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This is the first wine I've started from actual fruit instead of juice. I have 5 gallons of blueberry and 2 gallons of blackberry that I started 2 days ago. The fruit is in mesh bags. I've been stirring and squeezing the bags twice a day . I am wondering if there is a way to keep the fruit...

I haven't been on this site much for a while. My wine has just been aging in the carboys. I decided to bottle some today to get ready to start some new batches. Why on earth would this happen? It wasn't the neck that broke and it wasn't a screw top. The middle of the bottle broke as I...

We recently moved and with our new place came a small neglected vineyard. I did my best to prune the wayward vines and I've now harvested two small crops with one vine that has quite a few red grapes left that are not ready to be harvested. I have no idea what varieties are out there! It's...

I just started 2 batches of wine 4 days ago. The SG on one was 1.090 and the other was 1.906. The elderberry raspberry is down to 1.046 but when I took another reading of the possum grape wild plum wine the SG now reads 1.24! What the heck? How could that be? It has been fermenting like...

I started winemaking last fall and with the help of this forum and YouTube I'm feeling like it's been a success so far. I've made gewurztraminer, wild plum, raspberry, tart cherrynand just started a batch of possum grape wild plum combo. I have more elderberry to make next.

We just moved to a different house in an effort to downsize. My winemaking supplies are "Somewhat" organized, but I'm still working on that. Tonight I racked my raspberry lemon and my tart cherry wine. This was the first rack for them. They sat on the lees WAY too long due to the extended...

I started a 5 gallon batch a while back. I added two bottles of the realemon at the start. It only started to ferment and then stalled. I divided it into two carboys, added water and sugar to dilute the acid and ended up with 11 gallons. It was not doing much and I wasn't sure what to do. I...

We recently purchased this place with a small vineyard. It's hard to tell from the picture but a number of the vines are dead and the live ones have wayward growth stretching 20-30 feet along the wire. I will be replace a number of them. What is left is most likely concord. I've spent the...

This is the gewurztraminer kit that I totally messed up on the beginning. I added a packet of potassium metabisulfate/sorbate when I thought I was adding yeast. I just inadvertently grabbed the wrong packet. Thanks to members of this forum I was able to rescue it after a few days with a...

I bought this antique wine press today at a farm auction. Evidently I paid a fraction of what it's worth. I wanted a restoration project that I could eventually use for my wine making. Turns out it doesn't need restored, just cleaned. THEN on the way home I drove past a vineyard I pass...

We bought a place with a small backyard neglected vineyard. I've spent many hours this winter learning about caring for the vines.. I'm getting ready to prune the vines. I think I would be better off removing some of the completely. Here are the worst ones. First one volunteer trees...

I screwed up big time. I started two batches at the same time. I am totally a beginner, and maybe a little scatterbrained as well. I ordered a winexpert 6 gallon kit of gewurztraminer wine. After making a thick mud of the bentonite I managed to get it stirred and stirred enough that the...

A while back my sisters and I got together for a weekend of making jelly. Everyone brought different fruits and supplies. We had jelly coming out our ears and I ended up with 2 1/2 gallons (10 quarts) of extra sand plum juice . We have enough jelly so I want to make wine. I have supplies. I...

Does anyone use old crocks for their primary fermentation?

I recently obtained 40 wine bottles. What are your best suggestions for removing labels, adhesive and thoroughly cleaning? Also does anyone use their oven on a low setting to dry them before storage? I plan to store these in a plastic tote until needed.

I recently purchased a home with a small neglected backyard vineyard. I have no idea what varieties are left, but many will have to be replaced. I live in hardiness zone 6B. I am wondering what varieties to plant to make an assortment of different wines. I also hope to have some table, juice...

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a home with a small neglected backyard vineyard. I have no idea what varieties are left, but many will need to be replace. There will be a total of about 20-25 plants. I live in Hardiness zone 6B and would like some advice on what varieties to plant for a...

I just bought a home that has an old neglected vineyard. I have no idea what kind of grapes are left growing, but they will need sever pruning and many need to be replaced. I will be planting new vines this spring and I am wondering what varieties I should plan to plant. I am in hardiness...

New member here! Merry Christmas! I made 5 gallons of wine many years ago. I'm just getting ready to get back into it.