Recent content by cintipam

Actually, I've never done MLF. I've read many of the trials and tribs folks go thru for their red wines and MLF, and I just never thought it was really necessary on a white wine. Battonage was just an experiment to try to up the buttery factor. I was fine with my acid totals, and MLF is done...

I've used these for the first time in my 2016 California buckets. Too soon to really have any results, but I do have some notes to offer. First, MLF is generally only used on Chardonnay so Booster blanc would be good for chard or other rare white you plan to MLF. Also, only a few varieties...

Most folks who work with gallons use campden tabs because it is easier for gallons. One does have to crush them tho so I still prefer the granular Kmeta. I understand what you have in your spoon just doesn't seem worthwhile, but it is crucial. Several of our sponsors here sell very tiny...

Bill, I made a shaped mat for my sink out of about 4 layers of that shelf liner rubber sewn together with thin fishing line. It drapes well over the front lip of the sink, extends over the bottom and up both sides. I only use that when cleaning carboys but I keep a couple plastic liners in the...

I had one instance of major airlock action starting after wine was more than a year old. It had been in plastic bubblers until I racked into glass for the first time. Once it hit glass my guess is it could not expand and contract a bit with the weather, and a passing storm front made the...

So sorry to hear of this. I had something similar happen about 6 months back. 5 gallons of Pinot grigio that was just ready to bottle. I had damp hands from sanitizing and dropped an empty 2.5 gallon carboy on the full 5 gallon one. 5 gallon broke almost at the middle and I had a PG river...

Winemanden This thread is a couple years old. If Allie is winebrewer, she hasn't posted since about the time of that prior post. Thought I'd mention it in case you are trying the recipe and waiting for an answer here. Pam in cinti

Geek, no guarantees but I once did 12 gallons of chardonnay (2 juice buckets) with one pkg of QA23. I had a standby diff variety ready if it slowed down but it never did. Pam in cinti

Boxes help prevent stuff from banging against a carboy. It might not break immediately, but little cracks develop over time and it can fracture with little warning. Covers are to keep light out of aging wine. I believe light causes taste and color change. Of course some folks might just be...

Everybody has good suggestions that could help. I did not ask, but you should be adding 1 campden tab per 3 months to help prevent oxidation. It' won't fix what is there, but it won't get worse. Bernard is a smart thinker, and it could indeed help to age longer (stressbaby kind of said that...

Yes, I think you have some oxidation happening. It happens quickly in small jugs. I believe your wine should be transforming from the original brick red color to a pink tinged apple juice color. I've had lots of wines go thru that change. But it looks more brownish now. It is not ruined...

Clarification. If you were not racking to bucket in order to bottle I'd probably comment that adding kmeta again after just 2 weeks to remove from gross lees might be a bit too much. But I suspect your next racking to bucket will use up that extra kmeta so it will still need that final dose at...

My opinion is that your plans are fine for additions etc. I am not a kit maker, nor a red wine lover, so while my impulse is to say 3 months isn't long enough to really let the wine come around to its best, it is long enough for your wine to recover from bottle shock, which hasn't been...

Hi Wyatt you've done some very good work here plowing thru all those messages. I really relate with your final questions because my personal method was just like yours, and my questions were the same. in short, yes sulphite is meta. Probably Kmeta, as that should be what the kitmakers are...

Joe and Jim, thanks for posting this. I never really understood what cello was. Now i have a whole new batch of flavors to experiment with. Pam in cinti