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Hi everyone, I haven't been around the forum in some time for personal reasons and I've decided to call it quits on some hobbies. I have 3 young kids and no time or space for winemaking so the following is for sale: 1- 6.5 gallon carboy for $37 1- 5 gallon carboy for $28 2- 3 gallon carboys for...

A buddy offered to buy a kit or juice as needed if I could make something like Lucas Vineyards Tugboat Red and split the product with him. I have zero experience with grape wines and wouldn't know where to begin as far as identifying grape type. Anybody have any suggestions?

Was planning to do a 3 gallon batch of raspberry melomel with a buddy who wants to get started making wine. I thawed the berries and he was supposed to come by with honey on Thursday. Plans changed at the last minute, so I had to start it without him, and short on honey. <facepalm> Here's...

A Vintner's Circle has opened recently in Dickson City, PA. Thought I'd drop in to see what it was all about. Turns out it's mainly a FOP operation with minimal supplies. They have about 30 different Wine Expert kits. Original, International, Estate and Island Mists series are all available but...

I have located 4 huckleberry plants on our property. Two of them are scrawny little things, about 6" high, and growing in the worst soil. The others are each about 18" high, in much better conditions, and much healthier. It's fascinating what just grows out there. Showed some friends who...

I was considering how to make a crusher-destemmer for elderberries and wondered why destemming is even necessary. Why not press the screens whole and just keep the juice? Anybody ever do this? I'm interested in making 45 gallons so hand stripping is put of the question. Advice appreciated.

I'm having a bad week. For the first time I used a tag on the carboy neck to keep notes. Worked great until it got some wine on it. Now it's unreadable and I can't remember if this batch has had sorbate added. I think not, but can't remember for sure. Will adding a second dose negatively affect...

I'm using Super-Kleer for the first time and the package says to add packet D1 (kiesolsol) to the carboy. Then dissolve chitosan (packet D2) in warm water and stir in. But the packages aren't labeled. Can somebody tell me which is which. The brew shop owner was no help.

Was at the apiary today buying some orange blossom & talking to the owner. He informed me that bees do not produce honey from blueberries. He said he had just picked up his bees from a blueberry farm. They weighed 100# when he dropped them and 80# when he picked them up and that's pretty...

Thought I'd post this for anyone interested in making strawberry wine. That was the price yesterday.

I emailed Milwaukee today at 5:35 because the new pH meter I bought didn't come with storage solution, which the manual says you need to activate the electrode before use. Asking if there was another option, this is what they said: That email came in at 6:45. That's good customer service...

My favorite garden center has Stella, Black Tartarian, and Bing cherry trees right now. All 3 are sweet types. Would they be suitable for wine, or is tart the ticket?

I am experimenting with oaking some elderberry wine left over from the second racking. Just grabbed a few white oak pieces from the shop and cut them to 3/4" x 1/2" x 3" long, then wrapped them in aluminum foil and toasted them in the oven until chocolately brown. It took about 3 hrs at 450*F...

After having trouble getting accurate readings with pH paper I'm interested in getting a pH meter. Anybody have a recommendation for less than $100?

What do you do with the pulp? Was reading Jack Keller's blog a couple days ago and he mentioned pulling the fruit out of a primary and using it to make preserves. Also, Julie posted a recipe for re-using elderberies to make a blush on the second pass. Anybody else do this sort of thing? It...

I've been kicking around making a wine that will have a long life span and finally settled on honey wine. A cranberry melomel specifically. Ingredients: 15 lbs orange blossom honey 675 grams thawed cranberries 3.5 gallons water .5 gallons water Lalvin ICV-D47 yeast yeast nutrient...

How long will a fruit wine last in the bottle if properly stored? Can they age as long as a red, or is that asking for too much?

There's a farmer's market near me that sells probably the best sweet cider I've had in a long time. It's what I used to make hard cider...But I had a gallon left over, so I'm making boiled cider. Here's how you do it: pour cider in pan. Boil until thick like syrup, reducing between 5:1 & 7:1...

Here's my first mead label. I used AutoCAD to modify the image a bit. It's not a graphics program per se, but I know my way around it. Hope you like it.

Wanted - Chestnut staves/chips I've got a batch of hard cider that I'd like to let rest on chestnut, like a traditional English cider. A barrel would be nice but it's not in the cards. Anybody got a source for some staves or chips. This would be sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) not American...