Recent content by tjgaul

Perfect response

Whenever I have a skins kit I punch down/stir twice a day during the most active fermentation, cutting back to once per day once the SG gets down to about 1.010. I skip the bag most of the time and, as of late, generally go with an extended maceration. Once the wine is around SG 1.000 I put...

I know the scotch makers sometimes use alternative wood and/or alternative pre-use applications (sherry/port barrels), but I don't know about wine makers. I personally have a couple mesh bags of wood splits that have been hanging outdoors for 2 years now. The plan is to cut/split them into...

Update on kit #2. Started in June 2019 and racked regularly on a 3-4 month cycle until recently. Racked 7-25-20 and then sat undisturbed until 4/24/21. I had a period of exceptional procrastination from Dec 2020 thru April 2021. My only efforts were aimed at checking the seals on the...

This is the long and winding saga of a 2017 LE kit. I bought this because, at the time, my wife was mostly a white drinker and only liked reds that were off-dry and fruit forward. Started this 4/15/18 and went through 4 rackings (June 2019) with minor tannin and oak additions along the way...

My first batch of Stag's Leap Merlot just turned 3 and is excellent. The 2nd batch just hit one year and will remain in the carboy until it either hits 2 or the first batch runs out, whichever comes first. My bet is on bottling at 18-20 months. This is one of the best kits I have made so far...

In my experience, the wine appears to gain sweetness over time after back sweetening. Knowing this, after doing bench tests I tend to back sweeten to about 80% of whatever blend tasted best, let the wine sit for a month or more and then taste again. If it needs more SS then I can easily give...

I understand some wine loss, but 50% would be extreme even with multiple rackings. Here are my techniques to deal with this issue. - As Cmason said - tilt your container during racking using a board or wedge. The supply stores sell wedges or you can make one like this - start with 6+...

Got a new pillow from my sister . . . I guess she knows me pretty well.

I thought I didn't need a vacuum pump . . . until I finally bought one. Degassing is a big benefit and you naturally degas on every transfer, but for me the side benefits outweigh this feature. Being able to make transfers with carboys on an even level (no gravity concerns) and the ease of...

The firing of Dave reminded me of one of my favorites that runs in the same vein . .

Bob Ross / Will Ferrell and more cowbell . . . how can you got wrong - totally made my day!

Aging really helps any big bold red and I think it is especially true for this wine. I fermented this in April 2018 and bulk aged it until Nov 2019 (about 18 months). It is very good right now, but I think it will still improve quite a bit with a year in the bottle. I know that's a long...

SG 1.102 @ 72 degrees on 4/28/18 FG .993 @ 61 degrees on 5/24/18 Used RC-212 and gave it some Fermax to start and Fermaid-O on 5/3 (SG 1.034) According to the FermCalc app this should be about 15% ABV.