Search results

I need a little help with some simple math. I have a small barrel with 50litres of wine and a lingering feint rotten egg smell, after it had been splash racked twice and left for a couple of weeks. I read that the addition of copper sulphate up to a maximum of 0.5ppm or 0.5mg/litre can be used...

Good morning My friend bought a property with vineyards, and left them to ripen, then rang me to say he did not have the time to pick them and make them into wine. 2 weeks ago these grapes would have been all good. I took approx 100kg of grapes letting a lot more go to the ground, covered in...

Help please > Fermentation refusing to start ! I harvested and pressed 30 litres of Alverino white wine grape juice on Saturday. Added sugar and Potassium Metabisulphate then waited 24 hours and added yeast Enartis ferm SB saccharomyce cerivesiae + Nutrient Enertis Nutriferm Special. After 24...

My grapes are soon going to be ready. I still have yeast and nutrient from last year in open packets. I just read the label on the yeast packet and it says once opened use quickly. The Yeast is Enertis Ferm SB and the Nutrient is Enartis Nutriferm Special. Is the yeast or nutrient likely to...

My grapes are entering veraison, harvest in 4 to 6 weeks. yippee I carried out a final spray last week against mildew, and used a leaf fertilizer. I have noticed some clusters are dropping grapes to the floor whereas others are ok. Was it a mistake to use a leaf fertilizer at this stage in...

I noticed a vineyard yesterday with the leaves covered with blisters. This morning I was spraying my own vineyards when I noticed a shoot with the same blisters. On searching the internet, I find it is Grape Mite - Eriophyes Vitis which variously dependent on web site is regarded as unpleasant...

Some of my vines are close together and growing over the neighboring vines. ie 24 inches apart. Should I look to thin the vines out next year? Some of my shoots have more than 2 clusters of grapes. Should I remove the smaller clusters from these shoots? Some of my shoots have clusters that are...

I had problems last year due to Mildew, and am spraying this year to prevent problems. How often do other people spray, against mildew? Is it normal to spray throughout the entire growing season? The sprays I am using state "spray every 10 to 12 days" against Powdery and Downy Mildew. Do I...

I have some issues with my grape vines, other than mildews. In addition to spraying against downy and powdery mildew, I am spraying with a leaf nutrient to try and alleviate problems with NPK and Magnesium deficiency. Is using leaf nutrients my best option in the long term for vine health? Is...

I just dug up a vine which was looking sick and there are tiny < 6mm long white maggots like creatures with antennae on their heads. They move around quite quickly for maggots. After a quick internet search I might, have a problem with vine weevils, or maybe hypochondria directed at my vines :)...

I have noticed on a couple of my vines some of the leaves are being eaten, and curling up. There are small numbers of ants running up and down all my vines, but on these damaged vines on investigation the ants appear to have nests in the roots. Could they be attacking the roots of my vines...

I understand when wine is in large storage containers, adding k-meta every 3 months is recommended. What about when the wine is bottled into 75cl bottles ?? are people still suggesting adding k-meta every 3 months, or should the wine not be bottled until you are ready to drink it ??

In what ways and at what stages can PH levels be adjusted in grape wines?

I purchased 3 established vine yards on wires, and another growing over rocks and trellises. They were not pruned at the beginning of last season, due to me not being able to get here, due to Covid Lockdowns. Most of the leaves are now gone, and I am thinking it is about time to start and prune...

Ive just received a floor bottle corking machine as an early christmas present. With my new machine, I can get big corks into little bottles. What size corks are recommended for different sized bottle necks? There is inevitably going to be some air in the top of the bottles. Is their an...

I have just completed my second racking of my verdelho red wine, and notice all round the inside of the stainless barrel, including the lid are crystals. Is this normal? Also the wine is not as fruity as it was, ie it is becoming a little sharp?

I have screwed up, again, by overestimating the amount of wine in my barrel, before racking. I have given twice the dose of k-meta to my wine than recomended. I estimate I have put 100ppm/litre rather than 50ppm. Would aerating ie oxidising the k-meta to produce KHSO4 solve my problem. Does...

I know nothing. Is the following normal? I have a 60 litres of red wine, which has reached 0.998, and appears to have stopped fermenting. It leaves a fizzy sensation in the mouth, which didnt happen with aeither of my other 2 wines I have made this year. Could the fermentation still be...

I am trying a 5 litre batch of fig wine. It is fermenting nicely! I am a complete newby to fruit wine making ! Is a fruit mash of figs treated the same as red wine grapes? After the fermentation is over in a few days, is it normal to procede by straining the fermented juice from the mash? I...

My Red wine appears to have finished fermenting, it doesnt taste bad :) . I do not plan to do a MLF this year as I cant buy any MLF products on my island . I understand I now need to rack my wine and add more sulphate at 50ppm How many different ways of Racking are there ? How many different...