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Hmm, crickets. For what it's worth, I'm going simple on this. Making semillon and sauv blanc; doing essentially the same thing for both:

I'm think about barbera from grapes this fall - will be watching your experience!

Hi all - Planning out my year and thinking of making sémillon from South African juice. Anything special to note when I cypher out a procedure? Tips/suggestions? Thanks!

This is a great idea - thanks for sharing that. I kind of knew about this, but didn't really consider that you can add back tartaric to compensate for the more ripe fruit. Good tip - thank you.

Hi all - I was pondering a rose this season, specifically from California Grenache fruit. I'm reading that it can be, depending on variety of Grenache, difficult to get color from these grapes. This would be my first rose - is this not a good variety to start with? I was guessing for a few...

And, the basket is complete. Ended up using the cherry I had on hand, replaced all the hardware with 18-8 black oxide stainless. The rivets I removed were replaced with stainless binding barrels, which provide plenty of room for the joining bars. There's a little tweaking of stave placement...

PROGRESS!!! After way too much thought, interruptions, and general stalling out, I got some uninterrupted shop time today and milled the staves. After deciding to use what I had on hand, rather than spend more money and have an overall accumulation in the shop, I landed on some really old...

It adds body and mouthfeel. Which can be done otherwise. And nutrients can be used to improve conditions for yeast.

I’m not a big fan of raisins in wine in general. I don’t think they add anything positive to the flavor of the garlic wine. I’ll likely use tannins next time around. I'm also a fan of garlic so might actually increase the amount in the next batch. I bottled into 10 ounce hot sauce shaker...

Made Jack Keller's recipe a few years ago, have a few bottles left. I'd probably forego the raisins next time I make it. We use it exclusively for cooking and eating, favoring it as a topping for steak. I didn't find the smell during fermentation objectionable, but very strong. My dad made...

Okay, after @Rice_Guy input, here's what I'mma do: Thaw juice. Transfer to a sanitized turkey fryer pot. Add ~ 1 gallon spring water. Gently heat juice over propane burner. Simmer slowly for minimum 30 minutes. Cover juice with a towel. Allow to come to room temperature. Transfer juice to...

Thank you, that is decidedly helpful.

Hi all - I have about 3 gallons of prickly pear juice in the freezer, waiting to become wine. I'm gearing up to process it and was hoping for some input on specifics. I know Jack had a recipe, but I haven't had much luck with his plans. I'mma thaw it and will boil it ~30 minutes in my...

I think the issue with the plastic-over-wood debate, as far as food preparation surface go, is that plastic is (at least initially) more robust and easier to sanitize. For example, a plastic cutting board could be sanitized in a dishwasher; wood boards do not hold up to this for long. Also...

Thanks for the thoughts, folks. I'm pretty sure the wood that was on the press originally, which was damaged, rotted, and falling apart, was beech. The mills local to me (except one) only carry local hardwoods - beech t'ain't one of them. The other mill only carries European beech, which is...

Not meaning to stir the pot, but am gearing up to (hopefully) finish this project in the next month or so. Have been trolling FB Marketplace for lumber to rebuild the basket. No one local has any quartered white oak, which I'd love from an aesthetics view (and fuming is fun). Plenty of maple...

And it won a bronze at the AWS amateur competition!

Was in Cochranville PA this weekend. My daughter is in a program at school where she and her housemates do initial training and socialization for service dogs. She had training at a facility there. I brought along a camera (a Bronica SQ-A) and found a local cemetery to explore. The cemetery...

Spotted at Touch of Italy, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

And it's done. Had the half bottle last night, very pleased. Fermented with K1-V1116 and cool temps, even after all the trouble there's a lovely aroma with this wine. We'll see how long it lasts - there's a bottle in the fridge now. Thanks, everyone, for your assistance with this one...