Recent content by oaksfan

Jim its been available in Canada for 2 weeks already, so i'm surprised you havent recieved it yet.

If for no other benifit a little less top up wine and its a softer marble.:h

Got the kit this week and it comes with both RC-212 and EC1118 yeast ,60 grams med/heavy blend oak chips and 30 grams of american oak cubes .any suggestions on tweaks ? possibly adding more tannins ? going with only the RC212 ?

Tony when making wine for the father inlaw, time is not something i have. He brings me 30 day kits and wants them in that time.... Man of quantity not quality.

Dan, i hadnt even given thought to what could have happened if it broke while in my hands. scary ! I'm thinking the carboy must have been faulty.I had just degassed a kit in it a week ago .Does anyone have pictures of the chinese made carboys ? like i said this one resembled the italian but...

I recently got a vaccum brake bleeder and to date had vacuum degassed 3 kits and and really like how well it works. tonite i was degassing a kit that i was making for my father inlaw and had first stirred it for a few minutes with the drill . i then put it under vacuum and slowly built up to...

Yep thats just what i do. If your more comfortable following the directions, by all means go that route.

I checked my instruction sheets and from all the kits i've done, the passport series is the only one that calls for the juice first. I have made 4 of the passport reds including the cab sauv/ cab franc and haven't had any issues with the old method.

StBlGT as far as instructions go , the kit makers vary a bit , i always start with hot water in the primary and then stir in the bentonite,add the juice and then rinse the bag with hot water. The only reason for not topping up would be if you plan to bottle in the 6-8 week timeframe. I would...

The 3 Winery series kits ive done so far had 2 bags of skins, so i assume thats normal.

No i do not .Not sure if the kit manufacturers make the info available . Perhaps somebody out there will know.

I made 3 of the LE Passport kits last year and while they are quite young ,I'm very impressed with them so far . I've tried a bottle of the Petit Verdot and the Brunello. haven't tried the Volcanic red yet. I have the Cab/franc in the carboy and will be getting the three country cab that's...

Just started the passport 2016 cab franc /cab sauv yesterday and that comes with just the RC-212. I guess the kit manufacturer must be confident with it to finish.

When they include 2 different packs of yeast ,are they expecting both of them pitched at the same time or is the EC-1118 just for insurance ?

Thanks for all the advice ! I've had the brew belt on it on and off now and there's still a bit of fermentation happening ,so I will wait and see how dry it gets. Worst case scenario I may have an off dry red to give away to family.