Recent content by WineyMike

Fall 2012 I made a batch of apple wine that I dumped a bag of brachs cinnamon candies into the carboy. The wine came out very clear with a rose blush and a nice cinnamon aftertaste. During a very hot week my crawlspace warmed enough that 7 bottles popped their corks. I found a bottle or two...

There was no evidence of re-fermentation. The minimum recommended was 2 oz/gal. I was close to 3. I thought I had stirred it plenty but maybe not. This year I have 12 gallons to work with. I'll make my own syrup and add it at an earlier racking.

Fruit wines are fun to play with (elderberry & serviceberry turning out very nice) but the wine that keeps whispering my name from the crawlspace is a mid-priced kit SHIRAZ.

Last year I made my first 6 gal. batch of concord grape wine. I read in several places that concord should be backsweetened for the best results. Having never done it before I decided to go with Global Vintners wine conditioner. Simple-already sorbated, just add,mix,wait a week and bottle. After...

I started reloading rifle cartridges years ago to "save money". I cut my cost to 33% but shot 3 times as much. Winemaking is about the same. I spend at least as much money as before but get much more fun per dollar.

I've only been making wines for 3-4 years but I have found that I have been much happier with kit wines than fruit wines. I'm a BIG fan of shiraz and the only fruit wines that give me that same depth of flavor are elderberry and juneberry(serviceberry). Blueberry is pleasantly light, blackberry...

I have to admit it's a little late to be asking for advice but today I started building a wine/juice press. I purchased the hardware kit on ebay from "volpex". The instructions CD seems very detailed and easy to follow. I'm just curious if anyone has done this kit and has run into problems or...

Wade knows his stuff. A couple minutes in boiling water and the chunks disappeared. Looked nice and clear when I added it to the carboy yesterday.

55 miles SE of the bridge on Lake Huron.

Appreciate the help!

I'm curious. My posts show a time about 4 hrs. late. Is it my computer? My toolbar clock shows the correct time. It makes me look like I'm drunk-texting in the middle of the night. I'm usually on eBay when that happens! It's now 9:02 EST.

2nd glass of a very young backsweetened concord wine. I think by next fall this will be nice wine!

Thanks for the help, Wade. I think the hot bath will be less messy than the food processor. The code says it was made in July,2007. Wow!

I got a free Island Mist kit because it was old. I can't decipher the code for an exp. date but the yeast was good till 4/10. I started it with 5# sugar added. I found that the F-pack has hardened chunks in it. They settled into the corners of the box and over the shapes under the F-pack. I can...

Hi, guys. I've been eavesdropping for about a year now. I'm pretty new to this ( about 2 years). So far I've made 4 kits - 2 shiraz, 1 chamblais, 1 pinot noir, with an Island Mist in the primary. From scratch I've made 2 apples, 1 concord grape, and 1 juneberry. I plan on ordering elderberry...