Recent content by Craiger

I'm glad it's going well, and I'm particularly glad to hear the Avante is working good for you. I'm using it this year for the firs time. Several years ago it was a hassle to get rid of the H2S in my wine. I used Montrachet that year (never again), and every year I'm so nervous about getting...

I've been enjoying reading about your journey with your family blend. I made a similar blend in 2016, it was from an old Papagni Guide to Home Grapes and Wine pamphlet I had sitting around. I just had a couple of slight variations to yours on mine: 25% each of Grenache, Zinfandel, Alicante...

I say go for it! Have fun! Maybe make a small batch if you're fearful of wasting too much time or money. But personally I don't think it will be a waste of time or money. That's the way I made wine for several years (and I always liked the results). I never had a batch go "bad." And that's...

That's what I've used on my last two red blends and I've been happy and don't plan on changing when I crush this year. I started using it after trying Montrachet, which created a lot of rotten egg odors in my wine that year. I was able to get rid of it (for the most part), but I had not...

Thank you for the quick response sir!! Good question about the tartaric. Several years ago I think I remember hearing that tartaric acid is the main acid in grapes and so it always made sense to me to use tartaric instead of acid blend. But I never bothered to really research it and it just...

Hi All, I measured my TA% and I know how much acid blend I need to add to raise the TA%. Or do I? I have about 15 gallons of must (juice with skins). However, I know that historically I end up with about 9 gallons of actual juice/wine out of that after I press after fermentation. So should...

Thank you for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I just racked, and now it's time to wait again. I'm also going to rethink my use of the tablets instead of the powder. Thanks!

Hi, My wine has been aging in carboys since October. I racked a couple of times (without adding sulfites), and each time (as expected) I would get fewer and fewer fine lees on the bottom. However, the last time I racked, I added sulfites (in the form of one crushed campden tablet per gallon)...

Thanks everybody! I really appreciate it!! Good suggestion about getting a scale from Bed Bath and Beyond. I always assumed a scale to measure at such a low range would be very expensive, and I definitely didn't think BB&B would sell them. Thanks again!

Thank you Maverick! This will make me sound like an ingrate (and I apologize), but did you actually weight the reduless or is that your estimate of what it is?

If so, I was hoping for a huge favor! I just ordered some reduless (I didn't receive it yet). I emailed the company and they said the dosage is .5 grams per gallon. The problem is that I don't own a scale. I went to online calculators and found that 1 dry teaspoon is approximately 4.8 grams...

I make wine the way you are describing (no chemicals, letting the yeast present on the skins do the fermenting). To answer the original question, I rack approximately 4 times before I bottle. The first one is off of the gross lees 48 hours after pressing, and then I'll rack every 1 1/2 or 2...

I don't use sulfites in my wine, and I've stored wine at well above 70 degrees and have yet to have a problem. I'm not suggesting it, I'm just relaying my experience. Also, I rarely keep my wine stored for more than 2 years.

Thanks everybody!

I've been making wine from grapes for 3 years, and I'm still not sure if I'm handling the gross lees properly. Here's what I normally do: I press when fermentation is almost done. The juice goes into carboys. After 2 days I have a heavy layer of gross lees, so I transfer wine off the gross...