Spring update...I added k meta since it was about 3 months since the last dose and did a taste test of the 5 gallon carboy and both 1 gallon carboys. The only difference between them is the 5 gallon is mostly free run and had an oak stick for 3 months, and the one gallon carboys are the mostly...
Been very interesting to follow this thread. Thanks to the original poster to start it. I have a question for @winemaker81 . You keep your wine in neutral 15 gallon barrels for 1 year. Do you worry about too much oxygen exposure? I'm thinking about getting a barrel but for the volume of wine...
I read that too. I tried a small batch test run in December because I was in the area where sumac grows. It was late in the season and it had been raining the past 3 days. The berries didn't look good but I cut a few and tried to make a tea anyway. It didn't come out good and I wound up...
I'm planning on making sumac wine this year for the first time. I plan on following this recipe Staghorn Sumac wine.
I've read a few threads on here and some things on other websites but still have some questions
1) should I ferment on the berries or make a tea and strain them off and ferment...
My plan is to hopefully make a wine that doesn't suck...still chasing that goal. Maybe a Rhone blend this year.
Also plan on making sumac wine since I can forage sumac and it won't cost me anything. I've seen a few threads on here with recipes but if anyone can share some that would be...
Thanks for the replies everybody. The wine and the 5 gallon carboy seems to have developed some kind of a haze and the top half inch. It's hard to describe but If I shine a flashlight on the side it looks like oil floating on top of water but not that distinct. If I rock the car boy the haze...
Thanks for the advice so far. Rice guy, Im not an expert at detecting smells but the best comparison I can make is that it smells similar to a bottle that has been opened for a few days and is starting to oxidize. The taste is something similar to that as well.
Interestingly, the carboy in...
I tasted the wine today and it seemed a little oxidized. I added 1.64g of kmeta on 11/5, so it should have enough kmeta, I also pulled a sample when I racked on 11/5 which tasted good. After I tasted it today I changed out the bung from an old rubber one to a newer silicone bung with the same...
Could also be mycoderma... treat it the same way rice guy said. Here's a good link about it and treatment
https://techniquesinhomewinemaking.com/white-surface-film/
Update. It's been over 3 weeks since I added MLF bacteria, I decided to rack and sulfite ( I have no way of testing MLF completion). I calibrated my pH meter and tested the pH during racking, which was 3.35. this is surprising since the prefermentation pH was 3.56. If anything I assumed it...
As a side note, according to the technical data sheet for CH16 it takes 1-2 weeks to finish under ideal conditions of pH above 3.2 and temp between 64 and 71. Mine was shipped without ice pack, appeared clumpy. I have no way to test for completion but it fizzed up a lot when I added it, almost...
I racked off the gross lee's last night brought the carboys into the basement and add ML bacteria CH16 this morning. I yielded around 7.5 gallons of wine from 3 lugs. The final SG was 0.994, which would make the wine about 13.5%. I am happy with that number.
I was planning on adding oak but...