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My Malbec/Cabernet 2015 spring from chile seemed to be coming along nicely. In the fall I separated what I had( 21 gallons) into a 6 gallon carboy and a 15 gallon flex tank. I racked today. The 6 gallon tank(which had one french oak wine stick in it) is amazing. The 15 gallons in the...

Fast fermentation left my fall batch with poor color. I want a deep purple. What additives are available to add color? If you have experience with them, any technique is appreciated.

I racked into a new carboy and the airlock didn't seem tight. So I pushed and it sank into my wine. Gone! I put a new one on. Can I just leave it like this for a few months? I cleaned the stopper w easy clean and sanitized it w Stan San before I put it on. Also, when I do rack, how do I...

malbec smell if done, will sulfite eliminate the musty smell now that MLF is nearing completion within the next few weeks. Should I add more sulfite than recommended...it seems the first dose gets bound up and level come out low 1/2 tsp per five gallons?

I've been wanting a flex tank, 15 gallons good for me. My wife surprised me or Father's Day and got the 30 gallon, thinking bigger the better. Problem is I've never made a 30 gallon batch. So I guess I'm stuck making 30 gallons in the fall. Anyone have one?? Do you like? Can you sanitize...

Would those of you who have made Malbec from chilean grapes please describe the aroma? I'm 3 weeks into MLF, and the wine has a smell….not necessarily bad, but distinct. I can't believe it is H2S. Not rotten egg, I've smelled that before on a small amount of wine mixed w gross lees This is...

Other than a barrel what do you recommend for long term bulk storage. I was thinking about a large demijohn. Or a spiedel plastic tank. Or a flex tank. Are all these good for 1-2 year storage.

I can't place it. It's not rotten egg. It just smells weird. I don't know if it's vegetable. No idea. Brett? I need help. Can I get rid of this? Who can I go to to tell me what this smell is?

Chilean crush, fermentation and press went well. Used d254(low h2s producer) and stuck to a strict nutrient schedule with go ferm and fermaid k, etc exactly according to morewinemaking. Racked off gross Lees 48 hours later. Wine was great at press and for 2 weeks after. I had a one gallon...

Anyone ever made Barbera? Thinking of mixing it w Cab Sav

I have oak cubes. I was going to soak in vodka and then place in a mesh bag that was sprayed w k meta and drop in the wine for a while. Anyone do it differently and how long do you usually leave it in--8 weeks? I don't want to over oak.

I have six 5 gallon carboys full of the exact same wine. Do you guys test each carboy for MLF, acid, sulfite, pH, etc or do you test one and assume all are doing pretty much the same thing? Seems like a pain to have to treat each one like its own batch.

Can I press? Do I need to wait to .994? Waiting seems risky but it may also be risky to potentially separate from the yeast when I rack off gross lees in 2 days...

I don't make kit wines but was wondering--how do you get full color and flavor by fermenting without skins and also not adding the good tannic juice you get from pressing? Also, do you feel like your missing half the fun without crushing and pressing? Just wanted to get perspectives so if if...

Does anyone here use a bladder press? Morewinemaking seems to recommend them but they are pretty expensive. Are they better than rachet basket presses?

If my fermentation ends on wed, but I don't have time to press until Friday, is it a major issue if the wine is in the fermentation buckets w the skins for a day or two? I realize pressing should occurring immediately, but realistically I'm not sure I can do this. Do you guys all quit for...

Is the color at the end of fermentation the final color? If I want it deeper any downside or benefit to adding more opti-red at this point? My brix is 4 so I probably only have a few days left in primary fermentation. It's dark red, but not dark purple if that makes any sense.

My room is set to 75 but the temp of must stays at 75. Not getting a spike to 90 for my cab sav/malbec that I had hoped. It's very active, foaming largely. Do I need to get the spike to 90? What advantages am I gonna miss?

Started w brix 23, pitched yeast, trying to go slow...temp is 60.... Fermentation looks good, down to 19 brix after 3 days. Added go-ferm w yeast, fermaid k w cap formation and am waiting for brix 16 for second fermaid k dose. My question is do I keep it slow and steady at 60 degrees or do I...

I am following the more winemaking manual-- I used go ferm with the yeast as directed, will do fermaid k when fermentation gets going, and another addition of fermaid k when bris is down by a third. After that I was planning on adding DAP to help prevent H2s and keep yeast healthy. My...