Recent content by UBB

So I'm finally going to have a little Petite Pearl to pick this year. No where near enough to make wine by itself but I was gifted 20 lbs of Aronia. I'm contemplating fermenting the two together. Thoughts on a particular yeast choice? Thanks

500 vines isn't really small ;) I have 350 and it's basically a full time job in the summer! :D

Got the grapes picked and crushed this wk-end. The Marquette came in with a 25.5 Brix average and the La Crescent averaged 24.

Ok good to hear. Mine where measuring between 23-25 last wk-end so I should be good to go for my scheduled harvest on Saturday. I did add oak cubes at ferment last season and the wine is showing nice potential IMO. Thanks for the feedback

several thousand bottles of wine through my AIO setup and still going strong. Can't beat it for small batch wine making.

What BRIX do you prefer your Marquette to come in at generally speaking?

I've made it both ways. For my tastes, I've found I enjoy Marquette with very little oak vs heavy oak though admittedly I'm still a green horn in making it.

My Marquette and LaCrescent measured (ave) 23 & 22 respectively. Aiming for the wk-end of the 9th to do my crush. It's been a poor year due to winter and spring issues so the fruit set is very poor. Such is live as a grape grower on the Northern Plains

What kind of container where the froze in? 5 gal pails?

Care to share your recipe for the Apricot?

I have the motorized version of this one. Works pretty good.

I'll be moving to a bladder press in the next season or two. It's not quite in the budget yet. I've refurbished an old circa 1930's basket press with brand new wood for the basket and press plate. Hope to get a nother year or two of it before retiring it for good.

Yup, looks like deer to me. I've been dealing with a ton of damage on my newest vines. Out of 126 vines, the deer and rabbits got 123 of them. A new fence will be going up this summer

This is what I am dealing with now. Contemplating doing the same thing you mention

That's how I have mine