Recent content by Sailor323

There's no telling how many 100s of bottles I corked with 1.75" #9s with a butterfly type of hand corker. That was when I was much younger. It was a workout then and absolutely impossible today. Get a floor corker, you will never regret it.

The problem with this is you can't control the amount of copper in the resulting wine. Too much copper is toxic.

I've been making wine off and on since the 1970s, beginning with fruit wines and storebought grape juice, then I moved on to French-American hybrids from a grower and I've been hitting the kits pretty hard for the past few years. It finally happened for the first (and I hope only) time. I was...

I have found this chart useful. It was in the first winemaking book I ever bought. Beware, it is a British book so gallons are probably Imperial gallons.

I've only made 5 FWK whites, a Chard and a Sauv Bl (both pre-carbon fix), a Sauv Bl, a Cheverny and a 4 Blancs (all Post carbon fix) I've never been a big fan of Chardonnay and there is something about the FWK Chard that tastes a bit off. I don't know if this is due to the fact that it's...

Yes, yeast produces heat during the fermentation process. Not to worry. Also, red wines are generally fermented at higher temperatures than whites

Dump it, it has probably lost most of the SO2 and nothing you do will replace it.

I've made comments next to items on your list. You definitely will need 1 or 2 7.5 gallon buckets in addition to the other items. You will need a variety of 3L,4L and 1 gallon jugs.

I have made several FWK whites and rosés. All (except the first 2) have had carbon. All have cleared nicely to crystal clear. None of the FWK that I have made, reds, whites and rosés have had bentonite. I'd say, "Give it time", the K&C should clear it up fine.

I got spawn from North Spore, they have a very informative site. Here are the logs with holes drilled and spawn plugs inserted but not hammered home. I don't know how long it will take to start producing but once it does they should produce off and on for several years.

I almost never buy wine. When I do it's to compare my own with commercial stuff to see if they are true to varietal character. I have some 900 bottles in the cellar of which maybe 20 are bought wines.

What am I doing today? I am "planting" Shitake mushrooms and Blue Oyster mushrooms.

In 2020 I made 72 gallons of wine and in 2021 I made 120 gallons. I've slowed down considerable since the cellar is full and generally do one kit a month now.

I'd be interested in how the Vidal turns out. Years ago I read about the technique of leaving whites on the skins for a few hours.

When Finer Wine first began offering whites everyone complained that the wines were much darker than expected/ I made a Chard and a Sauv blanc and both were much darker than expected. The folks at FW did some research and started putting the carbon powder in their kits. I have been very pleased...