Recent content by bchilders

Cooking for Veterans day meal this past weekend. We cooked 30 butts over hardwood coals. @TxBrew

I am not aware of any in your area or mine for that matter. I moved from the Raleigh area 4 years ago, live in the Winston Salem area now.

I suggest not cutting it all the way back to the ground if you want to have grapes next year. Doing so might even kill the vine. I would first think about how you want it to grow and prune to train it that way. Cut out all the small growth back leaving two or three buds up from the trunk...

Thanks for sharing such an wonderful story.

Congratulations, may you now have more time for the funner things in life.... :fsh

What are the top two or three biggest mistakes you have seen from home winemakers and then from commercial makers.

I don't have one and I don't think my cats would like if I did. I just wonder how well they work.

Welcome Jimmer149, I look forward to hearing how this turns out. I made a spiced mead last year and am planning a basic one for this month, just honey and water. My spiced one is getting better but the jury is still out on if it will ever be drinkable. I have not back sweetened it yet but...

check this one out on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D6KGRW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Arne said it well so what he said. :)

The Vinetrica manual recommends "homogenizing your sample in a blender before proceeding; otherwise your TA values can be very inaccurate. Take 100 mL or more of your must and put it in a blender on high for 30 seconds. Allow solids to settle for 2 minutes before sampling or use a cheese cloth...

Welcome Ed, hope you have many more years making wine as well. Would love to see some pics of your vineyard.

Yeah, I saw the same thing you did Rocky. The angle makes it harder to be exact but if 1.103 is right and the sample was close to 70F than the corrected reading would be closer to 1.104.

Some might consider it high but 23 Brix is normal. Choose a yeast like Red Star Cote Des Blanc and he should end up with around 14% ABV or for a bit higher alcohol content try Pasteur Red or Premier Curvee which will range between 15 and 16% ABV.

I have used Noon Time and they do a great job. I highly recommend them. I have also used this site, http://design.neato.com/default.aspx and they are OK. You have to register to get the watermark removed which is free if you buy their label stock. Here is a link with samples from each...