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I friend of mine just asked me to make a 6 gallon batch of a Cab Merlot blend for his wife's upcoming 40th birthday celebration. She loves the wines I make from kits and from fruit. I have just under a year to get the kit, get it going, get it done, and in the bottle for aging. One of her...

Over the last few month I have staked out about twenty or thirty wild fig trees that were bearing fruit. Well, I noticed today a few of those trees are starting to produce ripe figs. This also means that a lot more ripe fruit will be here before I know it. I need a tried and true fig recipe. I...

I was eating some fresh blackberries tonight when I saw one of my boys grab a Ghirardelli chocolate from the pantry. So I decided that the pairing would be good and have decided to do a Chocolate Blackberry wine. I plan on doing a gallon batch at first to try it out. The plan is to make a...

Over the last few days I have collected 13lbs of blackberries and I am now in need of a tried and true recipe. Please post any suggestions and/or links to recipes you know have turned out well. I currently have them freezing and hope to start a batch of something Friday so I can get it in the...

I just wanted to let everyone know that Barley & Vine is giving away a Thermocapsulator. Enter before March 15 for the March 17th giveaway. Details an be found here: http://www.barleynvine.com/cagi.html

Okay, I have a 6gal batch of Dave's DB clearing and a 6 gal batch of a Prickly Pear that just went into the secondary and I find myself with an empty primary sitting next to another empty 6 gal carboy. Seeing those empty is starting to bug me. I think I would like to try a "real" wine so I look...

I've been thinking about picking up a steam juicer to start another batch of prickly pear (don't ask about the current batch, that's for another time and another thread). My question is, How much use can I really get from it? What other fruits would it be good for processing for wines? I don't...

Okay, I went out and bought a vacuum pump today because I haven't spent near enough money on this new hobby yet. I figured it would be a good investment to go along with the three new six gallon carboys, six new one gallons and my new three gallon. No, I am not addicted to this hobby yet. I...

I am getting ready to start my second batch of wine in a few days when my primary becomes available. I currently have Dave's DB going and I am just waiting on the "3 days with no SG change" to rack it to the secondary per instructions. Today I have gone out picking Prickly Pears and currently...

I've started looking to purchase a bottle washer to attach to my utility sink faucet. I've noticed there are two prevailing types; one has the pressure release valve in the end of the bottle washer attachment (just inside the waters exit, if you will) 1st pic and the other has the pressure...

A few days ago I posted a Wanted ad on Craigslist for any used wine bottles. I didn't really think I would get a response so I kinda forgot about it but thought it was worth the few minutes of effort. I got an email yesterday from someone who said they had a bunch of bottles I could have if I...

Yep, Found it. It was just sittin there waiting on me to drive by and see it. I decided to run some errands this afternoon and while on I-75 I spotted a water bottle in the median next to the concrete divider. I was in the right lane when I spotted it and since it wasn't safe for me to get over...

I've noticed there are several styles of airlocks currently on the market and eBay. Is one style preferred over the other for any particular reason? Which style do you prefer? I plan on buying a few or more so I'll have them as I start collecting carboys. My original kit came with the three...

I am quite sure I will make many mistakes that I can learn from during this new endeavor but I didn't think my wife would make any. That is until she came home from the grocery store yesterday and I realized she had purchased a gallon of apple juice. Since we almost never have apple juice in the...

Just bought by second 6gal carboy today! The only downside, it's two hours away in Jacksonville, FL. Upside, I have a camping trip to Jacksonville planned for MLK weekend which is coming up on the 18th. Other upsides include, having a bit of time to decide what to make next, gathering necessary...

Happy New year everyone. I found this site about a week or so ago and have read almost everything at least once. I have a lot to learn but have been happily absorbing everything I can so far. There is lots of good advice and threads on here and it seems almost every question I have had about the...

This may be off the wall, but I was wondering if anyone has used an aquarium heater to keep their must warm, or at a specific temp, while fermenting? The reason I ask is because I just started my very first batch of wine today and after Christmas bills and the just over $200 I have already...