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Hi everyone, its been a busy season. I got enough grapes for 1 batch of jam. bad year for fruit in Michigan. good year for new vines. so nothing fermenting. I've noticed a lot more wine shows on PBS, I'm usually glued to them. If you haven't heard, wine is booming now. The show that caught my...

Im looking for some input on Merlot, Zinfandel and Pinot Nior red. these are the vines I want to grow but they are not for my zone. has anyone in michigan grow these with success? Im ordering in a week or two and need to decide.

I thought my concord had high alcohol a month ago. I added oak chips to mollow out the taste. I did not add clearing agents trying to keep the chemicals low. I tasted it today and the light bulb clicked. Its vinegar. the strong alcohol taste is replaced with vinegar. A simple answer is all Im...

Feel free to celebrate this new holiday, even our nieghbors in PA. I started poping corks and bungs to get some practice tasting. starting with: My VdV Merlot taste is mellowing out and cleared nicely ready to bottle My Concord Crush I now know its not a chemical taste, its vinegar...

I'm looking for good used Blue-x tubes or left over new. 200+ at a very reasonable price. Let me know what you have and a price(I'm on a tight budget) I will pay shipping.

I am curious as to how any of you freeze grapes to sell. I plan to put 1 acre of vines in this coming spring. I know I have a few years to plan but I like to have my ducks in a row. Being in Michigan does anyone know the laws on selling frozen grapes or must?

My concord is doing well. I added sorbate and camden tabs and decided not to backsweeten yet because the flavor is getting better and it tastes sweeter than the last sample. I thought I had a perfect wine to top off with, I found a concord wine at the market. It turned out to be a Kosher wine...

I need to backsweeten my concord.It quit fermenting about a week ago and i racked into a carboy. the alc. is about 12% and the sweetness is gone. I forgot to buy sorbate, can I use Camden tabs(potassium metabisulfite) to stop any activity? I plan to backsweeten with welches 100% juice. witch...

I need some clarifying. I bought ph test strips and acid test kit. the ph came out at 5.4. the acid tested to 0.9% according to the math in the tutorial. I dont really understand where the wine stands or what if anything should be done. Any input or suggestions would be appreciated.

The directions do not say, do I still stir after racking, degassing and clearing agents added?

My hydrometer is floating but the paper scale is below the wine. I was waiting for 1.020 before I remove the fruit but I didnt have time to check yesterday. It was 1.033 the day before. I adjusted the SG from 1.050 to 1.075 before pitching the yeast. Im draining the juice off now. Is it done...

I crushed three gallons of concord and added camden tabs last night. My SG was 1.050 it seem to be correct for a sweet wine. I would like an alc. content around 12% should I add sugar now to adjust this? how would I do it? also I will have three 3gallon fermenters going this weeked I plan to mix...

I stopped by a friends to pick grapes and was told they were concord. when i looked around and sampled some i came to the conclusion there were four different verieties. I happily picked 10 gallons of a mix. some were concord but some were much deaper purple and tasted kinda wineish, not as...

I may have miss read the first reading of 1.025 for my vino del vida Merlot kit. I was doing some math last night and came up with 4.5% alc. by vol. my merlot has fermented for one week after pitching the yeast and is at 1.000 sg. The beginning reading of 1.025 seemed very low. do i need to...

my merlot kit has a note i missed, add oak powder in primary fermenter. is it too late. should i add it now its only been 4 days and it says not to stir the yeast or can i add it when i rack it. its a 28 day kit

I'm very eager to make wine from fresh grapes. I started my first kit less than a week ago and have plans for a batch of fresh but all the vinyards are more than an hour away. i would like to find some local grapes in my area. if you live in central mich. let me know what you have or point me in...

This is all new to me. I started my first Merlot kit a few days ago and its doing great. I'm starting small as my fermenting bucket is on my night stand because I have kids. my bedroom smells gassy and I woke up sick today. Are the ferment fumes bad for you or did I just have an off day.

Hi Im Chris, in central Michigan. Im new here. this is my first attempt at winemaking. (I dont count the apple mash I made when I was a teen. it had too much bread yeast and wasnt drinkable) I'm also new at forums, you are my first. I've never been a big wine drinker, Spiced rum is my #1, but I...