Recent content by Doug’s wines

5-6 months months is a good batch window for sauv blanc bottling. Yes atmosphere will cause burbling air locks or popped stoppers. Had an air cond go out and the heat popped a stopper across the room on a fully degassed batch. Heard the pop and thought someone was shooting at me. Reread...

Omg!!!! I know we can’t discuss this much here but as a thought, maybe it would have made a good Brandy….. lots of good ETH in those barrels…. Lots hope there is NOT a next time, but just in case maybe find and make friends with a local distiller who can run it for you. Use the Brandy for...

Hey. I’m in Atlanta and interested. Started and conversation with you on it.

While I would like to know how old this wine and how many rankings it’s had etc to make a proper recommendation, without that context - Yes. Degas again. Funny I just posted this advice on the advice for newbies thread :wy Sounds like you are moving quickly to bottle a younger wine, maybe...

I will chime in. For any newbie ——. degas, degas, degas. I remember that rush of excitement to get the wine to the bottle and tended to think a wine was “out of gas” long before it really was. A lot of my early mistakes related to not getting the gas out of my wine: Why won’t my wine...

The eclipse is my wife’s favorite wine that I make. Looking forward to your comparison!

Since it inhibits the multiplication, you “could” make a starter using some simple syrup, get the yeast really going through some replication cycles slowly add must to the yeast (just like you would a starter) and then add it into the primary.

Can’t help it:

@cmason1957 helped me put one together recently so consider him more authoritative, but here is what I recently did to get my tough start going. Made up a cup of the simple syrup you used as your base (2:1) in the wine and add the yeast to it (I added a tsp of nutrient and 1/3 tsp energizer as...

Doesn’t sound like a temp problem. I guessing the 1118 was well stored and in date, but could just be a pack that couldn’t get going in that hostile acid environment. Ph is a little low, but should start at that level with that yeast. I would make a 1118 starter, slowly add some must to...

Picked this bottle up at the winery on a trip to Bainbridge Island many years ago. The bottle has moved across country with me and been kept at 3 different homes. I figured it would be corked or past it’s prime, but it’s excellent. Probably cost me <$30 to buy and 100’s to store and move over...

@TonyP I could be wrong, but I believe Joe was referring to Chapatilzation. Autocorrect always seems to “fix” that to capitalization (need a wine makers version of autocorrect!). You may have been kidding but just in case you aren’t aware chap·tal·i·za·tion is the correction or improvement of...

Thank you @TurkeyHollow. I got the wine started and finished it yesterday. Here’s a batch photo (got a little sediment in the 3 gallon carboy that I will have to let resettle. This was also before backsweetening so now all the carboy are topped off and plan to bottle tomorrow in 16oz...

Whites Generally drink earlier. We do the wineexpert eclipse sav Blanc as an early drinker. Usually very happy with it in 3-4 months. The comparable new kit is the Private Reserve, but I haven’t tried it yet.