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Hello all, This was my second year making wine from fresh grapes. After we pressed last year and were left with all the skins, I felt bad throwing them out. I seemed like such a waste but I didn't know what to do with them. Someone advised me to make Grappa but I don't have a...

What are the concerns with reusing wine bottles? I have 45 gallons of wine that I will be bottling in the coming months and have collected around 100 empty wine bottles. I still need about 150 by my estimation but my question lies around which corks to use and any other issues anyone else has...

Hello all, I have merlot and cabernet sauvignon wines that I am getting ready to oak. I have three carboys of each grape and initially thought I would put French Oak in one, American Oak in another and Hungarian Oak in the last. Now I am thinking I shouldn't mess with anything and put...

Ladies and gents, everyone has been very helpful to me ever since I started posting here. I've greatly appreciated all the advice I've received and hope that I can one day bring something to the table. I come to you wise winemakers and ask your advice once again. This time with the fickle...

I have a few 6.5 gallon carboys that need to be topped up. Not by much, just about 2-3 inches at the most and that is at the neck of the carboy above the shoulder. I wanted to use sterilized marbles. I went to a pet store and purchased non-toxic rocks that are used in fish tanks. They are...

I picked up 300 pounds of Merlot grapes on October 24, I pitched the yeast on October 25. Initially, things got off to a slow fermentation. It seems temperature was the culprit. I warmed the fermenter up and things have been coming along nicely. That debacle can be seen here...

I have 300 pounds of Merlot grapes in a 78 gallon fermenter. The fermenter is not quite half full. I pitched 6 packs of EC-1118 on Monday evening. The starting gravity was 25.5 Brix. Now, 7 days later, it reads 22 Brix with a hydrometer. Does this seem slow to anyone else? I just added...

My name is Mark and I live just outside of Philadelphia in Horsham Township. I am new to winemaking this year and decided to jump right in with a couple of friends and make wine from grapes. I've been brewing beer for about a year and a half so that gave me the confidence (potentially false)...

Does anyone have any pictures of their set up when they press wine off grape skins/seeds? I'll be pressing about 600lbs of grapes soon (yes, I know I am in for it but don't worry, we have a lot of helpers) and I would like to see how other do it so I can prepare myself and hopefully avoid some...

I am getting ready to pick up 600lbs of grapes this weekend. (300lbs Merlot and 300lbs Cabernet Sauvignon). They will be crushed and destemed at the pick up point but will be up to me to press off the skins after fermentation. My local homebrew shop rents a 9.5 liter wine press. What kind...

Hello all! I am about to make my venture into wine making this fall and cannot seem to make up my mind when it comes to the question of 6.5 and 6 gallon carboys versus 14.25 gallon demijohns for MLF, secondary and ternary fermentation/aging. Can one of the more experienced guys give me their...