Recent content by sheffield251

Deezil, Boatboy, dangerdave and runningwolf, Thanks for the time you took to reply. I have heard to sulfite just to prevent oxidation, I do not think it will hurt, especially if I plan to keep it for many years. I think now it has a good blueberry flavor, but I think the brandy overshadows...

Hey all! Making a blueberry port for the first time (first for any port). I started with about 3 gallons of blueberry juice from fresh blueberries. Starting Pot Alc. around 12.5%. Using a calculation, I stopped fermentation with about 3% sugar remain by adding enough brandy to bring up the...

Well it seems that I was a little impatient. Yes, it was from this years fruit. I made some 2 years ago and bottled just about the same time, so I thought I was ok. I will be patient and put it away for a while. Thanks for all the replies.

I just bottled 12 cases of blueberry wine. I had absolutely no sediment in the bottom of my carboys and the wine was very clear. 12 hours after bottling, i had stuff floating in my bottles, not just one bottle, but all of them. what is that, why could I have not seen that in my carboys. I...

I have made my first batch of wine from my own grapes; Catawba and Cayuga White. I have tried to us the Acid Titration kit, but I am so confused and obviously It shows in my wine, both are very acidic. One, is there an easier way to check Acid and two, is there anything that I can do post...

Thanks for all the posts. I went ahead and pitted them after i sent them through the crusher, they were small enough that they did not break open. I will also freeze them before I press the juice. They are sour Montmorency cherries; plan on making a 5 gallon batch.

Thanks for the quick reply. I did not mention, but when I purchased my press, I also purchased a crusher and I did crush the cherries. I was just not sure that I needed to get rid of all the pits. I will crush away and squeeze every ounce of juice that I can. Thanks again!

Ok, so I purchased a nice ratchet style press, i canjuice about25 pounds of fruit at one time. I hand picked cherries and I was wondering, do I need to pit the cherries, or can I press the fruit with the pits?

I have made4 kits, and I have (2)6.5 gallon primary fermenters and a 6 gallon glass car-boy. I want to make fruit wines from some fresh rasberries growing around here, but most recipes call for 1 gallon. can I use my larger fermenters and carboy for 1 gallon batches?

Thanks for the tip. since my wife has called me a perfectionist since we first met, i think i will re-rack into a carboy and let sit then re-bottle later. I want my first batch something that I will be proud of, so i am not worried about a little extra work and money. I will look into the...

I actually thought about doing that; if I do. should I add more clearing agent and then add more sorbate before bottling again, or pour into carboy, let sit longer then re-bottle without doing anything? thanks for the tip.

Thanks for the tip. I am glad to have at least a drinkable wine and not had to dump it. I did transfer from my carboy to my primary fermenter first, but i did notice that i did get some sediment at the very end. What do you use to filter? I thought that was what the auto siphon did? Thanks again...

Ok, so my first kit ever,Johannisburg Riesling went well; so i thought. After 10 days of clearing, i checked in a glass to the sun and it seemed very clear. So, I went ahead and bottled. As soon as I bottled my first one, I wanted to cry. It is not very clear, it looks somewhat like lemonade...

Hello, I just joined the forum and I am in the process of making my first batch of wine from a Mosti Modiale kit. It stresses cleaning and sanitizing as being important and I understand that. Do I have to make a gallon of cleaning solution to clean my utinsils each timeI want to stir, check my...