Recent content by JeffZ

I recently bought the mystic red blend by CC and i can't find anything in the instructions about adding the flavor pack - called sweet reserve. At what point in the process is this added? Or is it optional for added sweetness. Thanks.

i've made several kits and juice pails and never had this problem. I made a pinot grigio from a juice pail. Everything seemed to go well and i transferred to my secondary when the hydrometer was around 1.02. I let it sit in the carboy for 9 months - but now when i taste it - it's very...

last question i found a rubber stopper that fits the barrel opening, and i put an airlock with water in the opening. is that also ok? or just stick with silicone as suggested? thanks.

After 4 months in a carboy, i just transferred an Amarone into a 5 gallon oak barrel - which has the small bung opening. Is the there something else i should use besides the wood plug -to prevent the plug from being blown out, if there's more fermentation. Is there a special airlock meant...

I got a 5 gallon American oak barrel as a gift. i've filled it with water at least 4 times to prep it for wine. After a few weeks, the water that comes out is still looking dirtyish yellow. As if it was leeching oak or something. Is this normal? Does it need more prepping or cleaning? Is there...

just checked my measuring spoons and it is indeed TSP - not TB. so i did not over add sulfites. so last question - i will definitely try splash racking. but doesn't degassing accomplish the same thing. we have a plastic drill attachment that does a nice job of degassing the wine. isn't that...

I originally racked a 5 gallon carboy - and left very little headroom. The temperature was pretty stable over the year. I only added 1/4 tb of Kmeta maybe every 4 months. It's not a overpowering rotten egg smell - just a clear sulfur smell and taste. But it tastes like there's some good...

After many kits and pails - we wanted to try making from just the grapes. We bought sangiovese grapes from Corrado's in NJ. Had them crush and destem and when proper SG was achieved - we pressed and put into carboy. We re-racked and added some KMeta at right times. After 6 months, we...

I have 2 wine coolers that each store 50 bottles and are set to a temperature of 56 degrees. However, the coolers are kept in my utility room that doesn't have any heat. In upstate NY, the outside temperature often drops to near zero - and the temp in the utility room can get very cold...

Thanks everyone for the valuable information. Yes - I learned a few valuable lessons. #1 - even though you bulk age for many months, you still must read the SG, because sh-t does happen. #2 Storing wine can't be causual. I don't have a basement so keep about my bottles in a side bedroom...

Not poisoning - but shooting at me. Last nite, I stirred a primary in my wine room - and just when i left, there was a loud "shot" sound from my wine rack. Seems like a bottle had shot out it's cork with such velocity - like a bullet - and soaked the room. The cork was on the other side of...

yes, but. . . . I get it - the very cheap commercial wines might have higher levels or arsenic. But what about the kits? How regulated are they? Or do we put our heads in the sand and don't worry about it? Or only buy the highest end kits like primeur or eclipse? I'm not an alarmist...

All over the media today, they're announcing research that shows very high levels of arsenic in cheaper wines - like those sold at Trader Joe's. As we know, arsenic is poisonous and potentially deadly in high levels. Common sense says is it probably won't hurt anyone who drinks just a...

I'm now working on my 9th kit and having a blast - with some good results. In all stages from fermentation to bottling - the goal is to keep out oxygen. That's why we use air locks and sometimes top up or add marbles - all to keep out air. But when we drink wine - we need to let it...

Thanks everyone. No i didn't know the SO2 level. I always thought that every wine kit would improve over time. And 7 months is not very old - even for a white. Is there any chance the corks were 'bad'. I did not sterilize the corks - I usually just soak in clean water before bottling...