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I recently finished the RJS Orange Chocolate Port. Final abv is 16.2% and I plan to fortify with brandy. I would appreciate some input from those who have made this kit on how high to take the abv level. I usually fortify to 19.5-20%, but for some reason I think this may be too high for this...

Last Saturday I steam juiced approximately 54 lbs of pears for a total volume of 4.5 gallons. Wanting to use the heat of the juice to help disolve the honey, I proceeded to pour in the entire gallon of clover honey. Once it cooled a bit, I found I had a starting SG on 1.116. YIKES!! The other...

I just used my new steam juicer for the first time yesterday. What a wonderful contraption! I may never make fruit wine again without it. Having read all of the threads containing info on the steam juicers, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, and I was not disappointed. A week ago my...

I have 3.5 gallons of Blueberry wine that is coming along nicely. I plan on fortifying at least a gallon to a port style wine. I have done all the math and know the proper ratios to achieve my target ABV. I will also sweeten to an SG of 1.030 to 1.040, for more of a dessert wine. My question is...

I have never added oak to a muscadine wine before, but am thinking about trying it now. I have 10 gal of Noble muscadine that I just racked for the 3rd time this past Saturday. I don't have my notes handy, but it fermented dry at 0.993 around mid-January. Based on my several samples (I also...

This weekend, July 29-30, is the annual festival in Altus, Arkansas. I was curious if any of the Arkansas based members of this forum (or any others for that matter) will be attending or entering the amateur wine makers competition. I am still undecided on whether or not I will enter any wines...

If anyone has ever used their left over pressed muscadines in a batch of SP? I just bottled a batch of muscadine SP yesterday (very tasty) and I got to thinking about using my left overs. I have three or four 1 gal Ziplocs full of squished muscadines in the freezer waiting to become a second...

I plan on making an Orchard Breezin' kit in the near future for summertime consumption. My wife has expressed interest in the Watermelon White Merlot. First, can anyone give me a report on this kit, and second, as I am not a huge fan of watermelon, can you recommend a good substitute from the...

I posted this on another forum, but didn't get any responses yet, so I thought I would try here. I may need help soon, so I thought I would get the ball rolling. This past Friday I started 10 gallons of muscadine using 65 lbs of nobles I had kept in the freezer for a couple of months. I used a...

I may need help soon, so I thought I would get the ball rolling. This past Friday I started 10 gallons of muscadine using 65 lbs of nobles I had kept in the freezer for a couple of months. I used a fairly basic recipe, but I sort of stubbed my toe adding my invert sugar. I have 5 gal with a...

Has anyone ever used a muscadine slurry to get a batch of SP going? I have about a quart and a half in the fridge just waiting to be used. I am having trouble envisioning what kind of a flavor it might impart to the SP. Thanks,

I bottled my first ever mead, a JAOM, a few weeks ago. The only area where I strayed from the instructions was in filtering the racking cane. I used a piece of very fine mesh straining bag rather than cloth. As a result, I picked up some fine, whiteish looking sediment. Should I open my bottled...

Greetings All, I am new to the forum, so please excuse my questions if they have already been asked. I am new to the forum, but not completely new to wine making, having taken it up again after a long hiatus. Many years ago, I used to help my granddad make wine, and currently have a...

I have just received 9 quarts of 100% lime juice. It is a commercial product and it contains no preservatives, or anything else besides lime juice for that matter. Since it does not have any sulfites or other added ingredients, do you think I will need to add some prior to adding my yeast slurry...

Up until now, I have been using my own empties and others collected from friends and neighbors. I always rinse them out when empty, and before using, thoroughly wash and sanitize. I now have 3 cases of brand new amber hock style bottles for my Grand Cru Liebfraumilch that I will be bottling this...

Can all ingredients for a 1 gallon recipe simply be multiplied by 5 to arrive at a 5 gallon recipe. If not, what measures need to change. I am sure this conversion is probably recipe specific, so the particular one I am looking at is from Jack Keller's web site: APPLE WINE (4) [Heavy bodied]...

I started a batch of SP on 7/25. The yeast slurry was from a 1 gal batch of apple made from organic juice. I was a little concerned by the low volume of lees left by the apple, so I added 1 1/2 cups of juice and about 2 tbs of sugar to the slurry. This was done on 7/23 and it seemed to get a...

I have a gallon each of red raspberry and peach that was racked for the third time about 2 weeks ago, June 29, to be exact. I added 1 campden tablet to each at that time. My plan was to add sorbate the next day, sweeten a little and bottle about a week later. Well that didn't happen as planned...

I will be starting a Grand Cru Liebfraumilch kit this weekend. It is my intention to follow the instructions to the letter. Has anyone had any experience with this kit? Thanks.

No pun intended, but gladly accepted. I was advised by my local supply shop to bottle immediately after stabilizing and sweetening my strawberry wine. After reading numerous posts on this site, I am beginning to doubt the accuracy of those instructions. The wine in question was a one gallon...