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#40 Grape Press, ratchet style. (Pictures shows 1 pawl, but comes with two.) 69 liters / 18 gallon capacity. Basket dimensions: approx 15 1/4" diameter, 23 3/4" high. Wood slats are in excellent condition. Comes with wood blocking so you can press large or small quantities of grapes. Heavy gauge...

I am asking for a favor- if any readers have 3 gallon PET carboys, could you please weigh them and tell me the empty weights? I need to calculate the quantity of wine I have in a couple of 3G carboys. Easy to do by weight, but I never weighed the carboys empty. Thanks in advance. Erik

Has anyone used oak their vignoles? My vignoles is very high acid, abt 1.0%. Back sweetening seems to be the obvious way to get some balance. But reading posts from members who have used oak on dry whites makes me wonder if I could get some balance from oaking.

Buyer Beware, Part 1 Most wine makers want to know what wine they are making. If for example a winemaker wants to make Sauvignon blanc, they either buy sauvignon blanc grapes or a sauvignon blanc wine kit. But what if the grapes that were sold to you weren’t actually sauvignon blanc grapes...

I've made wine from tons of grapes, to one gallon trials. But this is the smallest batch of Cabernet Sauvignon I've ever done. Wouldn't have started it except the source of the grapes is special to me, my wife, and a friend. I call it "TLC", for The Last Cabernet.

The Super Tuscan is always one of the favorites of mine, friends, and family. I'd like to make it from scratch instead of from a kit. The question I have is the blend ratios. Super Tuscan is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet, and Merlot. But what are the ratios? 75% sangiovese, 15% cabernet, 10%...

Starting a batch of peach wine, using peaches from a local orchard. What is a good TA to aim for at the start of fermentation? Thanks, Erik

I want to buy some Lallemand (Scott Labs) PN4 malolactic bacteria. Why you ask PN4? It is most tolerant of high(er) So2 levels than most ML bacteria, and it yields more diacetyl than most. Which is what I need to tame some very harsh riesling. Does anybody know where I can buy a small quantity...

I am looking at some land for a vineyard. There is anywhere from 24 inches to 5+ feet of soil on top of bedrock. The land has a good slope. How much soil, how deep does the soil need to be to enable good yielding vines?

Is anybody growing or making wine from Cabernet Dore' hybrid?

When making white wine from grapes, the fermentation is typically done at very cool temperatures, to extract the best flavor and aromas. Does fermenting white kit wines have the same benefit?

I am eager to try some wine made from Marquette grapes. I will be in the NE Iowa/south & central Wisconsin areas in July. Can someone suggest a winery or wineries that sell Marquette wine? Thanks. Erik

Winemaker Magazine's 2014 competition has a category "Red Vinifera Bordeaux Style Blends" and a category "Other Red Vinifera Blends" How does a red bordeaux style blend differ from a red vinifera blend? Erik

I have two batches of Sauvignon blanc nearly ready to bottle. I started from fresh juice from a local vineyard. I separated the wine into two batches- One destined for MLF and one not. In every respect I treated them the same except when it came to SO2 additions during the MLF period and the...

I had about a quart too much sauvignon blanc juice, so I put it in a pitcher and set it outside. I added no yeast, no sugar. The juice was only rough filtered from the press. Natural fermentation has really kicked in. It is about 93 deg outside. The video shows the fermentation in action.

I anticipate getting about 20 gallons of merlot must in the next month. I'll be aging in glass carboys, but I can't figure out if I should age it with oak (actually oak alternatives like cubes). How does a winemaker decide whether to oak or not? This is my first made-from-scratch red.

I want to start a test plot of Vermentino vines. Can anyone tell me where I can buy Vermentino vines in the USA? Maybe 10 - 20 vines.

I have a batch of Wine Expert White Zinfandel (Selection Original Series) that I am about to bottle. I added the F-Pack (sweetner), sorbate, and potassium metabisulfite, around November 10. Since then it has been in a carboy, topped off to the neck, sitting in a closet. I have no way to...

I want to do a Sangiovese. What kit is best? From reading the various posts, it seems that the Cellar Craft Showcase kit give the most consistent positive feedback. I have done a number of white kits. All with good results. Right now I have a World Vineyard Chilean Malbec aging in a carboy...

In aging red wines in bulk, I keep reading that exposure to air is bad, that it causes oxidation. Yet I read this from not from a Bordeaux winemaker's website- "Every three months the wine is racked. This means that we will empty the tank by removing the deposit that has accumulated during...