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Newbie question. How do I measure the tempertature of my ferment in a big Brute? I have a 44 gallon Brute going about 3/4 full of 9 cases of Zin. Everything went smoothly with the yeast and such, tons of CO2. I pitched on Sunday after two days of cold soak. The must was at 70 degrees...

So as I start to mess with fresh grapes, I am reading about how you shouldn't use the same barrel for fresh grape wine with MLB and kits. I have understood for awhile that kits wines are NOT designed to go through MLF and can wind up with the geranium smell problem if they get innoculated...

I have found a well cared for press in good condition (Needs paint on the metal drip pan but is mechanically sound and the wood is in good shape) for a good price. It is probably 50 years old made by Baccellieri Brothers It is described as a 16" tall by 16" diameter basket. This seems to...

For those of you here in the Nutmeg state (and I know our numbers are legion!) I just bought new in the box 23 litre carboys at the Cash and Carry at the Food Terminal at Longwharf in New Haven. Out the door price? $24 each, made in Italy. This place is a specialty food distributor...

Anyone made this? I picked it up from Fine Vine Wines, George had it on close out and after a few outdoor concert on the green events, I found myself really enjoying an off dry rose. I see a decent sized F pack and have never made a wine with one. I am worried this may be too sweet for me...

http://store.homebrewheaven.com/hydraulic-fruit-press-5-gallon-capacity-cz8-p1519.aspx I just saw this on a sponsors site. I have never heard of such a thing but it sounds like a brilliant and inexpensive idea. Does anyone here have experience with a press that uses a hydraulic car jack...

Ive been in Asia for two weeks now and the only decent glass of wine I got was in the business.lounge or on the plane. Singapore and Bangkok don't have a wine culture and it's all overpriced and not great. I can only imagine how many glasses I will have on the 19 hour non stop flight back...

So I am still fitting out my workshop into a wine making lab. I have been looking at a plastic utility sink either single size or double. What do you all have for sinks and what do you wish you could have? What type of faucets or threaded fittings for attachments do you recommend? I am...

Am still experimenting with back sweetening my 6.5 gal batch of sp. so far the straight stuff is still a bit sour with 5 cups of invert sugar added to 3 gallons. I did mix up a batch with 750 ml of plain pee some sugar and half a can of Bacardi frozen margarita concentrate. It is now cloudy...

I am finally getting the castle de papa with grape pack going that I bought from Wade. The grape pack is now inside a mesh bag. It really displaces a lot of volume! I filled my bucket to the 23 l mark after I put the grape pack in. The SG is really high (1.105) so I suspect I should pull...

For those of you who have been doing this awhile, what do you typically put a 6 gallon batch into? All 750's? I have heard a number of people reference splits for periodic tasting. I have a ton of 1.5L bottles but for gifts and even to keep the wine fresh when opened I guess 750's are...

I have seen many used wine presses on Craigslist but don't know enough about them to judge whether they would fit my needs. A local wine and produce place offers fresh and frozen must and I'd be interested in trying 5 or 10 gallons at a time. I realize I would have to get into TA and sugar...

Hey all- My pee is dry and clearing! I made a 6.5 gallon batch and plan to split it up among a few 1 gallon bottles (Need to buy a 3 gallon carboy). I think I will do half with sugar and 1/4 each of some concentrate. I have searched all the concentrate threads and see blueberry Pom and...

I am on my fourth kit now. It is a Wine Expert Limited edition Washington Meritage. I got the must ready, added the roughly 1.5 gallons of warmed up water (it's a 16 liter kit) and checked SG. The instructions said the starting SG should be 1.095-1.100. I was reading 1.090 to 1.092. The...

Hey all- I am fairly new to winemaking but with two kits under my belt and some Skeeter Pee fermenting, I think I have the basics down. My wife's sister is getting married in about a year. She likes Pinot Noir and Syrah but is open to most decent reds I put in front of her. I want to...

So this may be a dumb question but what is the sequence for tool cleaning? I watched George's video about using the B BRITE clenser and washing all the tools and then pouring a cup or so of K Meta into the bucket with all the tools in it and putting the lid on to let the fumes do the work...

So I have my first white wine ever in Primary. Started April 3rd after work. Mosti Modiale Bourg Royal White. A suggestion from George. I followed the directions carefully and cleaned, sanitized and added the water as directed. I did heat some of the filtered water before adding so that my...

I have been thinking about a wine cellar since I moved into this house 5 years ago. Starting to make my own wine has accelerated those thoughts! There used to be a Bilco door to the backyard but since an addition went in back in the 70's it is now a closet that leads to a crawl space under my...

So, first kit in the primary. My work area is about 67 degrees so I used a brew belt and the fermentation took off! temps stayed around 80. The kit says to rack after 14 days. I started at 1.080 and now I am at 0.990. The kit is a Grand Cru Heritage Estates Cab from RJ Spagnols. I...

Hey all- I am just getting started and found a friend of a friend who is selling a number of different used glass carboys. $15-20 each. 3 gal 5 5.5 6 6.5 gal I have a single 6 gallon and shortly will be putting my first kit into it. The plans for now are to do several kit wines and I...