Search results

When I have used online calculators to determine how much sugar to add to attain my desired OG, the actual measured OG is often different from what I expect. I assumed that this would be a simple calculation, but apparently that is not so. For my current hard lemonade, I was aiming for an OG of...

I am working on an Apricot Vanilla mead, started on 2/5/24. I racked it on 2/12 and again on 3/3. As you can see in the picture, the top portion is clearing nicely, but there is a lot of fruit sediment. The dried apricots were in a mesh bag, which I removed at the first racking. The 1.5 L bottle...

I saw this today: US scientist recommends adding salt to make perfect cup of tea If a pinch of salt can counter-act bitterness in tea, I wonder if it would work in wine as well? From the article, it sounds like they used only a pinch of salt, an undetectable amount in the flavor. The Romans...

I want to make an apricot-vanilla mead using dried apricots. If you have tried this, what is the weight per gallon of dried apricots that you used? One recipe I found uses 1 lb. of dried apricots per gallon of mead.

@Rice_Guy mentioned a few times that he adds crab apples to some of his wines to provide tannins. What are the best crab apple varieties to use in that way? I want to plant a crab apple tree, so I need to choose a variety. I live in zone 8b, so I need to consider that as well.

I have never made grape wine. But I do enjoy Pinot Noir, and yesterday I saw numerous local source for Pinot Noir grapes. Today I discovered the 2022 Oregon Vineyard and Winery report: Five takeaways from the 2022 Oregon vineyard and winery report Oregon has more wineries than any other state...

When I first started making wine, I called is "brewing." Several on WMT pointed out that "brewing" refers to heating/steeping such as in brewing tea or coffee, or making the wort for beer. Since that time I have been looking for a better verb to describe the wine making process. "Fermenting" is...

I saw this in the news this morning: Oregon winemakers will sell reusable bottles to reduce waste next year Who would have guessed that you can wash out and re-use wine bottles? We are ahead of the game here.

I have read numerous times about grape winemakers pressing the grapes after fermentation. Do any of you do that with fruit wine? Today I started a 5 gal batch of pear wine. I normally put the fruit in a nylon brew bag, so that it is easier to remove at the end of primary fermentation. With...

I had to dig up two burdock plants that were growing in one of my garden beds. Naturally, I wondered if I could use them to make wine. I found this: https://prepperswill.com/how-to-make-dandelion-and-burdock-wine/ I don't think I have enough dandelions to try this, but for those of you who do...

I did some interesting reading today, so I thought I'd share a few links. This article gives a helpful overview, including basic chemistry without getting too technical. It describes the faults caused by too little oxygen (at the beginning) vs. too much oxygen (during aging): Oxidation and...

We are expanding our garden, so I would be interested in suggestions from those of you who make flower or herb wines. I am thinking espeially of perennials, since we want to get them established and harvest year after year. I live in USDA zone 8a, so I need plants that will grow here. What are...

I make hard cider, and I am getting ready to try kegging. I wonder if anyone has used the AIO wine pump to transfer from a carboy to a keg. I would need a way to connect the vacuum line to the gas inlet on a corny keg. Has anyone done this?

In an earlier post, I raised the issue of how the yeast "knows" to switch from the exponential growth phase to the stationary phase. How does the yeast know when to stop reproducing? I can't find that tread right now, so I will start a new one here in the Wine Making Science forum where it...

I did another deep dive today. I have been thinking about the application of Lacto-fermentation (which makes really awesome pickles!) as part of the wine making process. If you do MLF, you already use one specific type of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which is Oenococcus oeni. That particular...

I was wondering if you add Kmeta when racking from primary. Normally I would add Kmeta every time I rack the wine, but many have advocated racking out of primary once the SG drops below 1.010. In that case, the fermentation is not quite finished. It will continue to emit CO2, which will help...

https://mymodernmet.com/oldest-unopened-bottle-wine-world/ I wonder how it has aged? 😉

Right now Brownwood Acres / Fruitfast.com has a sale giving 10% off everything. This is where I get my tart cherry concentrate. I thought I'd pass this along in case anyone is looking for concentrates. Welcome to Brownwood Acres - "Delivering the Power of Fruit"

Today I was exploring a question that has been on my mind, and I found this: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Growth-phases-of-wine-yeast-during-grape-juice-fermentation-changes-in-key-metabolites_fig1_332733632 (scroll down and click on "Download full text" to get the entire article. There...

The title says it all. I just started a batch of Elderberry wine, and I need to adjust the pH. Today it was at 4.0, so I need more acid. But there are already traces of green goo on my pH meter (Apera PH60). I tried filtering the sample with a paper coffee filter, but that was not enough to keep...