Recent content by TheWinoandIknow

I degassed my wine last night with the drill/whip in the carboy. I would say I did a total of 20 minutes off and on. Is there a way to tell that the wine is properly degassed when your finished using the drill? I will be bulk aging it so I'm not really worried about it being gassy. Just...

That's a good idea...Which yeast was better in your opinion?

Thanks Heather! I went ahead with EC-1118 yesterday. When you used the RC-212 was it with a kit or with your own recipe?

I started my second kit on Saturday WE Ausi Cab Sav. I was looking at the Lavin yeast chart earlier this week and saw that Bourgavin RC 212 is the yeast Lavin recommends for Cabs. However, when I opened up the WE kit it had an EC-1118 yeast packet-champagne yeast. Confused, I called my local...

John D as previously stated this my first kit. Not knowing much at all about how the process works and in effort to make the best wine I can, I posed a general question, asking if certain deviations form the instructions would make my wine better. I have no intention of inventing an apple making...

The kit didn't come with dextrose. I was just wondering if I should add some to increase the ABV. OG was 1.095 so potential ABV was 13%. It's the eclipse kit. It didn't come with an fpack . I have been reading this thread and it seemed like all the deviations were minor so I figured why...

I started a WE Pinot noir kit yesterday. Would adding raisins at this point improve the taste of my kit as well? I haven't tasted it or anything just curious. This is my first kit and and first time to make wine. Do you have to add the dextrose on the first day of fermentation? I'm sure...

Okay. As soon as I get home from work I will stir, and leave the lid loose. I'm also going to wrap a blanket around it for good measure. I think I'm a bit on the cold side apx 70 degrees.

I read on another thread that the wine needs lots of oxygen during fermentation. Should I leave the lid loose and be stirring everyday?

My mistake on not specifying. It is a Wineexpert eclipse kit- Pinot Noir. The instructions said 72-75 so thats what I was going for.

I started my first wine kit yesterday. I think everything went rather smoothly but I am a little concerned about the temp of the juice when I added the yeast. I took several readings with two different thermometers. The infared thermometer read 66-68 but there was foam on the top so I'm not...

Thanks for all the advice!

Glad to have found this resource, novice might be an overstatement. Just got my first equipment kit and went all in on a WE Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir Kit. I plan to start this weekend any and all tips/suggestions welcome! :ib