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Yes, I have. And yes, at about a year, the wine is still young and can use more aging. I can't compare the Ultma FWK's against frozen buckets of must. I have never used frozen must buckets. What I can say is that there is a big difference between the normal FWK Forte/production series and...

Bryan's answer pretty much nails it IMO. To address the term "age", it's helpful to put a number on the length of time. For example, is aging 3 months, 12 months, or 3 years? Sulfite and sorbate work together with the alcohol level and tannins in the wine to allow the wine to mature and...

IMO, 3 days into a ferment with increasing gravity that much is strange. The manufacturer of the kit is not mentioned. Here are a few possibilities. > If the kit was one shipped with frozen juice, the increasing gravity is very likely a mixing issue. I have experienced it first hand. I...

Oxyclean is a good product. I use it often for stubborn stains around the house. I use "Oxyclean" on occasion on wine bottles and ONLY when any other of my methods do not work. I don't find any problems either, but ..... To add to this discussion and as an FYI to others, the term OXYCLEAN is...

I know. I did it because the area was available. I just had to re-arrange my hobbies. :)

Reading through some of the comments deserve commenting for your (and others) consideration. > When I first started making wine I collected repurposed bottles. Some had caked on residue that could not be rinsed out. I had way too many old bottles to use a hand brush. I found this product...

I suggest solving the issues instead of creating another layer of potential problems. The major issue is lifting a full 6 gallon glass container with a hand under the bottom for support. Possible injury. Second is using a handle on the neck. IMHO, that is an absolute NEVER! Third is a leak...

I know. I've read all the literature i can find on Fermaid products. There are some people that crush B complex tablets and use them for nutrients.

Can't say. Never tried B vitamins, only Fermaid products.

I started a quest years ago in anattempt to understand how to make my wines taste better. Since all wine on the planet use yeasts, I started there. The journey eventually came to the complexity of what yeast cells need to perform their tasks of converting sugars to alcohol. This post is the...

Sorry to drift from the marbles topic. I thought it important to make a comment about potential problems caused by marbles. :( .

Before retiring, I was involved with engineering instrumentation related to glass manufacturing and conversing with the experts. I also have (had) extensive training in failure analysis. The third part of the reason of my response was watching this YT video: Putting all three together, with...

There are several advantages to using marbles. Yes, filling headspace and using them as a buffer separating the lees from clean wine is another. Along with advantages, there are disadvantages that should be mentioned for new winemakers. The most serious is the possibility of cracking or...

Going from country wines to kit wines is a piece of cake, IMO. Ask plenty of questions. :)

If not wanting to step into a full sized kit (6 gallon), a Wine Expert 1 gallon kit is an option. These small kits are available on Amazon and a few other suppliers.

Exactly. I found out the hard way why I should have paid more attention in physics class. :)

Apart from the mixing/blending Glycerin or Gum Arabic, adding anything that has a higher density than the wine will INCREASE the gravity. If increasing the gravity with any lees or sediment in the bottom, the settling of any particulate will be problematic. Generally, clearing a higher gravity...

This thread mentions several ways to add products to increase mouthfeel. A turning point for my wines was understanding how to increase glycerol production >naturally<. I stumbled on this paper and realized multiple options are available to fine tune wines more than "just wine". The curious...

Yeah, I've gone off the rails and paid the price, aka, school of hard knocks. I try to keep things simple but totally HATE the one line answers that don't explain the reason for doing xyz. I really try to keep things simple and an easy read, but detailed.

BTW, I should mention to follow kit directions. Going off the rails can produce unexpected results. Those results may lead going down a rabbit hole and ultimately destroying the batch of wine.