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To be clear, I'm not suggesting that a mostly concentrate kit or bucket are going to be equal. However, used judiciously, concentrate has a perfectly acceptable place in winemaking kits and juice buckets. Nothing wrong with going the pure juice route either, just make sure you're not shooting...

There wasn't a poll answer that fit ... I work about 20' from my winemaking and storage area. I don't dream, I act!!

That was my point ... concentrate isn't necessarily a bad thing. Depends on how much, etc. There are two high-end kits sitting across the room. They both make great wine and get rave reviews. They both list "concentrate and/or grape juice" in the ingredients. I have one pure juice bucket...

Thinking aloud .... the buckets that are partly reconstituted concentrates are prolly done that way as a means to balance the buckets and achieve a reasonably consistent product for brix, acidity and overall body.

Great point Barry and exactly where I've been for a while. Other interests are taking priority and I'm not sad about it. :)

Nothing wrong with kits at all. All of my grape wines are kits. I have an orchard and a desire to experiment, but really good true wines can be made from kits - and a lot easier than fresh unless you live in an area where your favorite varieties are being grown in quantity.

Specific numbers will depend on how sweet/dry you're finishing this wine as well. In general, .65 sounds 'in range', but 3.2 sounds a bit low. But if the wine is fairly sweet, taste should be the guide.

Dan, you're a shameless carboy scalper -- LOL!!

Welcome Pam! That's just a small spec compared to the wealth of good, solid information and experience to be found here.

please post a link to info on your digital hydrometer - I would love to have one!

My wild cherries produced as they normally do this year, but not a single sweet cherry and hardly any blooms to begin with. We had a very mild winter, so I'm thinking either birds got the buds or the chill hours were way too low.

just change the name and use it as a chart for feeding sugar to a port style wine during ferment

Thanks for the reminder. I had started downloading this a while back, but only managed to get the TOC before something shiney caught my attention. BTW, here is another university pub-- http://mtngrv.missouristate.edu/assets/publications/MS28MWFHUweb.pdf It may not be UC, but they were smart...

laser pointer works good even with really dark reds. look for diffusion in unclear wine.

The only thing I can add is - Do It! I love Chambourcin. Watch acid(s) and tannins and go for it.

Yes, there is a smallish amount of condensation added to the juice, but not enough to be a problem in practice. Letting frozen fruit thaw before juicing reduces this.

The kits I've done recently lead me to believe that the short schedule is optional by recommending additional SO2 if you're planning to age further. IMO, the short schedules are strictly to sell to the uninitiated.

How prominent is the flavor of Chardonel? I've been thinking about doing an experiment using a white wine grape juice as the base for a fruit wine like elder or blackberry.

I've used Doug quite a bit - he's my go-to these days, although it's been a while. The best approach for me has been to make sure I'm fully stocked on everything at all times. That's the way I've avoided Fedex overnight charges for a pack of yeast :-)

That's great news. No such luck here. I hate having to place an order and pay shipping equal to item cost.