Recent content by rickswine

Another Ohio guy here, Youngstown area.. Haven't been too active lately been recovering from multiple back surgeries. But I got to say you guys are very serious about this. I was making mostly wine kits but am thinking about buying some juice this fall and going all in on a Cab. Might invest...

I just went in to order a Raspberry Merlot and they don't even carry it anymore. Noticed that most were out of stock but the few they had left were still in the $40 to $50 range. I've been using the Island Mist kits lately when I want to put up some kind of fruit wine for the wife.

Lori or anyone, Do you lock the kid down on the fermentor on these kits or do you just cover it? Thanks

Put mine in the fermentor yesterday, man I don't like powered oak. The starting SG was right on 1.128..............so alls good so far. I think I will be sticking to the instructions mostly and doing the dextose when it's ready but I might just add some brandy with the f-pak.

As I memtioned earlier in this post, mine never get crystal clear but I did the super clear on it and it came out okay. I only have a bottle or two left, my wife and her girlfriends loved it. After about two months in the bottle it really came into its own.

Chocolate Orange Port I also want to stick pretty close to the instructions, but was wondering about fortifying. I think I'll skip that for this kit. Haven't been doing this that long. The dextose bag and the very high starting SG threw me a bit at first. I just wanted to see if others ran...

Getting ready to do my WE Chocolate Orange Port this week but want to read a bit more about fortifying first. I did get a bottle from the wine shop where I got the kit, that he made and he didn't fortify his. It was really good. and yes, this kit does have oak power with it Question...

I added some corn cugar to this kit in the primary and started with a SG of 1.076 and it fermented down to .994. I did used most of the f-pack, don't think I used 100% because it was so large. I remember taking out over a liter of wine and didn't get half of it back in when I topped it off...

I'm far from an expert but could that cause an acid imbalance?

As I mentioned above, my Muscato didn't clear well either. The Super-Kleer pack did do the job and it is in the bottle now. It never did get to that super crystal clear (a very faint haze when held up to the light) but the taste is very good. I'm not very experienced but maybe the kit's acid...

I think you should be fine, time wise. When you start degassing mix all the sediment back in before you add the f-pack and the other finings. Mine finally cleared after adding a pack of Super-Kleer to it. I'm going to rack it to a clean carboy and let it sit for at least two more weeks...

My WE California Muscato is about done. It's been two weeks since I put the F-Pack and finings in. I checked it today and it isn't clearing as well as I expected, so I'm going to give it another week. Did do a taste test and it is a bit sweet. I added the whole F-Pack at the end. This is...

Let me know how it comes out. My airlock is about done, not much activity. But, I got about 10 more days before I can think about stabilizing and adding the f-pack. I've kept it about 72 to 74 degrees. When I racked it (after 6 days) the SG was already down to 1.002. I think it's going...

Joyofwine - Racked my Moscato and it's in the secondary fermentor now. Did you add the whole f-pack to yours when it was ready and any comments on it yet? I didn't add any of the f-pack to the primary. wanted to see how this will turn out by following the instructions Hate to tweak a kit...

My guy said this is his second shipment. The first one went quick to the pre-orders. I had hoped that maybe someone got one early and already had it going. I hope to get mine started by the beginning of the week.