Recent content by Manimal

You haters need to try some good White Burgundy... Like a Puligny-Montrachet or Corton-Charlemagne... Some of the finest white wine in the world and it's all barrel-fermented Chardonnay, but nothing like the oaky, tropical fruit cocktail from California and Australia. (That being said, there...

Getting a job is easy as most wineries increase their staff drastically for harvest. If you're a good worker who catches on quickly and knows your stuff, there is often a good chance of being hired on for the rest of the year. From there, you can move up quickly to lead cellar hand, assistant...

White grapes turn brown when frozen.

There is very little, if any benefit to adding nutrients this late in fermentation. There can be negative consequences, however. You're basically providing a rich source of nutrients that can be metabolized by spoilage organisms.

There is a government of Ontario publication available titled "A Guide to Starting a Winery in Ontario." I highly recommend that you source out this publication for your research.

Racking early and often makes sense for sweet wines and some aromatics, however, I agree with the previously mentioned statement that most wines will benefit from storage on light lees... Lees provide protection from oxidation, contribute to protein and tartrate stability and provide increased...

It will never clear if you keep resuspending all the fine lees by beating the $&@" out of it with the whip!!! I'd just recommend leaving it alone for a few months. Even with dissolved CO2, wine will still eventually clear. I think that home winemakers place far too much energy and effort on...

I assume that Clorox wipes are chlorine-based, which is a big no no for use on winemaking equipment. Chlorine can react with mold constituents to form TCA which results in the musty, moldy characteristics commonly associated with cork taint. TCA can taint wine in the ppt range, and can become...

Looks like a plume moth larva... it might do some light feeding, but it's not really anything to worry about.

Commercial wineries often test CO2 levels and adjust prior to bottling. It is amazing how much of an impact an increased CO2 level can have on the palate presence of a wine and the perception of freshness as well. I think home winemakers focus too much on degassing and are unaware of the...

As far as the cold soak goes, you need to get the temperature down pretty cool if you want to minimize risk. 4-10 degrees Celsius is a good range. If you leave the fruit at the 60 degree Fahrenheit range, you really run the risk of some wild yeasts (Kloekera, Hanseniospora,etc.) becoming...

If you're after a big, burly style Syrah/Shiraz, I would agree with your idea of reducing the amount of water you add... high alcohol contributes a tremendous degree of weight and body and can lend a certain "sweetness" that brings out the fruit. I don't personally go for this style of wine...

I'm not trying to tell people not to buy kits, nor do I expect everyone to agree with me. But I do think that one should have a realistic idea of what to expect, and I don't think that giving the wine some time will necessarily make this wine reach the heights Dave is hoping for. I have...

My take is a little different than the previous two posters. I've never been impressed with kit wines regardless of brand and/or amount of aging. Also, in my experience, although a wine will definitely change greatly with aging, the raw components that determine whether a wine is of high...

Provided you have poured your juice/crushed your grapes/vigorously mixed your concentrate, there should be plenty of dissolved oxygen in your juice/must to facilitate yeast growth. Yeast only require O2 for the growth phase. Once fermentation progresses beyond the initial stages (approx. 1/3...