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I make country wine, which usually benefits from a little bit of backsweetening. The taste of the wine changes during aging, so I usually age them at least 6 months before bottling so that I can adjust the sweetness to the appropriate level. If you do any adjustments for taste before bottling...

This is the simplest solution. Mix up some Simple Syrup and keep it in the fridge. That makes it easy to mix in a little sugar in each glass of wine.

The FastRack Portuguese Floor Corker is 32 inches high according to the ad: https://www.amazon.com/Wine-Bottle-Floor-Corker-Portuguese/dp/B0007PTG1C/ It is unclear from the ad whether 32 inches is the height with the handle raised or fully lowered.

I looked at a few videos. People are bending way down at the waist to use this on the floor. Here is a video of using the red corker on a waist high counter: This one looks like he is on his knees: . This one too: Since this is called a "floor corker," I thought that you could use it on the...

That is exactly my concern. If I got that one, I would need to build a platform the right height to put under it. In terms of ergonomics, standing is better than sitting while pushing down on the corker lever, as long as you don't need to lean over. The Burgundy Superior Portuguese Floor Corker...

I just saw this on the Label Peeler site: https://labelpeelers.com/label-peelers-blog/tired-of-painfully-bottling-your-wine-try-a-floor-corker/ Does anyone use their floor corker while seated?

Continuing the corker discussion... On Amazon the basic Red Portuguese floor corker is listed with prices ranging from $69.99 to 169.99. I'm not sure what the difference is between them. The look virtually identical in the pictures...

I think it makes sense for the starter to have a Brix similar to the must. That way the yeast will get used to the must environment. But you also need sufficient nutrients. If you do an overnight starter with just sugar and water, the yeast might run out of nutrients and produce H2S.

More acidic as in the pH is lower. The biggest change I saw was a drop to pH 2.89. My initial pH reading for that batch is suspect, but how did the pH get that low? I did not add any acid to that recipe. Maybe when honey ferments something increasing the ionization of the acid?? I did not...

I have arthritis in my shoulders, so that isn't an option for me. I don't want to put that much pressure on my shoulders. Using your body weight to press down transfers all that force through your shoulders. Yep, I've been watching Craig's List in my local area. No good deals so far.

Maybe a few people could share "best practices" when using #8 natural corks. I mean besides saying "You need to immediately buy a floor corker and get #9 nomacorks" 🤣

Based on the recommendations of many here, I decided to try #9 nomacorks. I have a double lever hand corker. I pushed 3x harder than I do for #8 natural corks, but could only get the cork about 1/3 of the way into the bottle. Getting it back out was a challenge. The inside diameter of bottle...

Honey is acidic. Many mead recipes include calcium carbonate to raise the pH. So I suggest that you put together the must for your mead and check the pH before you add acid. You probably won't need it. Accomplished mead maker Bray Denard generally includes K2CO3 in his recipes to raise pH...

@Smoke In other words, LHBS is not the name of a company. It is the generic name we give to any local home brew shop. When I first joined WMT it took me a little while to figure that out.

The gas released by Kmeta will condense to form an acid. It will corrode any metal to which it is exposed, including stainless steel. I learned the hard way when I had some Kmeta solution stored in a jar with a canning lid. Before long, the inside of the lid was corroded. I store my extra...

I use honey to backsweeten my mead. Once it is stabilized and the honey added, I let it bulk age for another month or two until it clears again.

The amount of sugar you add depends on how long you want to keep it going. If you want to leave it overnight you need a lot more sugar. But you need nutrients as well. If the yeast run out of sugar they will go dormant again. But if the yeast run out of nutrients, they will produce off flavors...

If you want the sugar in a liquid form, try simple syrup. Mix a 2:1 ratio by volume of sugar:water, then simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved (it will go from cloudy to clear). It will be quite thick, so you won't be adding much water with your sugar. Once it is cooled, I use a...

I have found that the yeast wakes up much faster if you keep the starter at the temperature recommended by the manufacturer for the first hour or so. It is usually something like 95-97 degrees F. I get my starter water + GoFerm to that temp, then place it in a warm water bath to keep it warm for...