Recent content by overpinot

Thanks. It has been more than 2 months, more like four, since last k meta addition. I added 1/4 teaspoon and will add again in 4 months unless bottle sooner. Does it need to be stirred periodically to keep it effective? I will do a taste test soon to see if it survived. is there any tell-tale...

I have a WE French Chardonnay aging in bulk carboy (6 gal). It's been in the carboy since April for a long bulk aging, and partly because I got lazy and didn't want to bottle it yet. It has been in a closet out of the sun and in constant temperature. I just noticed today that somehow the...

Thanks. I will check when re-racking and will probably de-gas again just to be sure.

I think you are right about the de-gassing, even though I did it as much or more than the directions said during step 3. Sounds like the step 4 in the WE kit (racking and clarification) is not that time dependent if you are planning to age in the carboy, which I want to do at least 6 months. I...

gravity after stabilizing and clearing was 0.994. Moving to step 4 in the instructions is not dependent on gravity, just time. The foam bubbles appeared after I completed clearing and topped off with a commercial bottle of Merlot, but not immediately, probably a day later.

I'm in the middle of a WE Selection International Argentine Malbec. I have completed step 3 (stabilizing and clearing). The instructions call for the kit to be racked again to another carboy after 8 days. Can I extend this time to more like 14 or 21 days? I'm in no particular hurry and...

if you age in the carboy for 6-12 months before bottling, how long do you age in the bottle? will it still take 12-24 months for most reds to open or will that process shorten since the aging occurred in the carboy? Did i hear you say you use oak (presume chips) while you bulk age in carboy? do...

Sorry for the Newbie question, but with the time frames you folks are talking about on aging, especially the reds, are you speaking of bulk aging in carboy or are you aging in bottle for 2+ years? if so, how do you deal with the metabisulfite and the corks? do you change out the corks after time...

I just started an Orchard Breezin' Mist Sangria (Seville Orange Sangria). I've never made a mist wine before, but have tasted some and know they can be very sweet. I'd like this one to turn out fairly close (in sweetness) to the commercial sangrias available, such as Carlo Rossi or Real Sangria...

When de-gassing, are you suppossed to wait until all bubbles have dissipated before topping off and putting on the airlock? Its almost as if the "bubbles" became solid when I added the chitosan, or the extra wine. If these were bubbles, I would have expected they would have settled by now and...

UPDATE FROM ABOVE: So I waited until yesterday to clarify and de-gas (25 days in secondary). I did a gentle spoon stir 5 days ago to try to reactivate the yeast, but it didn't seem to make a noticeable difference on the SG. SG before clarifying was 0.997. I added the metabisulfite, sorbate and...

yes, it is a Selection International kit. I have no problem with the long aging, am prepared for that. I wasn't quite sure whether getting it to clarifying, degassing stage on time was critical, so I'll not worry about that now. the temp has been a constant 75, so I figured getting the yeast...

Thanks, I will definitely follow that tip. Should I also stir every day or two while in primary? The WE kit directions do not say to stir. I've seen talk in this forum about whether to stir in the primary, and in fact whether to cover and place an air lock. While I think the prospect of gnats...

I am in the secondary on a WE Chilean Pinot Noir. It was supposed to sit in the carboy for 10 days prior to clarifying, I let it go 15 days because of travel, work, etc. I checked the SG yesterday thinking I would go ahead with clarifying, but it was at 0.998 instead of 0.996 (whihc the...

Based on the unanimity of the sage advisers here, I’m going to stick with what I bought and start it today. Thanks for all the advice. It is kind of curious, however, what lengths one must go to learn when the product was produced and when it may be deemed to have expired. One more question...