'm making to stay on their short list for next year!