Recent content by Jay204

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  1. J

    Rose additions

    I've made rosé from saignee for the past 3 years. I've only ever used Go-Ferm and two additions of Fermaid-O. Never had any issues with fermentation and always liked the outcome. You may want to add something like Lysozyme if you're worried about the wine going through ML, but it hasn't happened...
  2. J

    3 gallon kits are hard to find

    I know this isn't the answer you're looking for, but my suggestion is to bite the bullet and do a couple regular 6 gallon kits. This hobby has a way of snowballing, and before you know it you'll be making 4 kits at a time wondering if you should attempt making wine from grapes. Remember, you...
  3. J

    Very High Spike in Fermentation Temperature (did I just ruin 100 gallons of must?)

    I tasted it yesterday. Thankfully, everything seems to be okay. The petite sirah smells amazing but it is going to need a lot of time for the tannin to smooth out...
  4. J

    Very High Spike in Fermentation Temperature (did I just ruin 100 gallons of must?)

    @NorCal coincidentally, the other wine in the garage is a Barbera that started out at 27 brix... It spiked too, but not quite as high. It smells amazing and the sugar depletion has been much more normal, so I'm not as concerned about it. Now I have to make the decision to either press the...
  5. J

    Very High Spike in Fermentation Temperature (did I just ruin 100 gallons of must?)

    I raised the ambient temperature in my winemaking room (my garage) in an attempt to spike fermentation temperatures, as I have done in the past without issue. However, this is the first time fermentation temp's have spiked so drastically and so much higher than ambient temp. An ambient temp of...
  6. J

    Lugs per bucket?

    Another vote for what @Johnd and @winemaker81 said. Save yourself the hassle and buy a bigger container. Less containers means less work when it comes to adding enzymes/additives/nutrients, pitching yeast, punch downs, monitoring SG, etc. Also, I'd also recommend not trying to make too many...
  7. J

    What was your biggest 'ah ha moment' to help you make better wine?

    I found that by taking 15-25% of the juice off I got a more complex, fuller boded, deeper coloured red. I will always saignee with any red going forward (unless I don't want those characteristics). My wines seemed thin prior to saignee As @CDrew mentioned, an added bonus is the rose you can...
  8. J

    What was your biggest 'ah ha moment' to help you make better wine?

    With just 4 years of experience and only 2 years with actual grapes, there's a lot of room for improvement. But so far, the biggest ah ha moments have been: - switching from kits to grapes for reds (more work, but much more rewarding) - pre-fermentation enzymes/additives and saignee, in...
  9. J

    Hello from Manitoba

    Welcome, Nick! I'm also from MB. What kind of grapes are you growing?
  10. J

    Brix and SG don't match

    Yea that's what I did. Refractometer spreadsheet wasn't accurate at all. Tested all musts with a hydrometer and got 0.994-0.996 for all of them. Pressed last night.
  11. J

    Brix and SG don't match

    The MoreWine spreadsheet appears to find the actual specific gravity by converting the observed brix and accounting for alcohol content, then it simply converts the SG number back to brix to find actual. So 0.979 is the same as -5.6 brix. Either way, 0.979 isn't even possible, is it? and it...
  12. J

    Brix and SG don't match

    First time using a refractometer throughout fermentation. Prior to pitching yeast my Zinfandel was at 24.5 brix. 5 days into fermentation it shows a reading of 6.5. If I use the brix calculator form MoreWine to account for the alcohol, that would suggest my brix is -5.6, which isn't possible. I...
  13. J

    Co-innoculating vs. sequential

    For those that are interested, I spoke with someone in the oenology department at lallemand. She confirmed that co-inoculation should take place ideally no later than 24 hours after pitching yeast and sequential should only take place after the must has reached final SG, otherwise it may...
  14. J

    Co-innoculating vs. sequential

    Strange, I found this spec sheet which contradicts that. I guess I'll wait until post press to be safe. It'll just be harder to distribute the MLB in smaller quantities throughout several carboys.
  15. J

    Co-innoculating vs. sequential

    @Donz can I ask why it's too late? Perhaps it's not considered a co-inoculation anymore but is there an issue starting an MLF while still in primary near the end of a fermentation vs waiting until it's in a carboy?
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