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In March I planted three elderberry bushes. It will be a year or two before I get much of a harvest, so this year I'll be visiting a friend this year to harvest some elderberries.

@BarrelMonkey My 2022 Elderberry used 20 lbs. of elderberries in an initial total volume of 4 gallons, aiming for 3+ gallons of finished wine. So that is a similar amount of fruit to your 2023 version. I had to add quite a bit of tartaric acid and acid blend to get the pH down to 3.6. So far...

Elderberry wine benefits from 2-3 years aging. It is so-so the first year, but awesome by year 3.

I've been thinking about steeping temperature for herbs and flowers. We make a lot of tea, and the flavor can change considerably depending on the brewing temperature and time. I have yet to experiment on my lemon balm, but I'd like to see how different temps/times affect the flavor profile...

I use Vacuvin as well, and I have found that some wines last longer than others. Some commercial wines start to taste oxidized by day 2, while others can last 2-3 days. I think that the difference is due to differing antioxidant factors in the wine. Tannins and SO2 will both help prevent...

@RylanJacobs If it is fermenting okay I would not try to change the pH at this point. If fermentation has started, it will probably continue without raising the pH. Once fermentation is finished, there are two factors to consider: * Taste: If it is too tart, you could consider raising the pH a...

I don't think that it is impossibly low. It seems that the honey does something during fermentation to lower the pH. I have experienced that on several occasions, but it does not always happen. I'm not sure why. I've had a few batches drop below 3.0 in primary fermentation. See my comment from...

I added a bit of Potassium Bicarbonate to raise the pH a bit.

That's quite a fancy floor corker you have in the middle of the room! 🤣

I make country wine, which usually benefits from a little bit of backsweetening. The taste of the wine changes during aging, so I usually age them at least 6 months before bottling so that I can adjust the sweetness to the appropriate level. If you do any adjustments for taste before bottling...

This is the simplest solution. Mix up some Simple Syrup and keep it in the fridge. That makes it easy to mix in a little sugar in each glass of wine.

The FastRack Portuguese Floor Corker is 32 inches high according to the ad: https://www.amazon.com/Wine-Bottle-Floor-Corker-Portuguese/dp/B0007PTG1C/ It is unclear from the ad whether 32 inches is the height with the handle raised or fully lowered.

I looked at a few videos. People are bending way down at the waist to use this on the floor. Here is a video of using the red corker on a waist high counter: This one looks like he is on his knees: . This one too: Since this is called a "floor corker," I thought that you could use it on the...

That is exactly my concern. If I got that one, I would need to build a platform the right height to put under it. In terms of ergonomics, standing is better than sitting while pushing down on the corker lever, as long as you don't need to lean over. The Burgundy Superior Portuguese Floor Corker...

I just saw this on the Label Peeler site: https://labelpeelers.com/label-peelers-blog/tired-of-painfully-bottling-your-wine-try-a-floor-corker/ Does anyone use their floor corker while seated?

Continuing the corker discussion... On Amazon the basic Red Portuguese floor corker is listed with prices ranging from $69.99 to 169.99. I'm not sure what the difference is between them. The look virtually identical in the pictures...

I think it makes sense for the starter to have a Brix similar to the must. That way the yeast will get used to the must environment. But you also need sufficient nutrients. If you do an overnight starter with just sugar and water, the yeast might run out of nutrients and produce H2S.

More acidic as in the pH is lower. The biggest change I saw was a drop to pH 2.89. My initial pH reading for that batch is suspect, but how did the pH get that low? I did not add any acid to that recipe. Maybe when honey ferments something increasing the ionization of the acid?? I did not...

I have arthritis in my shoulders, so that isn't an option for me. I don't want to put that much pressure on my shoulders. Using your body weight to press down transfers all that force through your shoulders. Yep, I've been watching Craig's List in my local area. No good deals so far.

Maybe a few people could share "best practices" when using #8 natural corks. I mean besides saying "You need to immediately buy a floor corker and get #9 nomacorks" 🤣