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Hi All, I have a 2019 LE South Africa Cape Blend in which I still have quite a few bottles left. I've been drinking it slowly, though we typically don't start into our wines until 12-18 months. It's been a good wine until a bottle I tried this weekend, it tasted super alchoholic. Very Alchohol...

Hi All, I thought I'd post how I calculate how much brandy to add to port to boost the alchohol: P=Port at start (what you made) a=alchohol percentage of port you made (SG-FG)*131 b=alchohol percentage of brandy you are adding A=final percentage alchohol you wish to have B=brandy to add (what...

Hi All, As my wine ages, I’m finding more and more dirty bottles with sludge on the bottom. We’ve since purchased a decanter and use this as our go to, and don’t pour out the last 3/4” of the bottle or so. I’m wondering why this is happening, as when we bottle the wine appears clear. I...

Hi all, I'm new to making wine straight from juice but have over 20+ kits under my experience. I bought a pail of juice locally here from imported California Juice and have had two concerns and 1 question: 1. When I brought it home it was fine but very cool. After warming to our house...

Has anyone made any of these kits? It's a big favourite choice for my wife for store bought as she went to school in that area in France, but we haven't tried a kit yet and wondering how they compare. I believe WE Vintners Reserve has one, and RJ Grand Cru. They are both only 10L kits.

Can anyone recommend their favourite Riesling kits? We are looking for something more like the German styles, not too sweet. We were thinking the Winexpert Californian but interested to hear your comments. Also we would prefer larger juice kits, and Winexpert or RJ Spagnols.

I'm just wondering if this is possible. My local home brew shop recommended trying 2 weeks in primary to get more exposure to the skins. I'm thinking of trying this with the Eclipse Merlot kit I just bought. Has anyone tried this? We usually do 1 week in primary (for all kits) and squeeze the...

Well I'm surprised I haven't seen a post on this yet, but they have announced the varietals: http://beachwinery.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/WX_LE17_SellSht_ALL.pdf

Here's the kits coming out this fall: •CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY - rounded cherry, plum, and bright raspberry with rich chocolate, coffee and vanilla. •NEW PEPPERMINT MOCHA - Dark Chocolate and cool peppermint blend seamlessly with the rich coffee notes. •NEW RED VELVET - Rich and velvety notes...

I see people use this abbreviation a lot. What's the difference with Cellar Craft and Cellar Classic? Are they different owner ship or all fall under the global vintners group, ie. Winexpert?

Hi All, Recently I noticed a lot of sediment in the bottom of my bottles as I noticed some corks leaking and was recorking/moving bottles around (switching to synthetic now due to the leaks). I always follow the instructions, but prolong all but the first step. Typically I bottle after 90...

I thought it would be nice to have all the different varietals listed with what style they actually replicate. As many of us know, names were changed due to copyright reasons of regional wines. Hoping we can make this a sticky, everyone else please provide their input: Brunello =...

I thought I'd start up a discussion on the difference between kit manufacturers, ie which is thought of to be 'better'. I know where I'm from Winexpert is supposed to be the high end brand, and Celler Craft lower. Yet when you speak to the Celler Craft sellers they explain they are all made by...

Has anyone here used DCK long corks and have experience with how long they last? My LHBS says 3 years, but we aren't drinking our wine as fast as we thought we would and are worried they may go bad. Also, one LHBS says to pour boiled hot water over them and let sit 3-5mins, while the other says...

So the LHBS around here says there is no need to add it, though one time I called Winexpert and they recommend it as does there instructions for some kits, with or without bulk aging. When I make my kits, I put them under vacuum immediately after clearing. I never follow instructions and...

Hi All, I have a Chocolate Raspberry Port that is stalled at 1.016. It did kick in again after adding dextrose but seems to have stopped here. It's been that way for a few weeks now. I stirred it up yesterday, any other ways I could get this going again? What SG should I expect it to drop to...

So We are starting our first Amarone, and I fear we may have left it too long prior to adding the dextrose for the chaptalization process. The SG was at 0.993, and they say to add below 1.020. When we added the dextrose it bumped it up to 1.005. We stirred the crap out of it with an electric...

Anyone made one of these? They are specially made for The Vineyard here in Calgary. I picked one up, but probably won't get a chance to make it until the fall. http://www.thevineyard.ca/articles-and-news?articleid=337

Hi All, been lurking for a while but decided I'd finally post. New to the game and have 2 kits bottled, 5 in carboys, and one waiting to start. Doing my 3rd kit, a Selection Pinot Grigio, I accidently racked right before clearing. It cleared within a day and I racked with a vcuum pump...