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Most wine competitions I have entered, the wines compete against each other according to type, whether region, source, kit, bucket,fresh grapes, fruit wine, berry wine, cider, mead etc. but I don't see for example kits fro chile compete against buckets from chile. But now, there's a good reason...

The meter to check ABV is called a vinometer. I have heard of them but no direct experience with it

It's never too late to start using a hydrometer. The only info you will be missing is the starting gravity so you may not know how much alcohol was produced, but you Will know if you have consumed all the sugar and it will signal the end of secondary fermentation. There is a meter you can buy...

after ageing and cold stabilization I have seen tartaric acid crystals precipitate and fall to the bottom, especially in whites. So I would imagine that acidity can change when that happens.

I entered about 6 wines into a competition a few years ago, my wine store shipped 'em off for me, and then I went on vacation. Having forgotten about the competition, there was a message when I got back to pick up my awards. What a shock...So I highly recommend it for a good stroke to your...

Hey Robb, Welcome to the group. Mighty ambitious project I must say! I have been to the Sonoita and Wilhelm wineries while on vacation out in AZ (leave it to me to sniff out a winery). Surprisingly good wines out there so you must be pumped! All the best to you on this endeavor. -Mark

Ok. Sounds like I will follow your advice. Makes sense. Just didn't know if I was missing out on a possible positive effect from the special yeasts I bought for the buckets. Thanks, Turock!

I have been using Star San after the guy at the store strongly recommended it. Although it is a "no rinse" sanitizer, I still give a rinse after because it is very sudsy...and I know there's blogs out there about don't fear the bubbles...but just my OCD. I do not use b-brite to sanitize, but...

I have 36 gallons of wine from Bello Chilean that has just completed secondary fermentation. I'm planning on topping off but was wondering if it would benefit the wine to have more time on the lees. Or would you rack? These are the varietals and yeasts I used. I also added superferment about...

Welcome to the group. I too, am guilty of pulling up a chair and just admiring the process. Kind of like an expectant father. :)

I think what they mean are the yeasts that are wild in the field clinging to the grape skins....some good and some bad. It's a roll of the dice for an estate to rely solely on wild yeasts. They may not be the right strain, may not tolerate alcohol beyond a certain level etc. But if there are...

Zigman, I have bulk aged wines for over a year and although clear and stable looking, some still had left over carbonation in them. Just try to make sure that those bubbles are gone before you bottle.

my chilean juice is Bello Chilean and they were all rated at 6 gals. Most of my carboys are 5 gallons, but I keep a variety of 3, 2, and 1 gallon sizes. So when there are variations I can use the smaller format carboys for topping off or taking excess, minimizing the waste. It was a small...

Although Norton wines from Argentina are awesome, I think the orig poster wants the North American Norton grape wine (aka Cynthiana). This was a link I came across of a forum response about where to obtain Norton. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/365176. With all the states that can ship and...

I bought Bello Chilean juice (six pails) and the juice was already innoculated. But the vendor(Presque Isle in Erie PA) recommended other yeasts to use to take over. Included in the envelopes were packets of yeast, nutrient, a superferment, and tannin. They also tested ph and gave me the...

If I could only choose one, go for the Malbec. It's a unique grape that excels in S America. Thats one of the varietals that do best there. What is your source for the juice? I picked up my chilean juices a month ago and they have just finished secondary ferm. I guess as long as the buckets...

The wood is a 12 foot long solid piece of pressure treated Douglas Fir at 1 1/2 inches thick. On those buckets I think it would support a football team :). This is actually a temporary fix during fermentation to get the carboys off the cold cement floor while finishing out secondary. I feel...

Just had to expand my operation to acommodate Chilean juice for the first time. I am just about maxxed out on my carboy capacity. I actually have a few more that have been lent out to a couple friends. Maybe that's a good thing. Using one forth of my basement. Chilean wine has just been...

I have a buon vino minijet too. I used to filter all my wines but stopped doing reds because they were clearing enough to not go to the trouble of that step. They're deep enough in color to hide what whites will reveal. I have used the #3 filter on my whites to give tem a nice polsh, but I...

Usually about 10 days or so does the job. I have an insulated garage door so It doesnt get too cold in there. If the long term forecast ls like 30's by day and 20's by night i feel pretty safe. Had a severe cold snap a few years ago where it got to 10 below, and I had the biggest shraz "big...