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Hi all, I am making a super tuscan with Sangiovese, Cab, and Merlot. We crushed and pressed each separately and are planning on doing a "tasting party" to determine our blend . I have 6 gal of each and aa a 5 gal carboy full of "blend" that was just what was left over from each. DOn't know...

I got a new Vadai barrel for my birthday! Yay! Cant wait! I feel all grown up and I'm only 45!

Hi Everyone, I bottled my first batch of DB about a week ago. I started it months ago, and racked it 2-3 times subsequently. I also racked into a bucket before bottling. I just checked on it yesterday, and now it has a cloudy sediment at the bottom of the bottles. Actually, it is now on...

My strawberry wine from this Spring has suddenly come back to life! I have tiny little bubbles coming up that makes me think of Malolactic fermentation, but as far as I know, that does not happen in Strawberry wine. Am I wrong? This was an all-fruit wine, though I did have to add some sugar...

I have about 180 lbs of Syrah grapes in the primary and they are chugging away, but it has been fairly cool in the house (I'm too cheap to turn on the heat). I am wondering if it is too late to give the yeast a boost with some nutrient. The must started at 1.115 and has now dropped to about...

Hi everyone! Our Zinfandel grapes FINALLY got here on Thursday! Two weeks later than my Syrah, so I was expecting a monster as the Syrah was 28.5 Brix (1.120 SG) at 64F and 4.1-4.2 pH. The Zin was closer to normal. 1.110 and pH 3.8. I tried to test the TA with my pH meter for the first...

Hi all, I just picked up my 5 crates (36# each) of Syrah grapes from the Suisun valley of CA. I crushed them through a hand-cranked crusher and sulfited them last night. at 64F, the SG was 1.120 (!!!) and the pH was vacillating between 4.1 and 4.2. What should I do with this monster...

:rdo I have a weird thing going on with my Malbec. I made it from fresh juice in 2012 and as a rookie, added sorbate to it after it had gone through MLB. I know better now. I have been drinking it right along as I know it is doomed to turn into geranium juice (that is why my wife named...

So the strawberry wine has stopped fermenting at about 1.001. I just realized that I forgot to add the bentonite, and now I have 7-8 gallons of strawberry smoothie (with a kick). Also I was planning on adding more yeast nutrient, but I am thinking that it may be completely done fermenting...

Hi everyone, I posted about this int eh general forum the other day because I did not see this one. Perhaps all of you can help me. I know a tiny tiny bit about growing wine grapes. Two tinies. I grew up on Cape Cod, and our house had a bunch of wild grape vines up the driveway. Turns...

Hi everyone, So I have about 68# of strawberries in a primary with pectinase and KMeta, and the pH is at 3.7. Quick question: How much CaCO3 do I need to add to bring pH down to 3.55? Thanks!

I know it is probably all but impossible to ID these from the pictures, but take a look and see if you have any idea what tehy may be. All I know is that we had these growing up along the long driveway at the house I grew up in on Cape Cod. I always thought they were just wild grapes. Last...

So I scored over 100# of free peaches from a friend's friend's orchard. Awesome, right? The problem is that they drove from upstate NY to Eastern MA over 2 days, and went from nice and ripe to "wicked nasty" in that time. I was lucky to save 2/3 of them and even those were pretty funky. I...

Has anyone tried that white board paint on wine bottles? I wonder if it would stick to glass. It is paint that turns walls and such into a working white board for dry erase markers. It wouldn't be pretty for giving away gift bottles, but you could keep your house reds and whites, etc...

So my first batch of wine from all grapes was a bit more voluminous than I had anticipated. 6 flats of grapes at 18 lbs each yielded over 8 gallons of must and I am now, after the first racking, down to a 6 gal carboy, a one gallon jug, a 750 ml bottle and a 375 ml wine bottle. I added ML...

I have a Chilean Malbec that I made from fresh juice. It was my first ever batch of wine and some of you may remember that I added Sorbate even though it went through MLF (rookie mistake). I have been drinking it occasionally and keeping track of any changes in hopes that I can drink it...

I am making my first batch of all-grape wine and I am absolutely loving it all. The learning is fun, and challenging, but it is so cool to come home to the smell of fresh fermenting grapes in the kitchen every day. My wife thinks it smells like "grape farts," which I guess technically it is, but...

I will be making some "Fuzzy Dragon" later today and have a total rookie question. SHould I sanitize the nylon bag that holds the fruit before adding my peaches?

Hi everyone, I am expecting my first batch of whole grapes (cab. sauv.) any day know. I have help with the crushing, but I am going to be pressing solo on a borrowed basket press. I have not even seen it yet and it has not been used in years. What should I look for to make sure it is...

Hi everyone, SO this skeeter pee/Dragon blood thing has me intrigued. Hoping it will give me something home made to drink for the summer pig roasting season. I am thinking about making a peach version and subbing frozen peaches for the frozen berries in DangerDave's D.B. recipe. Has anyone...