Recent content by desquared

So last night I actually opened a 375ml bottle, sat down and quietly had my first full glass of the CRP after a month in the bottle (after 6 months of bulk aging). Oh my God! It was amazing! Smooth with the subtle flavors of the chocolate and raspberry in the background that lingered on the...

rezod11 - Adding the brandy is just to raise the ABV, and I added it on bottling day after pouring a sample glass. I was able to ferment to 16.7% and I used the Pearson Square calculator here http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/blending.asp to figure out how much brandy to add to get to 18%...

After adding the f-pack, I had 3-375ml bottles left. I used two of them to top off after reracking, and left another one in my collection of supplies, while the CRP quietly aged for six months in the basement. I found the extra bottle a month ago, and enjoyed it. I finally bottled the CRP in...

Rocky - The bottles I've had tasted fine. I whipped it that long because this was my first kit and I was not sure what I was doing.

Shaking it in the bottle was something I did last night after drinking half. That did get the extra CO2 out of solution, but it was somewhat disconcerting to have a "head" on the wine in the bottle

9 months ago, I started my first kit wine, a WinExpert Coastal White. Followed the instructions, let it sit to bulk age for 6 months, and it's been in the bottles for 3 months now. I've enjoyed about 1/3 of the batch. I opened a bottle last night and found it was slightly carbonated (some...

My OG was 1.128. I did the chaptalisation in two stages and measured the SG before and after I added the sugar solution. On the first add, my SG went up by 0.004 and by 0.006 on the second add. My ferment finished at 1.010. So I am assuming that I would just add the extra gravity from the...

Glue sticks have worked well for my wine bottles and beer bottles as well. 20 seconds of warm water in the sink washes the labels right off.

I was able to get my #9 corks in the 37 bottles (24 - 750s, 13 -375s) from my first batch with my double handle corker without any issues.

I picked mine up early last September when they first came out. I just started the kit two weeks ago. It's sitting in the secondary right now, and I'm about ready to start the stablizing and clearing. Mine fermented just fine, nothing got stuck for me, although I did the chaptalization in two...

I did my first batch last August as a WX Vintner's Reserve Coastal White. I followed the instructions to the letter and then, showing an incredible amount of patience (or benign neglect) left it alone airlocked in the carboy in the basement for 6 months to age. It came out great, and I am...

I've just used regular copy paper (20#), printed things on a laser printer, and attached the labels with a "glue stick". Run the bottle under hot water, and the label comes off in about 3 seconds. I've used this for my beer brewing as well as my wine making.

Wine Pump Following on Twitter.

Cover it up and let it sit for a few months.

Success! After a quiet 6 months in the basement bulk aging, I've been able to bottle my first batch of wine this last weekend, a WinExpert Coastal White. Got a 6.2 gallon yield, 24 - 750ml bottles, 11 - 375ml bottles and two glasses to enjoy while I got everything bottled and corked. The wife...