Recent content by atarlecky

Same issue but I am stuck at 40. I have tried several infusions of fresh yeast and yeast nutrient, shaken the bottle, warmed the fermenter, etc... nothing.

I have been using a combination of sodium percarbonate (oxiclean) and tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) in a two-to-one ratio. This does an excellent job at getting everything clean and getting labels off. As far as any slick feeling that is left, a quick dip in StarSan takes that right off and...

That's great cpfan... thank you for the info. While I am glad started making my own wine, I think I short-changed myself by trying the less expensive kits. I mean - why wait a year for a mediocre wine when you can wait 2 years for a fantastic wine? We have costco here but I am not sure they...

I just read it off the instructions... it says Wine Expert in the corner and Vintners Reserve and I wrote "Shiraz" on the form... so Wine Expert Shiraz. I am curious about the kits that I don't have to add any water to... $125 to $150... are these kits worth the money?

The kit currently aging is "Orchard Breezin' Mist Wine Seville Orange Sangria". Previously we made the "Vino del Vida Chianti" and "Wine Expert Australian Shiraz". The Chianti was bottled the middle of February and the Shiraz was bottled the middle of March. Both lack body and seem...

I am using a mix of 7.5 pails, 6.5 gallon glass, 6 gallon glass and plastic and 5 gallon glass.

That was great Luc... thank you!

Hi... I was wondering if anyone had some hints on how to improve my kit wines. The instructions are very basic and they seem very rush-rush. I am perfectly willing to wait a year or two to get a great wine - I don't need my wine to be "drinkable" in 3 months. Are there changes that can be...

Vacuum Pump. Luc - I think your process of just letting the wine sit for several months and degassing itself is a good idea. However, I did see that you need to protect the wine from light during aging. I was going to use towels but instead decided on an upside-down cardboard box.

Sort of answer... I got a sort-of answer from Pete at Mid-West supply. He basically said to stir slowly when degassing and/or [as the previous poster mentioned] burst the speed setting for degassing. However, for aerating beer wort you can do all the splashing around you want.

Hopefully someone from a supplier can chime in here (not that this hasn't been a good discussion) to fill us in on a proper degassing technique using a mix-stir. Using low RPM makes sense to me because my kit said to use a spoon. Obviously, I couldn't reach very high rpm's with a spoon but [on...

Hello, I am confused about the use of my degassing device. I got the one that attaches to my drill but it seems to me that running it at full speed would actually cause gas to be introduced into the wine rather than take it out. I can't seem to find an guidance on the proper use of this...