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After racking a Blackberry (from berries) batch, we had the sediment settling in wine bottles to try and salvage a little wine for topping up the carboys after the next racking. The bottles had a bung and three piece airlock with Vodka in it. A couple months later there were tiny gnats in the...

When making berry wine from fruit, and fermenting to dry in the primary bucket. How many days do you usually leave the must in the primary? Starting SG was 1.086. After 3 days I sealed the lid and placed an air lock at 1.007. Used 71b, goferm and then fermaidO. So, about how may total...

This is a 5 gallon batch of Blackberry/Elderberry with about 27 lbs. blackberries, 11 lbs elderberries and 5 pounds of sugar to an SG of 1.086. About 33 hours after adding the yeast starter with Goferm I did the following. I added 1/2 dose (4 grams) of FermaidO. It was just past 2/3 sugar...

Another question about my Blackberry wine. How long do you leave the berries in the must after you add the yeast? And why? The value of this forum to new winemakers or, winemakers trying new things, is invaluable. (priceless) Thanks for any help. Dave

This is my first batch of wine from fruit. Maybe I need to rephrase this question. I am trying to figure out how much must I need to start with (including 80 lbs. of berries) to end up with 10 gallons of wine. In other words, approximately how much volume in gallons will I lose when I...

I will be making a berry wine using 71b yeast. Which nutrient should I use and when? Do I need yeast energizer? Thanks Dave

We are planning to make 10 gallons of Blackberry/Elderberry/Blueberry wine. We will be using a total of about 8 pounds of fruit per gallon. About 7 pounds Blackberry, 1 pounds Elderberry, 1/4 pound Blueberry per gallon. I have 2 questions at this time. 1. How much volume should we start...

I'm trying to plan out a 12 month rotation for my wines. That is, I need to make enough wine during the winter to last for a 12 month period. Considering what I drink, gift and share with family and friends. I think it will be around 250 bottles per year. Or, about 50 gallons. But, it could...

I recently tried the new Island Mist Black Cherry Pinot Nior. It was very disappointing. The cherry flavor is very strong and artificial. Much like cherry flavored cough medicine. I normally add about 3 pounds of sugar to the mist kits and I did that to this one as well. The IM Blueberry...

What would be the pros or cons of using Steve's vacuum racking setup (down the side of the carboy) to rack from primary to secondary fermenter? I'm thinking it would remove some of the C02 in the process, although the yeast would make more. Is there any drawback? Would it do any harm...

The directions from home winery say to add the acid pack after fermentation is complete. But I have read that the PH should be adjusted before fermentation is started. So I am somewhat confused. Do those of you who have made wine using their concentrates add the acid pack before...

I am making the Elderberry with concentrate from Homewinery. For those of you that have used their concentrates to make wine I have a question. Do you use more concentrate to back sweeten and flavor the wine? Do the fruit flavors come through good enough without adding concentrate after...

Has anyone tried degassing their wine by using an electric vacuum pump and agitating the wine with a rod at the same time? I've read many threads about vacuum racking. But I only rack my kits one time before fining and I don't enjoy washing carboys. I remember reading somewhere that someone...

My son is wanting to try a Blackberry, Blueberry and Elderberry mix. Can anyone suggest a good yeast for this combination? I am guessing that one packet per 5 gallons of must would be OK. If that's not correct, please advise as to how much to use. As always, Thanks for the help. Dave

I just started making Island Mist kits about 6 months ago and was wondering at what age they peak. I know what WineXpert says, but would like your personal experience and opinions. So, if you have made Island Mist kits, please help by answering the following four questions. Please count...

I just wanted to say thank you to ALL of the posters on this fantastic forum. A friend got me started making Island Mists kit late last fall 2012. I had almost no experience with wine making. After finding this forum I spent many hours browsing over 100 pages of previous threads in the Kit...

My son has a white grape wine that had sugar added but no yeast at the start. It is now six months later in a wood barrel and is very sweet. He hasn't checked the SG yet but I expect it is rather high. Is it possible to add yeast and re-ferment at this stage in the game? If so, what...

I just bought a Portuguese floor corker that was a floor model with no box or instructions. It has a Ferrari sticker on it and is red. If someone has one of these or, is familiar with them I could use some help. My questions are. 1. What is the best lubricant to use? 2. How/where do...

I have been reading a lot of the older posts here and realize proper degassing is very important. My first kit was not degassed completely. I have made several island mist kits and one Cornucopia kit. The Cornucopia kit directions were to splash rack to carboy from primary at 1.020-1.000...

My son has been making wine using directions that were passed down from an old time winemaker through 2 generations. This wine is usually taken from the barrel as needed and not bottled. (I know not good) Some Persimmon that was bottled after at 1-1/2 years was slightly fizzy. Sampling the...