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Question is as I go thru wine kits ... Save or dispose the oak cubes? I know they lose oak-I-ness after a few weeks in the wine ... But do they add anything else if already used? I.e. Improved mouthfeel, etc? Is there any benefit or harm in adding them in addition to a new kits oak? Or adding...

Liked... awesome give away.

Hopefully someone can help identify what this 'floatie' might be in my DB. Is this what sediment looks like? I've had (tasted) three bottles of the batch I started 10/5 and bottled 11/15. The bottles have progressively tasted better. Problem is now going to my stash, I have at least 6 bottles...

That's what all 3 of my wines have in common. EC 1118. One reason I'm wondering if this similar smell and taste comes from the yeast ... As that and my carboys are the only thing they seem to have in common.

I just completed my first 3 month racking last night. Taste and smell pretty harsh. I'm not sure if that's the smell of yeast or what. I've made 1 batch of DB, this Chardonnay kit and 1 merlot kit (all since sept 2015) and they all share this aroma. The started the Chardonnay first and I think...

Tonight I just started step #3 (stabilizing and clearing). I added the 3 packages of oak cubes as directed. Can I save these oak cubes At next racking and add them again ... For a more oaky flavor? Seems odd to just leave them in contact for an 8 day period.

I just pitched the yeast tonight on this kit. Looking forward to it ... wish i wouldn't be looking forward for soo long ... the wife is excited as well so hopefully this turns out well. Any actual commercial wines someone would like to throw out there that this compares too? Something that will...

for future notes, does more fruit per gallon yield a fruitier wine? or does it not work like that? just curious. I was hoping that this DB i started in early October would be ready by Thanksgiving and would be 'prime' by Christmas ... but maybe i'll just tell folks to wait and celebrate/drink...

Specs on my dragon blood batch: Pitched 10/4; SG = 1.082 @ 74*F Racked 10/13; SG = 0.990 @ 72*F Used 1 pound berry blend per gallon ... 6 pounds total for my 6 gallon batch. Only deviation from original recipe was 1 cup less lemon; back sweetened with 3.75 cups of sugar. Will work on...

Bottled my dragon blood this afternoon, had roughly half a bottle left that we're taste testing. The DB smells good, little fruity smell. However as far as taste ... its very disappointing - very little berry/fruity flavor. It kind of tastes like tart, sweet water. Does this change over time? Do...

Just bought this kit have a little while to wait before I get it started ... But I'm very excited to make this kit ... Even more to taste it ... Now all I need is the time machine...

So the back-sweetening for me comes in a week (just racked from primary to carboy tonight). @wineforfun & others- what amount of sugar (for a 6 gallon batch) is good for a semi-sweet wine?

Is dragon's blood best at room temperature? or chilled?

My Chardonnay is now +7 days late on schedule for racking and clarification (step 4). It's getting clearer ... Will probably wait until at least Wednesday or maybe even til next weekend to rack to new carboy. Temp is 74*F (and pretty much has been since pitching yeast).

I'm having the same issues with this same kit. According to kit instructions, mine was to be clear last night. You're a few months ahead of me ... Did you leave it in carboy (no racking) until it cleared? Not sure why I'm so paranoid about leaving it more than 8 days on the fine lees ... But I am.

Glad someone else shares the opinion. Only fear I have is leaving it too long and possibly picking up 'off flavors'.

Here's pics of the carboy with the Chardonnay. This is day 8 of clearing (end of step #3). Tonight (according to instructions) I should be racking to a clean carboy for a minimum of 28 days ... Does anyone know if the pics 'show' the wine being ready??? Don't want to wait too long ... But...

Two questions on original recipe: 1. No bentonite to start? 2. Can you omit all the lemon/citrus at the start and add some later after sample tasting (before bottling)?

Yes, I added kmetta, sorbate, degassed, then added the clear stuff chitosan and degassed again. I may just have to wait longer before racking

RE: eclipse Sonoma Chardonnay I'm on day 6 of the clearing stage of the kit. I've noticed after the degassing the first few days started clearing and settling. However the process seems to have stalled recently ... Still fairly cloudy. Is there any harm in waiting to rack to aging carboy for a...