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I have two 6 gallon carboys of Cab Franc that I made from 170lbs of grapes. Due to some family and work issues I wasn't able to tend to it as quickly as I'd liked and it sat in Secondary for about 4 weeks on about 1.5-2" of post-press sediment. It has a slight egg smell, so I'd just like to...

Assuming I already have all the equipment necessary to make wine (primary buckets, carboys, siphons, sanitizers, stoppers, hydrometer, ph meter, etc) what do I need to add to my arsenal to make beer? I'm not sure if it's something I want to do long term, but I would at least like to try a...

What is this common taste/aroma I'm getting from every kit wine I do? No matter what kit I do or varietal, I'm picking up this same characteristic taste from all kits. Sorry I don't have any more info, I just cant make out what the taste is exactly but it's common to all my kits. Surely...

I have a zin that I started from 250lbs of grapes. The grapes started at a very high brix (30 brix) and I'm having trouble getting it to ferment dry. I'm at 21 days in and my SG is still at 1.003-1.004. I'm wondering what my options are here. I'll try to give as much detailed info without...

I was looking at getting the Hanna ph Tester here: http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=HI98103 The price seems very good compared to test strips...can somebody tell me how often the electrode needs to be replaced? How does the accuracy of this compare to other testers or...

This weekend I'll be picking up my first batch of grapes (Zinfandel), and wanted to know if there were any basic guidelines for sizing the primary fermenter. I'll be picking them up de-stemmed and lightly crushed. I'm getting 300lbs of grapes. Based on the general numbers I see online...

I have a couple Vinifera Noble kits going (Valpolicella and Sangiovese) and have just racked them for degassing and clarification (Phase 2 in the Vinifera Noble instructions). I plan to bulk age these in the carboy for at least 4-6 months...maybe more. My question is whether to add clarifying...

I am sitting on three kits that I ordered (got a good deal as well as saved on shipping)....two Vinifera Noble kits (a Sangiovese and a Valpocella), and an RJ Spagnols Winery Series Syrah. I'd like to get them all started, however I only have one 7.9 gallon primary fermenter on hand and no...

My current batch, WinExpert Selection International New Zealand Pinot Noir had a starting SG of 1.102. Ten days into it, I'm now down to .996 which gives me 14.4% alcohol. That would be good if we ended there. However, I know that it could still be fermenting...so per the instructions...

I'm working on a WinExpert Selection International New Zealand Pinot Noir. On 6/24, I racked it to secondary at an SG of .998. Well, somehow it seems I forgot to fill the airlock. Today (6/27) I went to test the SG (down to .996) and noticed the the airlock was dry. There's a good deal...

Now that I have 3 batches going, and am about to start a 4th and 5th batch, I really need to start thinking about setting up some more permanent and stable storage for my carboys and all the bottles Im going to have. Currently my three batches sit in carboys on my kitchen counter and I've...

I have a WinExpert New Zealand Pinot Noir kit in its second day of fermentation. The day AFTER mixing the kit I noticed that the water I used was distilled. This particular kit is 4 gallons juice so I added roughly 2 gallons distilled water. I remember seeing somewhere that you shouldn't use...

Im about 7 weeks into a Moments Advintage Zin kit. It's in a 6-gallon carboy and according to the instructions is ready to bottle. However, it currently tastes a bit "flat". I'm not sure if that's the right word necessarily, but basically it isn't sour, bitter, or anything like that. It...

Hi there. First-time winemaker here working on my first kit. It's a box of "Moments" Zinfandel I picked up at a local Home Brew Store. I also bought one of the deluxe equipment kits they had. Anyway, I followed the instructions on the kit, and found that my wine has reached .994-.995 SG...