Recent content by Luc

Hi guys, I think maybe some of you will still remember me. For a long time ago I was a very frequent poster over here. And many will remember and still use the information on my weblog: http://wijnmaker.blogspot.nl/ Well I have been absence for a long time and been busy with a new hobby and...

Hi guys, I think maybe some of you will still remember me. For a long time ago I was a very frequent poster over here. And many will remember and still use the information on my weblog: http://wijnmaker.blogspot.nl/ Well I have been absence for a long time and been busy with a new hobby and...

I buy my corks in bags oh 100 pieces. I open the bag and use 30 for a batch when bottling. The bag is then open and just sits waiting till I bottle my next batch, which can be months later. I close it by folding the plastic back till it looks closed and put a rubber band over it. I have done...

Don't worry. Yeast is a living thing and will multiply in your wine. Adding two packets of yeast is the same effect as adding 1 packet an hour earlier. How is that ??? Well each yeast cell will replicate itself in about an hour. So no harm is done. Only thing is that saturation with yeast will...

Lesson learned !!! This is exact the reason why I always tell people to make the wine from scratch and never use a recipe. Fruit may vary from season to season and sugar levels, acid levels and flavor may vary enormously. Next time start with tasting the fruit and measure SG and acid levels...

Yep, Did not read the thread very well now, did I ??? Luc

Yes it is Steve, I disagree with you. Why use 1.085 as a lead for your SG if you do not know what the number is about. If you do not know or want to know these things why measure at all ??? It is an essential part of this hobby. 2.6 grams sugar makes the Sg go up 1 point. Half of it wil convert...

Just rack directly into the bottles, why bother racking into a bucket first ??? Saves you a lot of hassle. Luc

Take care with raisins. Sure they do a lot of good but there is a downside: they are heavily sulphited. Make sure to use the right raisins: dark for a red wine and white ones for a white wine. The dark ones might color your white wine........ Also be aware that raisins are 50% sugar. So...

There is no need to use chalk to bring the acidity down. Use my method: it works like a charm and you will keep all flavor: http://wijnmaker.blogspot.nl/2007/06/scroll-down-for-english-text-al-lange.html Above story was the theory now how to make a wine with that you can read here which...

Either are fine but oak powder is much more difficult to remove as the chips are. You should add the chips (or powder) to a finished wine that is aging. That way you can monitor the devellopment by tasting. You can not do that with a wine that is fermenting. When you think there is enough oak...

I used to put all my empty bottles in my bath and fill it up with hot water. The hundred or so bottles would take me more then half a day to clean up. So now I am doing things differently. I fill 6 to 7 bottles with water (so they won't float) and then put them into a bucket. Then I fill the...

So ??? What is the rush. All my wines ckear beautifully without the use of any fining. Time clears all my wines. I realise that we live in an instant gratification society but hey this is winemaking. Wines have to age for one or two years anyhow. So what the heck do a few weeks or months...

Tannin wil give your wine some extra byte. However in a white wine there will be more acid as in a red wine and therefore one ever uses tannin in a white wine. It is overdoing things and you would not like it. So it is a no-go in a citrus wine. To see what pectic enzymes do read this...

Use plain nylon stockings. They do a great job and are cheap. Just throw them away when they have done their job. I use them all the time and even made a small DIY project for helping them fill up with pulp: http://wijnmaker.blogspot.nl/2007/08/nylon-kous-hulpje-nylonstockings-suit.html Luc