Recent content by Butler

I'm looking for help, tips, lessons-learned, etc for corking my first batch of wine. I have a hand-held corker and want to know... Do I need to clean/sanitize the corks? I read something about soaking the corks. Is this necessary? Any tricks or secrets to share? Thanks!

Hmmm. Lots of good ideas for removing labels. I've been collecting between 20 and 30 bottles per week from a local restaurant since September. And after spending way too much time bent over the kitchen sink cleaning and scraping EVERY bottle, I had the brilliant thought that there might...

I'm excited to say that I degassed my first batch of wine this past weekend. Woohoo! I'm one step closer to bottling! I feel like I did a good job but it was a lot of work. I was breaking a sweat before I was finished! Obviously, I haven't purchased the drill attachment just yet but can see...

Thanks, Torch- I am surprised (and relieved) to learn that the labels are being stuck on with a glue stick. I guess I was expecting something more high-tech.

Good suggestion, Wade. Thanks.

Good advice. Poor choice of terminology on my part when I said that this guy "whipped it". It really was as you say, "agressively stirred". Many thanks.

Good advice. I saw a muti-part video on Youtube of a guy making wine. When he got to the degassing atage, he whipped it in his carboy with an oak dowel. Man, did he beat it and stir it! He was very clear that this was an important step. So I bought me a 36" x 7/8"dia dowel and I'll be...

Wade- thanks for the advice and the link to your album of labels. You've done some really nice work! Very impressive.

Thanks a lot guys! This is exactly the sort of information I was looking for. I like the idea of the "Pre-gummed" paper and the glue stick sounds like a good idea too. I have access to the office laser printer so good quality isn't going to be an issue. Any other thoughts or label affixing...

Awesome! So these are 100% your designs? Very Cool! I am very comfortable with a couple of different graphics programs. But not as much as you for certain. What do you print them on? How do you stick them on the bottles? Do they hold up well to age/ wet hands/ etc?

As I prepare to bottle my first batch, I am naturally looking to create my own labels. My desire are labels that look professional, that are 100% personalized, (nothing pre-made, pre-designed or pre-printed) and I don't want to spend an arm and a leg. Ideally, I would print them at home, but I...

Well, Hey. Thanks for the warm welcome and all your interest in what I am doing. My first wine is indeed a kit, (Vintner's Best). The box says that it is a Riesling. I hope it is one when it's done!

I'm from St. Louis. I live in the suburbs in the city of Ballwin. I just started my first batch of wine this past Sunday and I am very excited about it. It's been a long time in the planning stage and although it is finally happening, I feel like it is moving very quickly! Heck, I could be...

Many thanks. For now, it's back to work for me. Have a great weekend!

Thanks for your reply. For this first batch, I will be using the hand corker that came with the "equipment" kit. I'll have to check to see what size corks came with the equipment. If it happens to be the #9, will I find it ridiculously difficult to install with the hand corker?