Recent content by ronberntson

What colour is red wine I put in the clearing agents just a couple of days ago. I'm used to the whites, which clear quite quickly. I'll assume that "muddy" just isn't right - that you should get some kind of colour. Therefore, I'll be waiting and watching. Thanks for your advice. Ron

So, after putting away some Pinot Grigio for my wife, I’m putting down my first reds for me. I have four different reds approaching completion, but I’m wondering what they should look like. Here’s my current notes: 1. Ken Ridge Showcase Argentina Malbec – opaque red, great taste. 2. Cheeky...

Cpfan – I’m sorry, but my notes don’t say which Ken Ridge it is – the instructions are for a 4 week kit. It’s “Grand Cru Heritage Estates” Vino Vida. So I screwed up with the “5 week” information. I seem to remember it looked like a Ken Ridge kit, but I’m old and confused at times :) With the...

This is the Ken Ridge Ontario Sauvignon Blanc - a five week kit. The temperature in my basement ranges between 21 and 24C. The wine clears up fairly quickly (overnight) and the only "head" seems to be from the clearing agents - and even that is just barely covering the surface. I'll be...

I’m in the middle of doing my first kit wines. The instructions for “Stabilizing and Clearing” my Ontario Sauvignon Blanc include two separate “degassing for five minutes” (one before and one after using the Kieselsol and Citosan). I have the fancy attach to your drill degasser. After about one...

Thanks - I'm looking for a fast white that's not that sweet. Ron

How sweet is the Blackberry Merlot?

That makes sense to me. How would you restart the fermentation? Ron

After writing the above, I see from this discussion http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3495 that Cranberry can be hard to start. Ron

I used this recipe http://www.ehow.com/how_2123157_make-cranberry-wine.html for a gallon of cranberry wine. I choose lavalin k1118 for a yeast. Because the must was so "thick" with berries and raisins, I didn't get a starting SG. When I racked it into a secondary today, the SG was at 1.11 and I...

I've picked up a number of used primaries, but most are missing their lids. I'm brand new, but likely I'll make both kit and country wines. I notice that the kits I'm using say "cover"? Can I use a plastic wrap? Towel? Does anyone have a clever idea how I could get replacement lids? thanks

Do you have something like Kijiji or Craig's list in the Mother Country (me being a colonial and all)? I've been finding 23 litre carboys for $CDN10 which appears to be just over 6 pounds UK currency. It's a real buyer's market here - a lot of people thought making their own wine would be a good...

One more pieces of advice - if you use your carboy brush while there is PMeta or SMeta in the Carboy, you will get a nasty spray when you pull out the brush. If there's gunk to clean out, get some of the pink cleaning agent available at most wine making stores. Then you can just "swish" with the...

Thank you for all your experience and sympathy. Hopefully this thread will prevent someone else from "learning by experience".

Whoops - this thread had the "no smelling" advice:http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11915 Ron