Recent content by cmullin

Don't worry about adding sugar, they add sugar to wine in both France and Germany. In France they have a minimum brix(percent sugar) you have to hit. If the grapes don't meet that you add sugar(chaptalization). Most fruits need at least some sugar. Unless you stop the fermentation, it is going...

Smaller wood casks can over oak things pretty fast. I would check out bad motivator barrels. They only have wood on one side, but accuracy simulate the exposure in a 55 gallon barrel. . They are designed for spirits, but wine should work just fine. Badmotivator Legacy Barrels

How much toast do you like on the oak cubes? Or does it depend on the wine?

I have some vintage view racks. Not cheap and not space efficient but you can see the whole label on each bottle. I have a subscription for Kermit Lynch for various wines through their club. If the wines were all the same it would not be worth it. I have made wine and hope to again.

This is not advice but even grape wine that is carbonated can taste less sweet that uncarbonated. My wife and I don't really like champagne much , but it is occasionally gifted. I let carbonated wine go flat, mostly for champagne vinegar(very nice in a salad). A wine that tastes nice and dry...

I would be cautious about using store bought honey especially the cheap stuff, sometimes it has some corn syrup. If you like the taste its fine to use, but defiantly use the hygrometer at the beginning. Corn syrup is higher in sugar so the ending ABV will be higher and ferments quicker, so it...

Anymore I Anymore it feels like they are the only pensions.

I retired about 3 years ago from the University of California in Los Angeles. Every vacation from the past 15 years my wife and I would see if this was a place we wanted to retire and could afford. We looked all over California(especially the central coast) , Arizona, New Mexico and southern...

Thanks for the info. Do you like it better than FB Stienbart? I have not been to either.

We used to have a great shop in Corvallis, but they closed. I can get anything I need online, but the shipping can be brutal. Any other local shops? This may not be the right place, but it seemed as good as any.

Do you need to do a 4 to 1 for flavor balance between the peaches and the blackberries? Or is that just the fruit you had? The color must be fantastic! I live in Oregon and we have blackberries(marion berries) all over the place. Peaches are harder to grow.

This is a list from UC extension. https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucmgplacer/files/262734.pdf

With the irrigation restrictions I am curious how the vines will get water? Grapes need 8 to 10 gallons a week per vine via UC extension. Some of that comes from rain, but 18 inches a year is not enough. I couldn't make it work in socal(I used to live in Van Nuys). I moved to the Willamette...

This guy uses bakers yeast as a nutrient all the time. https://www.youtube.com/c/DIYFermentation

If you are up for a drive, 45 minutes away is Temecula. There are many wineries up there.https://www.temeculawines.org/