Recent content by Fedoradude

Hell, I'm into that! That's a whole lot less hassle than boiling for 15 minutes. Y'all convinced me. I'll try conventional corks again next time.

I probably shouldn't have said "soak." The local vintner shop told us to boil them for 15 minutes in hot water. I'll check out that pump.

I'm learning a lot as I go. (This being only my 2nd batch.) Both times I had a lot of grief keeping the siphon going the last 1/4 of the carboy. So, Friday I bought me a hand-drawn siphon pump for my next batch (whenever that is). I did traditional corks on my first batch. But, looking back, we...

Thanks for those tips. I'll more precisely aim for that "finger's width" distance next batch. The local brew/vinter shop told me today to hold the corker for a 5-count at the bottom of the stroke (regardless of cork type) to force the air out without moving the cork. Fortunately, the kit wine...

Well, I bottled the batch tonight. All things considered, it turned out ok. Notes from the samples: Good color but seems a little cloudy (unfortunately shook it around a little moving carboy into bottling position.) Faint to medium Cherry nose Tastes a little softer, smoother and more fruit...

Well, I'm encouraged. Racked this batch tonight and before I did, took a tasting. Here's my thoughts: Smells like wine but not as prominent Clear when glass held up to light Taste is a bit flat where fruit is concerned. Here's a couple of iPhone pics. Seems to be fining nicely, too.

Gotta admit, i'm still worried if I have the right amount of sulfites etc going in this batch based on my faux pas. UPDATE: Stopped by the local winemaking shop and talked to the experts. They felt like I hadn't hurt anything, which was a relief.

I know! What the hell wuz I thinkin'>

Should've thought of that, but...we tossed it out.

One thing though; I wasn't ever able to "fit" the thiefed out wine (& hopefully no newly added chems) back into the carboy.

Thanks for the reassurance. I did as the directions said and mixed packets 3 and 4 with water before I tried to add it.

Hmmm. I'm a little concerned.... How fast do the sulfite & fining packs "sink" into the batch? I went to add my 3rd, 4th and 5th additive packs this afternoon and misjudged how much space I had to do so in the top of the carboy. In other words I didnt' thief out hardly anywhere near enough...

Here's an idea of the sediment that's settled in 2ndary fermentation.

Good, cause I've got probably 1.5" of sediment to stir back in. What I dont' understand about this particular WE kit is that it recommends racking it only once - from the carboy into bottles. With the sediment I've seen in two batches of this kit now, I can't imagine bottling right away...

That's good. I looked at it this morning and there's a pretty healthy sediment layer in the bottom of the carboy. This go round I will remember to stir that sediment vigorously back into suspension as the directions say to do. I know that helps get rid of the Co2 but I'm wondering what...