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Did you at least ask him what he thought of your wine? ;)

The key is to hide some of your best wine when and while you are drinking some of the other. Maybe you will forget where you hid it and become pleasantly surprised next year... or two when you find it!

And I thought he was on OUR side... :wy

I almost always create a yeast starter. Fermentation starts much quicker and best of all, it proves the yeast are viable. No doubt using a starter would provide better chances for one's own chosen yeast to overpower any yeast already pitched. Still, it's no guaranty, especially since many...

Those are mean. I didn't say they were not true, just downright mean! :d Good ones, Jim.

You have to know this is coming - I can help you with your problem, my address is... :i Yep, knowing when it is starting downhill is as important as knowing when it peaks.

Tom, Sorry, I don't know if the other moderators agree with me or not. Out of my respect for you, you can have the last word. Let's just end it at that and move on.

I don't know that kit, but if it is sort of on the quick-drinker end, I would say yes, it is going to be best between 6 and 12 months. I think the place you bought it should be able to tell you better, though. I am just saying a quick-drinker kit typically is not going to get better in...

There is such a thing as wisdom. Wisdom says I don't have to stick my hand to a hot stove to accept it will burn me. I can, instead, learn from others and spare myself the pain. Lack of wisdom says I have to touch it for myself before I accept it will burn me. I think WMT is into the...

To discuss a little more what JohnT wrote, wines made for extended aging (whatever that really means to each of us!) are made differently than those made for quick drinking. When it comes to red wine kits, the least expensive ones tend to have less structure, which requires less time to come...

I surely would not start the SP without BOTH the energizer and nutrients. SP really, really needs them both.

You can leave the wine in a carboy under an air lock. (I seldom bottle within a year of clearing.) After 3 months, even though you might not be able to see it, there WILL BE sediment in the bottom of the carboy. When you get ready to bottle, add 1/4 tsp of k-meta, making sure it is stirred in...

I agree with Sal. The idea is to add your must slowly to the starter so the yeast will have opportunity to get acclimated to the high SO2 environment. After that, go ahead with he fermentation as usual, doing a splash racking when you rack. When sulfites are added to a wine, until a very...

I couldn't easily make wine without either. It is not a matter of which is better. Rather, it is a matter of which one is better in which circumstance. As was already mentioned, StarSan is a contact sanitizer, k-meta sanitizes via fumes. Use each accordingly. Examples: Sanitizing a carboy...

Hope if you do this that you are using champagne bottles. Regular wine bottles and corks are not heavy enough to contain all that pressure. Could be very dangerous

At 1.000, the wine is considered dry. If it has stopped that low, getting it started again to drop maybe .004 is a challenge. If you really don't want to stop there, 67F is pretty low. I'd warm it up to 75F and stir it a little. If it doesn't drop anymore in a week, consider it done and move...

It is good to have different sizes of carboys. I have 6 gallon Italian carboys, which are closer to 6.5 gallons. I also have 6 gallon Mexican carboys, which are closer to 6 gallons. And I have 6 gallon 5, and 3 gallon BB's. (I also have various other 5 gallon, 3 gallon, and 1 gallon glass...

I substitute my own yeast strains quite often. It can make a difference, even though many times the difference is very subtle. Experimenting with difference yeast can be fun and educational. Buy yourself some Go Ferm energizer and Fermaid K nutrient (or whatever types you like) and...

I can see where that might happen in some cases, but I would think it might not in every case. A lot depends on the yeast strains, of course. Problem I have seen with some juice buckets is the fermentation has already started by the time the bucket arrives. But to be totally honest, I have...

Congrats, John! Thanks for your contributions.