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Ah, good to know. Also, what a relief; I didn't want to mess with MLF. :D

Just got a Cru California Syrah with skins. Way more than I usually spend on a kit, nervous about doing a bad job. Not sure if I'm gonna tweak it down or not, I'll take SG reading around 5 gallons and see where I'm at. I've been kit winemaking for about 2 years now, and I'd kinda like to...

Hey AJ, nice to see all your hard work. Thanks so much for all the pictures and information. I've never done an all grape ferment before, but your pictures and instructions give me the courage to try one day. Just have to get my hands on some grapes after we're done making sure all the doctors...

Ah, I had mistakenly thought that Mission was used to describe the process, not the grape itself. Live and learn. Does black prince make very good wine?

Mission wine, perhaps? I've tasted a "mission wine" that was described as fermenting just like that, and boy was it earthy. I am right by Angels Camp. It's a shame that Calaveras county wines don't get mentioned alongside Lodi or Amador.

Well, I'm fairly certain this isn't a Zin, just based on the leaf shape and cluster alone. I'd be over the moon if it were. Though it is a prominent grape in this region, you guys aren't off the mark about that. I had the pleasure of tasting a Zin from a vine aged 107 years recently (Ironstone...

Oh wow. I wish I hadn't popped them in the freezer. Wonder if I can still do the skin test if I thaw a few out. If they are, indeed, foxy grapes then I probably won't want them in my wine.

Was just gonna ask... if I google this am I going to get something NSFW or is it a well known wine term? :) (bearing in mind I've never actually tasted wine grapes before - the shame)

So I poked around on leaf identification and came across "rounded lobes" or "crenate margins" to describe the shape. Then promptly came up with two varieties of grape I've never heard of before, but to my untrained eye, seem to match? Summer Grape...

That's a very generous offer. I'll see if I can secure some cuttings down the line. It was kind of a third party transaction. As in my husband, after having mentioned to a few people that I make wine, came home with a sandwich bag of what I pictured above. Haha Oh wow, Malbec looks really...

Hey guys. I did a google search for a few minutes and didn't stumble across anything close to what I've got here. Leaves are kinda fluffy shaped, not a typical grape leaf. I figured I'd ask the pros. I don't plan on sending it in for identification, I'll settle for "close enough." The guy who...

I wish that were an option for me! I wish they made cooling belts instead of heating belts.

I don't do whites or roses, but if I do I'll have to figure out how to cool that ferment down. Thanks

I'm really glad you posted this. My house is hot, my wines ferment around 84 in the summer, and I was wondering if I was shorting myself on extra flavors lost by the heat. Guess I'm alright. Thanks for the info!

Not sure what you're asking. Like add cinnamon tea to the wine? It's a pretty color, I'm really glad it turned out well for you.

Oh you lucky fellow. That's good service.

I'm with Scooter on this one. I keep my house in the high 70's (over 80 sometimes in the winter when the fire gets roaring) and I've never had any of my stored wine kits expand like that. The chances are extremely unlikely that something would be brewing in them, but there's always a *chance*...

Wow, that's a great site. Everything I ever wanted to know about going pure grape from start to finish. Gosh if I had unlimited money I'd buy this little winery down the road... https://hotpads.com/18078-old-wards-ferry-rd-sonora-ca-95370-u46tys/pad-for-sale?lat=37.9532&lon=-120.3445&z=15 (and...

Curious potential grape grower here. Are the grapes themselves affected, or just the vines and leaves?

It's a lot less lees than it looks like. Mine likes to collect up the bottom side of the carboy, like snow on a window sill, but there isn't much inside the bottom of the carboy. I let my wines finish in the bucket because they ferment really fast in this heat, then I rack off into a bucket...