Recent content by jdeere5220

I back-sweetened one 6 gallon batch of dry apple wine I made last year with 1 lb of honey. Might have been the best apple wine I ever made. I like the dry apple wine too, but that slight sweetness and honey flavor were REALLY good. Too bad it's all gone now....:h

Ready to bottle!! Well it's been a little over a year since I started this batch of mead, from honey produced right on my land by a local commercial bee keeper. After a year in the carboy, the mead has mellowed out quite nicely. Still a little bit strong. Since I also have some dry apple wine...

After 15 days my SG is now 0.998 and still slowly bubbling. Just took a little longer than I am used to, but everything seems fine. Now I have to decide if I'm going to back-sweeten or leave it dry. Maybe half-and-half?

All- First attempt at mead. Used 14 lbs honey, Starting SG was 1.078. Used 3 tsp of yeast nutrient at start, added another 3 tsp of nutrient on third day. Using WLP720 yeast which was recommended by my local FOP shop. It's now been 5 days, and my SG is still 1.060. Airlock is bubbling, but...

I've been making all of the WE Eclipse kits and the other international kits that have skins for the last year or two. Eclipse Merlot (2), Cabernet (2), Barolo (2). Argentine Malbec, etc... As I'm racking my second batch of Eclipse Merlot from the primary today, I wonder if it's really...

Was just following along this thread and it's a little bit confusing. I've made the Lodi Ranch 11 CabSav kit 4 times now, and I think it's the very best kit WineExpert makes. I've just started the new Eclipse version of the kit, which comes with a grape pack. I only hope it turns out even...

If it couldn't get any better, the Winexpert Eclipse kits are now in stock at my local shop! I picked up the Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cab Sav. Since this wine was excellent previously, I'm expecting great things from this kit now that it comes with grape skins. For those who don't visit the WE web...

Opened my first bottle of Nero D Avola tonight. Wonderful!! This is one of the first grape-skin kits that Wine Expert offered, and mine is now 11 months in the bottle. What's different: A very long, dry finish. I previously thought the Lodi-Ranch Cab Sav was their best, but this wine is the...

LOL I'm fond of the Kenridge Founders Series Shiraz/Grenach/Mourvedre and the W.E. Estate Series Barolo. I haven't tried any of the new WE kits that have the grape skins, my local vendor hasn't received those just yet, but I'll surely try those as well.

I don't think you did anything wrong at all. There is nothing wrong with sucking a bit of the sediment along when you rack from primary to carboy. It will all settle out. Just take your time and give it plenty of time to clear before you bottle. The only thing you can do wrong at this point is...

That is NOT what the W.E. instructions say. They say to rack from primary to carboy when SG is at or below 1.010, and to leave in carboy until SG remains unchanged for three days. I always leave an extra few days myself, but just to clear that up. Of course those who want to pick may point out...

I think this WE Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet is one of my top three favorites, even though it does not include skins. They are doing something right with this kit, I've made it three times now and it's always terrific.

I agree with post above, although the W.E. Lodi kit doesn't have a skin pack, you still want to have a little extra volume during primary or you are going to have trouble and foam out the airlock. Also you don't need to worry about exposure to air during primary stage.

Thanks for the replies everyone. We pressed the apples yesterday. It was an old wooden press with a couple of hand cranks on it. Nothing electric or pneumatic on this old girl, but it worked great. We ended up with about 30 gallons, of which 18 gallons went straight into primaries. I've added...

I have my own little orchard and lots and lots of extra apples this year... so why not make wine? I've read lots of posts on this forum, but still a couple of questions. I've only made kit grape wines to date. 1) I've got honeycrisp, cortland, and IdaRed apples. Does it matter? 2) Should I...