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Beautifully stated by @BernardSmith. Spend the money on special varietals when you want those flavors to shine. Clover for all the rest!

Agreed with the above....the different types of honey will really shine when it is a straight mead. Since you are adding in another component, I personally wouldn't worry too much about it.

Haha, got it. Thats enough of a ringing endorsement for me.

@Ct Winemaker , this is an incredibly helpful array of information! I'm likewise getting the grapes and juice from Musto (I'm based in western Mass). I'm expecting them to come in ~ next week. Your data point on BDX is great - do you happen to have tasting notes on the attributes of the BDX...

The several bottles that we have had all were quite pleasing and I really liked the intersection of fruit, tannins, aroma, and acidity. With the ongoing pandemic having delayed our trip to South Africa, I figured I'd go ahead and take this spring to get a taste of what we are missing!

Thanks Johnd - I was a little surprised there weren't more threads in this forum when I did a search on it, but no wonder considering the dearth of US plantings.

With all the CV-19 shakeup to things, I put plans in motion a little later than normal to get going on spring winemaking. Since a planned South Africa trip this summer has been postponed due to CV-19, I was inspired to see South African grapes and juice buckets available from M&M in Hartford...

I actually need to amend my statement....it was actually a split of K1 and D47, not EC1118. My apologies! I've used D47 for a ton of projects (pinot grigio, sauv blanc, cider, blueberry....etc) and it has always been a great performer. I do notice that compared to other yeasts (I always do at...

I've done a split batch with D47 and EC1118 on Chilean juice. Per several taste tests with 5+ people per test - the 50/50 blend of the two was superior to either individually in terms of overall taste, structure, and aroma. Of the two individually, the D47 batch was considered slightly better...

I'm not saying go high end, but definitely avoid the lowest cost brandies. They can have an artificial, vanilla-ish taste (in the worst way possible) that takes a little bit to age out.

Ec1118 will go the distance, but I would plan on adding some kind of yeast nutrient in there. No sense stressing it and you'll need all the help you can get with that ABV destination. I feel that with the other, bolder fruits, you won't gain much with a lb of strawberries - either bump it...

I feel the same way on using the peels. If I won't eat it, its not going in the wine. Although I suppose I break that rule with dandelion wine. I can't see chewing on a bunch of flower petals, but that is a great wine. I agree that Keller's fruit recipes, for the most part, produce a light to...

I haven't personally made banana wine, just relaying what I read. Although the Keller recipe used less than half the lbs/gallon that you mention above, so maybe his has a lot less impact on the final product.

It depends. What's your current SG, and what kind of residual sweetness are you looking for? If you made a naked mead fermented to completion and added juice to back sweeten, you run the risk of the residual sugar going beyond what you wanted without getting quite the flavor you wanted. I...

Sure beats water! I seem to recall a Jack Keller article recommended banana wine as a fairly neutrally tasting top off, though that would be moderately more effort than your proposal.

Lallzyme wasn't on my radar until this year when several members recommended it. It sounds like whatever extraction you're going to need for those batches, Lallzyme will do it's part! Out of curiosity, did you take TA measurements also?

I'd go for it. The cost of yeast and sugar is negligible compared to the sunk cost. If nothing else, it's a winemaking challenge to hone your skills. If you can make a good wine under this challenging scenario with the current parameters, a more "normal" must will be nothing! With 250 lbs, you...

The advice above is spot on and I'd recommend following it. In regard to the over sulfiting - I have mistakenly done this myself. You can wait a period of time (several days to a week) for it to dissipate naturally, or you can aerate it extensively right now. Of several ways to do this...

Thanks for the clarification there - looks like my understanding was improperly framed. Yeah, we are looking to press tomorrow evening. Looking forward to it.

Interesting, John - I calibrated it a few weeks ago for giggles and all was well. It makes sense to me that for higher potential-ABV liquids as fermentation progresses and more alcohol becomes present, the increasing amount of alcohol will throw off the hydrometer reading as the amount of...