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Help please- I was planning on picking the weekend of the 15th but need to move it up to this weekend because of these pests! Brix was in the 20-25 range Monday. Are the clusters that have been damaged by the beetles junk? I was thinking of submerging the clusters in water to get the beetles to...

Getting into making my first meads and have one batch in secondary. I added K-Meta after primary, as I typically do with wine, but I see a lot of recipes for mead don't call for it. Is the K-Meta needed? Also, I plan on back-sweetening with some honey. Do you use the same amount of sorbate...

I was talking with a local winery and she had said in WI, its always high acid. They haven't made a Marquette wine in a few years because of the acid and have made their Marquette in a rose style. The majority of vineyard owners I have spoke to use VSP systems to keep the fruit at a...

Background, I've got a variety of north American hybrids including Marquette, petite pearl, frontenac blanc, etc. 30 of them are entering their 3rd season and 103 entering their second. I plan on trying a variety of trellis systems including GDC, TWC, and it appears at least the petite ami will...

Has anyone started pruning in this region yet? My vines are only a year old and I plan on pruning back to develop two trunks. I know we still have two months of frost potential and it is supposed to cool off here the end of the week. Soft maples are starting to bud around here and you can...

I have been reading up on dry cured meats and sausages and have already ventured into making a few cheeses. Does anyone else partake in these hobbies? Would the mold and spores from curing these products have any affect on the wine? I was thinking of building a garage with a room dedicated...

Has anyone taken any of the courses through Vesta? I am interested if the online classes were worth it or if you did not get much out of them. Thanks!

A lot of kits contain Chitosan to aide in clearing and I was wondering if anyone knows if this would affect people with a fish allergy? I don't think I have used it on any of my wines but I would hate to forget and give a bottle of wine to someone that may be affected by it.

Not sure if anyone from the magazine frequents this site but I wanted to say the article on the DIY sprayer in last months issue was great! I love the DIY articles and would love to see even more. That is definitely a project I added to my to do list, just need to see if an old 1948 Ford 8N...

Good Morning - This past weekend we planted 30 vines divided up between Marquette, Marechal Foch, Prairie Star, Frontenac Blanc, and Petite Ami. I was looking at getting some Captan and some Sulfur Fungicide for a spray program but then read somewhere that the sulfur may not be great for a...

Hi - When do you need to start a spray program on vines? I have thirty 1-1 or 1-x vines coming from Double A and am wondering if I need to start a spray program in the first year. 10 Marquette 5 Marechal Foch 5 Frontenac Blanc 5 Prairie Star 5 Petite Ami Starting small to see how...

Hi Guys - Looking at starting my first must wine with a couple of frozen musts from Wine Grapes Direct, a Cabernet and a Merlot. They each have a Brix of 24 and pH at 3.7 - 3.8 with a TA of 0.55. Would you add anything to get the TA up a little? Thanks!

Has anyone found a place for spring musts near Minneapolis? I spoke with Midwest and they are unsure if they will be getting any South American supplies in and just wondering if there is another local place to go. Thanks!

Has anyone ever done an MLF to a fruit wine? Didn't have time to check the TA but will try to get to it tonight. Had a pH of 2.61 and added Pot Bicarb and got to a pH of 3.42 prior to starting fermentation. Hadn't really thought about doing an MLF until the last couple of nights. I'll get...

Has anyone tried to use the Ferrari Bottle Fillers with the All in One Pump? I hope to find time this weekend to play with some new toys I got, just wondering if anyone has tried this before? Thanks!

I've read that vines can grow well in substandard soils, but what about clay? I have a hillside north of our house that I would like to plant something on to hide the eyesore. It is a mix of mostly clay and some veins of sand. Worthless to even try here? Thanks!

Would a kit wine benefit from MLF? I was looking at getting a couple of bid red kits of varietals that when they are grape must, MLF is typically done. With them being kits and having acid adjustments made to them, is MLF needed or has anyone still done it? Thanks

When you guys are testing and blending to come up with the perfect flavor profile, do you use anything thing to clean your palette in between tastings? Thanks!

I have been bulk aging a 20 minute boil Amber Bock kit for about a month and half now. I need to get drinking up before I have enough bottles to get this bottled. If I bulk age the beer for a few months, will I need to add more yeast back when I bottle carb it? Are there any additives I...

How long do you guys keep your siphon tubes? I use a clear 3/8" tube and I can tell it is starting to get a stain to it. It appears clean and I will run Star San through it prior to racking. I don't know if the staining contains any harmful organisms but would like to be safe. Thanks!