Recent content by Dokki

Thanks, I realize it's a Noob question but I grow chili peppers as well and when I have super hot pepper plants like ghost or scorpions growing near my jalapenos and Serrano plants, I've noticed their heat levels dramatically increase due to cross pollination from the hot plants. Wanted to...

I'm in the planning stage of planting a small 60' x 60' vineyard at my house and was wondering if anyone could tell me if there were any adverse side-affects to planting a row of red/blue/black grape vines next a row of white grape vines? I did a quick Google search and was unable to locate any...

Thanks for the advice everyone. I racked this last night and luckily the amount of sediment was not nearly as much as it looked. The sediment level was real fine down at the bottom but there was an additional inch or so that the sediment had stuck to the sides of the carboy above this point...

I need to rack my Cabernet Franc ice wine kit that I've already added the f-pack to. There's a lot of sediment at the bottom and I'm afraid that my 750 mL bottle that I saved of overflow from the last racking isn't going to be enough to fill up the head space. I have not been able to find a...

I have about 40 lbs of fresh concord grapes going through primary fermentation right now. This is my first time attempting a concord anything batch and am unsure if I need to put these grapes through MLF as well. Can anyone comment on if MLF is needed with Concord grapes? The grapes were free...

That's what I thought. Thank you everyone for your quick responses.

I'm hoping someone can help me here. I'm about to press my 1st batch of wine from fresh grapes. It's a blend of 1/3 Frontenac, 1/3 Foch, and 1/3 Millot, total volume is about 12 gallons with skins and all. It's been fermenting nicely for the last 6 days and now I'm getting ready to press it...

One of my first kits I made was the Blackberry Cabernet in December of 2010. Being one of my first kits I did not add any additional sugar, I followed the instructions exactly (mistake). The flavor was okay at bottling, but was a little watery tasting. I found at around 1 year it peaked, with...

I've back-sweetened with Apple Juice concentrate without issue. Didn't MLF either. http://siponthis.org/prior-vintages/2011-2/2011-apple-wine/ http://siponthis.org/currently-brewing/2012-apple-wine/

I made the CC Late Harvest Reisling, turned out excellent.

I've made cran apple before with similar results, tastes terrible at first but greatly improves with age. Below is a link to my recipe. If I'd change anything it would be use frozen concentrate to backsweeten and give more flavor. http://siponthis.org/prior-vintages/2010-2/2010-cran-apple-wine/

Just an FYI, got an email from FVW that they have this kit in stock now. Just ordered mine. http://www.finevinewines.com/XPListDet2.asp?MM_PartNumber=24788

Pitched the yeast today after starting a culture. The culture was foaming fairly well considering the preservatives in the cider. Will need to check on it in the morning for more activity.

Hi All, Due to popular demand by my friends and family, I started a new batch of Apple Wine today. However, this time instead of using regular Apple Juice from the store, I came across some "Fresh Pressed" Apple Cider. The apple juice didn't mention any K sorbate in it, but the fresh apple...

I typically use the yeast that comes with the kit. In this case it was the standard "Premier Cuvee" yeast.