Recent content by euphio

thanks folks. I do have a heating belt on it so it's about 72 - 74°F. I'll try to give it a few stirs here in the coming days to see if I can get it started. I didn't have a starter so just used regular yeast (EC-1118) and hydrated it with warm water for about 20 min before adding it.

I put my yeast in 3 days ago, no sign of fermentation yet. The liquid is certainly warm enough. Should I give it another whip?

Thanks! I waited the 2 days and put the yeast in last night. Looking forward to fermentation starting!

Thanks - this worked out REALLY well. I did oak 2 gallons - put 20 cubes (about 0.5 oz) in each 1 gallon carboy for 3 weeks then bottled it. Any more oak would have been too much for us. Next time I think I might do it the opposite way: 4 gallons oaked, 2 gallons unoaked. It is a cool...

Started my first batch of Lemon Sunshine last night. I am going by the recipe for the first batch before starting experimenting. I will have to use fresh yeast though, not a starter. One question: why the two day hold before putting the yeast in?

Looking for a way to reduce the head space in some batches I'm going to be periodically testing while I bulk age them. I know some folks have suggested marbles but I'm worried about just going to the dollar store and buying them there. Anyone have any links to food grade glass spheres (or...

Thanks all. This place is so helpful. That plan is what I was thinking Rocky, but might just bottle 4 gallons w/o oak and try to age a couple gallons on oak cubes. I don't want to overoak though - is there a recommended amount of oak per gallon and time on the oak? Obviously this is to...

newbie here - only on my second batch. Question - my first kit came with oak to put in the primary. Does the oak (chips, cubes, whatever) have to go in the primary or can you age on "finished" wine in bulk? I was thinking about taking a 6 gallon batch and age them on different oaks a...

I'm looking to make my first batch soon. Thinking of the name Lemon Sunshine.

You could just overlaminate them with packaging tape.

This is a really good idea - never thought about it but it makes perfect sense. I shall try it on the Sangiovese I have in bulk aging right now to see if I can pull a little more CO2 out.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I plan to bottle the carboy you see in the photo soon and start my 2nd batch sometime very soon.

Finally got the table done.

hi Julie - it had been in secondary fermenter for quite a while. It was at 0.994 when I degassed and added the clarifying chemicals about two and a half weeks ago.

I just racked Winexpert Sangiovese from the secondary fermentation to bulk aging. LOTS of sediment! I had to top it up with a full bottle of wine! Probably a good thing though, it tasted a little thin and still a touch bubbly. Nice and clear though. Overall though I'm pretty happy with it...