Recent content by Comet in TX

Many thanks for your post Bzac. I was hoping to hear from someone who had done it. I appreciate your input - it gives me a sense of where I might be going from here. And to all else who participated......the barrel has stopped leaking, so it's looking like my white meritage is going in the...

I appreciate the comments thus far, but they leave me feeling like I need to clarify. I totally get oak aging is subjective per the wine being aged and the drinker. I am not aging any white in this barrel at all. I am conducting 2 barrel fermentations (fermentation only, not aging) up front...

Hi everyone, I've been away being swamped by life for the last 6 months - no wine-making at all. I FINALLY have my 23 l. Vadai hydrating as I type. I'm planning to barrel ferment a WE Small Lots White Meritage, followed by a barrel ferment of a KenRidge Limited Release Oregon Pinot Noir...

I've made 2 CC red w/skins showcase kits, the first was the Red Mountain cabernet, I had maybe 1 ounce of wine spill over onto the lid, but that was it. I cleaned the airlock and replaced the k-meta solution, and it was fine after that. The Tannat is on it's 2nd day today. The airlock had wine...

Folks, I'm wondering if there are technical barriers to my idea - I really have no space for a proper cellar, and I don't really feel I need to keep my wine at true cellar temperature (55), but I live in TX and even with AC the house gets as high as 82. I don't want my wine that hot, but I'm OK...

I just finished my first Cru Select, the LE Ehrenfelser. I was very impressed with leaving in the primary for 14 days. It had virtually no gas upon racking! And talk about easy! Just start it and go (although it was hard giving up my only primary for 2 weeks). I'm about to start a CC Showcase...

I had been talking about this very topic with George in preceding days. I don't have any desire to bulk age for very long periods of time as I only have 5 carboys, meaning 4 with wine at any 1 point in time, and I don't want them to have babies! So, if I want to make more wine, eventually the...

I think your project is gorgeous! What kind of wood is it? What kind of temp. do you keep your house at. I saw you are in FL and we are in TX, I'm assuming you get the same kind of daytime temps that we do....... One other question - what is the gas you use to draft the still wine? I'm...

I'm making mine per the directions, so mine is still in the primary and will go into carboy on Thursday. It actively bubbled for about 7 days, and then went still. It's been really hard b/c it tied up my one and only fermentor! I have 10 more kits lined up! Time to make a couple of Mosti's that...

Obviously people have more fermenters than I do! I only have 1! Lara

My husband and I (being transplants) always used to joke: only in TX can you have an open beer in the front seat and have a loaded weapon, and not get arrested. It was all legal when we moved here!

I am planning on using a 1 micron inline/house filter with my vacuum pump to filter multiple carboys of wine. I have read on these boards that you can filter more than one carboy using these filters. I have two questions: Using a vacuum pump, how do you know when the filter is "full?" It seems...

I took my setup up to George & Brian in Dallas yesterday, not just b/c of my issues, they have been saving all my LE kits for me so I could save on shipping and it was prearranged I would go up there anyway. I ended up talking to the folks at Valley Vintner (since i bought the filter...

Yeah, but very high alcohol for the style, I would've expected around 10-11%.

Wow! What does that work out to % alcohol? I drove up to Dallas yesterday and bought WAY too much stuff from George, but at least I saved a lot on shipping. Having fun kinda drooling over all the kits I've got stacked up in my bedroom. I think next I'll do the Grenache Rose En Premeur.