Search results

I made a stupid mistake today. A 12 gallon batch of pear wine finished fermenting a few days ago. So, I added sulfite powder to bring it up to 50 ppm and let it settle until today. I cleaned two 6 gallon carboys in preparation of racking the wine from the fermenter. Then I added a couple inches...

I have a 13 gallon batch of apple wine made from heirloom apples, which is just about done fermenting. This batch is exceptionally carbonated. Normally I would totally degas the wine before finishing it, but I was thinking about setting aside about 3 gallons and not degassing it at all in hopes...

Six days ago I added rehydrated yeast to a 3 gallon batch of strawberry rhubarb wine. After a couple days I saw a little activity in the air lock, but it was very weak. I measured the brix today and there is no detectable change. Not sure what the problem could be. Here's the pertinent info...

This wasn't very scientifically done, but some of you might find it interesting. I made some rhubarb wine a few years ago and didn't care for it because of it's unpleasant acidity. Since then I read Luc's blog post about reducing acid in rhubarb...

When I start a batch of cider wine I add pectic enzyme and let it sit for a couple days in the cellar. Over those days solids will settle to the bottom of the carboy. I have been siphoning the cider off of that because I assume that it will help the wine to clear later on. But now I wonder if...

I added some acid blend to a fruit wine to bring the pH down a bit. Having over added acid to a wine in the past, I wanted to be careful. So I only added half of what I think is needed. My question is this: If I immediately test the pH again after stirring in the acid, will the reading be...

I know there are a few threads on pH meters, but in case there are new opinions I'll start another one. My Vinmetrica just isn't reliable, so I'm shopping around for a new dedicated meter. Is this a good choice for a serious home winemaker...

My first step in making wine from apple cider always has been to add some k-meta and let it sit for a day to inhibit the wild yeast. Now the local orchards are UV treating their cider. I wonder if that makes the k-meta step unnecessary. Any thoughts?

I have a batch of dry apple cider wine that has been bulking aging with some oak for a couple months. Thinking it was time to bottle it, I checked and tasted it today and was surprised to find it quite fizzy. The wine had been degassed when I stabilized it back in January. I had checked it a...

Does anyone know if the TTB would consider an application based on a winery that has not actually been built yet? In other words, can they work from a floor plan? I've been offered free space in the basement of a large commercial building. So, I would have to build walls to create the bonded...

I read somewhere that staghorn sumac (the non-poisonous sumac) can be used to increase tannin in cider. I make quite a bit of cider wine and I'm interested in experimenting with this idea. Does anyone have any experience?

I have two pear trees in my front yard, a Bartlett and a Comice. The Comice had excellent fruit this year and I was able to make three gallons of wine from my own fruit for the first time. Long, slow, cool fermentation. Final numbers: 12% abv, 3.4 pH and 1.006 sg. It was a challenge to get it to...

There is nothing like the aroma that fills the room on the first morning of vigorous fermentation. I love it.

I'm thinking about putting my carboys outside in the shed for some cold stabilization. The temperatures are running in the 20s, which I except would be fine. But it may dip down in the teens over the night. Any idea about how low of a temperature would be dangerous? Thanks.

I finally broke down and purchased a Vinmetrica 300 in hopes of getting a better handle on SO2 and pH. So, I tested a sample of cider wine today and came up with 8 ppm. Using the sulfite calculator at winemakermag.com I plugged in my numbers and it told me to add 1.2 grams to get it up to around...

I have 3 gallons of pear juice with a pH of 4.1. I'd like the pH to be about 3.4. How do I calculate how much acid blend to add? I've read that 3 to 4 grams per gallon yields a 0.1 change, but I'm not clear if this change is referring to pH or TA.

A typical Red Star yeast packet is 5 grams and is recommended for 5 gallons. I'm making an ice cider where 5 or 6 gallons of cider are concentrated down to one gallon. This means that although the volume is only one gallon, all the sugar from 5 gallons is in that one gallon. Would you add all 5...

I have an experimental gallon batch of cider ice wine in the works. It is currently fermenting vigorously. The plan was to stop fermentation at 13 Brix. I had thought I could do this by adding potassium sorbate, but I didn't do my research until now. Seems that sorbate will not help at all in...

I'm trying to get a better handle on testing for acid levels in my wine. I have an acid titration kit and pH strips. The titration gives an acid level expressed as a percentage such as 0.65%. But pH is expressed on a scale from 0 to 14. What is the relationship between the two? Is there a...

I came across a stash of about 20 carboys in a friend's barn today. They were purchased in the 60s and 70s by my friend's father for making wine. They may have been purchased used. Most look to be 5 gallon, with a few larger and a few smaller. My friend will sell these to me and I'd like to give...