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Being the OP, I will respond. Close to 3 years, it is still not a great wine. Harshness is gone, wine is drinkable, just boring. Sorry, my tasting notes are neanderthal. This is number 6 of 17 wines I have made, one of my least favorites, including kits and fresh grapes. Seeing Cap Puncher's 94...

A question on this. Are you talking about kit wine or scratch wine? (is that a term?) Wine expert conditioner from Northern Brewer says: Wine Conditioner is a sweetener and stabilizer all in one. Made from liquid invert sugar and potassium sorbate (prevents renewed fermentation). This product...

I taste as frequently as others. It is educational but my palate is a slow learner. Tasting usually goes something like this: "Nope, still tastes like crap". Until one day I get a surprise. Most recently it was a cab that's been 18 months in carboys. The result was: "Hey, I think that's...

Well, my initial response would be there are no restrictions. But now that you bring up the subject, I guess I really don't know! We brought some back in 2019 without difficulty (maybe a case?), so this time we just loaded our luggage without even thinking about it. The customs agent asked if we...

My haul from Italy 28 bottles vino rosso, 18 liters olio di oliva, all directly from the source. Most are from Tuscany. Mostly Sangiovese, some Super Tuscan. Also some Cannonau from Sardinia. A few bargains in the mix, but definitely not all. The good stuff doesn't go cheap. Not...

Cagliari, Sardinia. Revisited this mom and pop shop. Price has gone up .20 since 2019. Inflation I guess. They sell it in 2L water bottles. I wish I could make wine this good.

First day in Italy. Straight to Naples for pizza. Found a quaint enoteca with local wines. Owner recommended this, grown in the volcanic soils of mt Vesuvius. 10 euros, no tax. wonderful. I love Italy.

...but if you do go to Napa, don't miss Chappellet up on Pritchard Hill. Take the tour. It's a beautiful setting with a view, state of the art building, great wines (although overpriced, but that's Napa)

Heading to Italy for 30 days of pizza and wine. Planned stops are, in order, Naples, Sardinia, Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Bologna. For those who have been, do you have any favorites we might want to try? Especially wineries or vineyards?

Ask a question on WMT, get an education! I love it! It's not sewer, it's burnt match It's over a year old, had a few rackings, so very little sediment at this point Of 6 carboys, only 3 stink, the 3 I have been messing with, tasting, tweaking with tannins, topping. The 3 that I've left alone...

My 2021 cab has been in carboys for a little over a year and is developing a slight sulfur smell. I used Avante yeast, didn't have any ferment issues, but now it's there. It doesn't taste off, just the smell. What would cause it at this stage? I know I should splash rack, sulfite, and I do have...

With limited space it's nice to be able to move stuff out of the way. I make wine in my garage so I like everything to be portable (except for the storage shelves). I got a deep plastic sink and I quick-connect my water and drain with hoses. It's light and easy to move, as is my folding work table.

Who cares? Presentation is everything!

Good idea! It has been rather cool. I rotated airlocks with same results, only the free run is making bubbles. However, SG progress is consistent in all carboys regardless of appearance.

Finally pressed Syrah and Merlot. 21 days on skins, 18 day ferment, SG 1.008. 20 gal syrah, 17 gal merlot, 3 gal each saignee rose, also 10 gal blackberry. But here's a question. Of 6 carboys of reds, only the free run is pushing airlocks, 3 days after press. Is pressed juice slower to continue...

The longer I do this, the more complicated it gets! I use hydrometers. On the scale, 5 brix = about sg 1.020. I just like to use the brix scale because it's 2 digits as opposed to 4, less computing for my brain. Is brix on a hydrometer not accurate? Whatever the number, we are not close to dry...

Hydrometer vs refractometer? True brix? Please explain more. My SG is at 1.020

I have two wines at 5 brix, was hoping to press today. They've been on the skins for 17 days so that should be plenty long enough. By what I'm reading here it won't do any harm to press today, is that correct? Actually, I thought of a possible scenario. Ferment has been slow due to cool temps...