Recent content by Rappatuz

I'm only a few years into my wine making journey and some things you learn from tasting, and waiting, and tasting, and waiting some more, and ... yeah you get where I'm going. With that introduction; what country wines (fruit/berries/flowers/vegetables) are best to drink early and which ones...

Grat stuff. Thanks guys!

Once again, this forum provides great info. Feel more confident (less scared) using potassium sorbate now. If members using sorbate for stabilization have stored the wine for longer periods of time (say 5+ years), I'd like to hear if you experienced any geranium odor or not.

Great info! I know that MLF can be initiated by the maker or happen by chance. Is there any way of knowing if a wine has gone through a spontaneous MLF? I guess that if you keep the free SO2 level over 10 ppm, the bacteria should die. Some wine makers (including me) don't monitor the sulfite...

I read somewhere (can't remember the source) that, when adding potassium sorbate as a stabilizing agent, a geranium odor eventually will appear. There was no "if" - just a matter of time before it happens. For those of you who have experience using potassium sorbate, is this statement true? If...

I have a blueberry wine that may have been infected by mycoderma / flowers of wine. I always start a slightly larger (more voluminous) must than the target final volume (which equals the volume of a carboy). That way I have extra wine for topping up after rackings. I usually store excess wine...

Never used honey before. How does the taste change?

Forgot to address the blending aspect. I think both raisins and bananas are popular for adding body to dandelion wine. I've tried both, but the verdict is still out on the raisin one. Hopefully, someone with more experience will touch on the subject. You don't want to overpower the dandelion...

I've "pinched" petals off the flowers the two times I've made dandelion. Although you quickly get the technique down, it still takes a lot of time this way. The advantage is that you get all (and whole) petals, and zero greens. The speed of a scissor may be unbeatable, though. Especially if you...

If I decide to make dandelion this spring I'll surely try to pick them early. Great tip! Two days max. I'll certainly try that out next time. Can't remember how long I let them soak in my last batch, but it must've been more than two days. From your post I understand that you only include...

I started a small batch last spring which is still bulk aging, but first did a test. I weighed an amount of petals, put them in a cup and poured over a specific volume of hot water. I did the same thing with another cup, but used cold water. I let both cups sit in the fridge for about four days...

How do you like your dandelion wine with regards to ABV and sweetness (bottled SG)? Also, when making the must, my experience is that petals give off different flavors when treated with hot water compared to cold/room temperature water. In the poll, select one option from each of the three...

Great info! If there was a practical way to measure/calculate total sugar concentrations in wines, then I could include that information on labels. It would also be interesting to compare sugar concentrations of different wines I make. Taste isn't only affected by the back sweetened sugar...

Thank you for bringing more insight into this subject. If I understand you correctly, the SG value that represents "no sugar" will vary for different kinds of juices/wine types, even when ABV is kept constant. This means that "other stuff" also have an appreciable effect on measured SG and that...

Yes, I forgot to state that my assumption is that only sugar and ethanol will have an appreciable effect on measured SG. I realize that this assumption may be wrong. Hopefully, people with more knowledge about this subject will give us some answers. Here's a link to the table where I got my...