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No---we sweetened it.

I agree with NorCal. But the other thing I'm thinking is if you divided your total nutrient amount in half and pitched the second half when you got to 1/3 sugar reduction. Yeast can run out of nutrient half-way, or so, thru the ferment and without more nutrient, the ferment can get very...

iridium---the same advice remains. Now that you're aware that this is bad practice, don't do it anymore. Sometimes you can get away scott-free doing something like this. And then the next time you have a big problem. This is why it's necessary to understand WHY you're doing WHAT you're doing.

The only way to sweeten without sorbate is to sterile filter--something very difficult for home winemakers. Use the sorbate--and be SURE it's fresh.

You should do some reading on the benefits of bulk aging. Lots of magic goes on in the carboy during the 1st year of aging--especially reds.

The science part of winemaking can be a high hill to climb for new winemakers. So don't forget to study all you can. It took me quite a while, as well.

There is not much, if any, activity during MLF. Directions on MLF say to stir it to keep the bacteria in contact with the wine, but we no longer do this and the MLF finishes just fine. Remember--you have little or no SO2 on the wine and opening it up all the time can lead to oxidation risk...

You can also add some acid to each glassful. You can use tartaric or acid blend. Just add a few grains of acid, stir and taste. That way, you don't have to waste the corks. Your experience is why it's so important to take acid tests and adjust, if needed, before the ferment.

Vinmetrica 300 here too.

You're better off waiting a couple weeks, or so, and that is because you want to be sure to have all the products of fermentation racked off the wine so that you don't run into H2S problems. And actually, there is no rush to MLF as long as you keep the airlock on the carboy and aren't opening...

Montrachet and H2S problems are not related to re-hydration or not. This yeast naturally emits higher quantities of H2S than other yeasts. The only way to combat that is to be sure you use GOOD nutrient management because when this yeast is stressed, it produces more H2S.

No--that guy is wrong. Many reds benefit from MLF---by grape or by juice bucket. We MLF lots of juice buckets.

Inches of lees need to be racked off. The light dusting of lees at the bottom of a carboy during bulk aging is a good thing. You can even stir those up once in a while during bulk aging and it helps the flavor firm up faster, especially if you're impatient to bottle it.

Yeast can be slow to take off on cold must. We like the must temp to be around room temp. And if this is a red, it's beneficial to heat the must to around 80 degrees for better extraction of color.

Well, for one thing you should not add nutrient until your culture has taken off. Adding it up front like that can give nutrient support to any microbes that may be present. Did you use any meta on the fruit before you started the ferment? If not, this could also add to any microbial issues. The...

We made paw paw wine one year. If this is the first time you've made it, you might be disappointed in how it tastes after one year. It is quite astringent. But if you allow it to age in the bottle for a couple years, you'll be very pleased. We "lost" one bottle of it in the wine rack, and...

We make lots of pear wine and we freeze them first. We use the whole fruit and bag them to do the ferment and add no water. The one thing that will help you is to use a better pectinase like Lallzyme C Max. It is a rapid acting pectinase which also helps with clarification. Also, add 1/4...

It's not a matter of PH. Blueberry has a naturally occurring compound similar to sorbate so it's difficult to get a ferment started. The best way to ensure a smooth ferment is to always use a yeast starter. You can use apple juice for this purpose. Start the yeast in the apple juice, then add to...

Did you add any yeast nutrient?

If you add 1/4 tsp per gallon, that would be a nominal amt. Don't over-do. Astringent wine is nasty. It incorporates the best when done during fermentation. But adding in the secondary is OK and you don't need to let it sit very long.