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Let's talk about Champagne. Has anyone tried the Millennium Sparkling Wine kit (and would like to give their take on it?)? I had a few questions about it, I know George probably knows these things... - Do the instructions give procedure for both Natural and forced carbonation? - How is...

Okay, here is one for you wine pairing enthusiasts. What wine goes best with Chili (Texas style, of course)? This tends to be highly spicy and very rich. The reason I ask is that I have been invited to supply wine to a chili cook off that our neighborhood association is organizing. If I had my...

I had a little problem with my twin top corks this last weekend. These corks (4111 ) are #9 corks , 1.75" long. This was my first choice in corks when I first got into the hobby. The problem occurred when I tried to open a couple of bottles before a party. My corkscrew (which is a VERY good...

Hey, loved this month's feature article in Pressing News. I tried adding oak to my Merlot kit (Select), and it came out great! I'm gonna try it on some other kits. Along those lines, has anyone ever tried adding raisins to their kit wine? I know that the select kits have practically no solids...

my sister-in-law brought me a bottle of Electric Reindeer Merlot as a host gift at our Christmas party this year. I finally cracked it open two days ago. My wife and I bothagreed, it was not that great. Very weak in aroma and flavor. It didn't have that spicy after-bite that I so love about...

Now I know I'm hooked on this hobby. I was looking at the sad jack-o-lantern that we carved the day before Halloween thinking, "I could make wine out of this." Here we have Ashton (10) with her Jack-o-Lantern. She gladly hands it over to dad after Halloween because she knows dad will...

Does anyone have any experience converting wine into vinegar? Waldo's Habenero cooking wine got me thinking about creating some gourmet vinegars. Is it difficult and does it take long?

To date,I have completed 5 kits since March of this year. So far, everything has come out pretty good (with the exception of some CO2, my mistake). However, my wife andI have both noticed that our red wines have lacked what I would call a "hearty mouth-feel." The wines, even though they are full...

Wanted to give a report on our first attempt at fruit wine. SUCCESS! After about 5 months in the bottle, we impatiently cracked one open a bottle of blueberry last night. I expected that it would still be a little too tart, considering that I left the wine dry (I followed the recipe on this...

Okay, let's suppose I go out and buy 40# of grapes. I could probably get my family to destem them for me, and even help me crush them. But, how would I press grapes, without having to buy an expensive wine press? I'm pretty handy. Anyone have plans for a home-made wine press? Also, let's say...

I just started a Petite Sirah yesterday. It will be the second time that we have done this particular wine kit. Since I like a LOT of variety, I was wondering, are there any suggestions for "Tweaking" this kit to make it more interesting? The kit has oak chips for the primary, would oaking the...

Okay, I'm gonna try it. I'm going to try to make a fruit wine. I got all the ingredients I need to make a gallon of wine. But before I get started, I need to ask you experts out there a few questions... 1. Crushing - I have had my blueberries in the freezer for a week. After they thaw...

From time to time, we all goof-up. I have one that is minor, but I still would like to know if there are any suggestions on fixing it. I bottled my Pinot Grisio per instructions after 2 weeks of settling in the carboy. The wine was nice and clear and I made 27 beautiful bottles of crystal...

Many of you have been preaching patience to us newbies. I, being your most impatient of newbies, have not been very patient with all of this talk of being patient. I would like to now humbly appologize for my behavior. I decided last night is was time to crack open another bottle of the Cab...

Had to let you know that we got an ovation for our Petite Sirah from a genuine French person. A friend of my wife was in town for a conference and he stopped in for a visit (all the from Paris). My wife cracked open a bottleof our Petite Sirah that we bottled just last month. He was very...

I see that George has a Root Beer extract. This sounds really enticing. Anyone have a good recipe for Root Beer? George, does the package have instructions?

Last weekend, I purchased some more bottles from George to put my new batch of Pinot Noir in. He mentioned that he had a new type of bottle that was perfect for my Pinot Noir. I sensed a sales pitch, so I decided to do some research on what wines "traditionally" went with certain styles of wine...

I just started a new Petite Shiraz kit 2 days ago. It is not acting like the first 2 kits I have made. The air lock is not bubbling away like the others did at this stage of the process. I know it is doing something, because when I lightly tap on the lid, it will "burp". The activity seems very...

I think I've got this thing ready to go now. This (I hope) is a picture of my beginner's set-up. The wine in the carboy is a Pinot Noir. Should be ready to bottle in a week. It is leaning forward a bit per advice I got from this forum. Yes, this is my laundry room. And, yes, I desperately...

I got to the part where I'm Stabilizing and Clearing. George sold me a great little thing that I hook to my drill motor and stir to beat-the-band. It is basically a crooked stick that comes up through a bung. Everything was working great, until I noticed little white specks all over the top of...