Recent content by 4score

You weren't a fan of the oaked Barbera, but I remember taking a case of "Smokey Barbera" off your hands and we LOVED it! I love oak influence but I can also appreciate that "clean" freshness tone of a lightly oaked wine. This year I'm going to be a little less heavy-handed with our oak...

I would transfer back to the bucket and try to get that D80 batch dry. 1.01 is about 2-3 Brix and D80 should complete that under the right conditions. I'd give it a few more days before starting a stuck fermentation protocol.

Which winery were you referring to about the tastings and picnicking, etc.? Thanks.

200 ppm isn't that high for me when trying to baby-sit 4.0 pH wine for > 18 months. We've been adjusting to 3.6 -3.7, but need to take our foot of the SO2 pedal a bit. 50 ppm was a common add. Going to aim for 20-30 going forward.

Congratulations on your success at the San Francisco Chronicle Competition. That's fantastic.

Yeah, that's a problem. I think I ordered it from Gusmer. You may try looking for the same yeast packaged as Biodiva.

Another Avante fan. Great results and as @CDrew says, no H2S. I also produce wines with fairly high alcohol and hot fermentation environments and Avante powers through. Lately, I've been doing a 2-step yeast process beginning with Prelude (non-Saccharomyces) and finishing off with Avante.

Bijendra, here is a good article for reference: https://www.homecidermaking.com/hard-cider-acidity-ta-ph/

I think you are right. Any acid adjustment to lower your pH will increase your TA. I don't get caught up in the numbers because I don't try to make "massive" adjustments. Small pH adjustments should be planned, then use half of the plan in tasting trials before adding the full adjustment.

I agree on the varietals. Not sure if the Chenin will be bottled by then....if not, Viognier will work. I should have my 2018 CF bottled by then. It promises to be a beast! What about 4 from each of us representing those varieties and one commercial (4 total)? You pick up two and I'll pick...

I agree, I think the malic acid is the right choice. Maybe don't waste one of your experiments on the malic vs tartaric, but rather 3.65 no adjustment vs 3.5 adjusted with malic.

Hello, I'm a grape winemaker with no experience outside of grapes....maybe a couple batches of Skeeter! I have a friend, @Bijendra Lal Dangol, who is located in Nepal and learning how to make wine and cider. He is a sponge for information. I recently informed him of this Forum and he just...

I'm hoping Bijendra comes on here soon for his own introduction. I know that making wine in Nepal is challenging. For example, he gets all his grapes from somewhere in India. I don't think they even know the grape variety they get, much less the desired Brix and TA...so they must work with...

It is my pleasure to introduce @Bijendra Lal Dangol to the Forum. He is a winemaker from Nepal who I met and is very enthusiastic about learning how to make great wine. Please join me in welcoming Bijendra to this global Forum!

Results?