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Hey all, Long time member but haven't posted anything in a few years. Hoping to get some expert opinions on something I started a Wine Expert Aussie Chard a month ago or so, followed the instructions through the clearing stage. Everything looked good and the wine appeared to be clear. I...

Is it normal for this wine to be slightly bitter at bottling? I started this kit in June and just now bottled it. I made this according to instructions but added an oak spiral because I like lots of oak. Do you think the bitter taste is because of the extra oak I added? I just assumed that...

I can't find any info on this. I started a CC red mnt cab back in June. I followed the instructions until the bottling was supposed to happen and just decided to leave it in the carboy topped up with the hungarian cubes it came with. I have not tested it yet or racked it since then. Can I...

I never thought I'd need advice but here I go. I started some home made port with a mixture of stuff I had around. Here are the starting ingreds. 2 quarts of home made Jam (blueberry and Strawberry) 2 cans welches frozen concent 1 gallon of water 1 tsp pectic enzyme 1 cup sugar...

I should know this but want to confirm. I have only 3 airlocks. Two are being used for bulk aging. The third is missing a cap. I assume the only purpose of the cap is to keep the water from evaporating too fast. I"d like to start a batch of port I just got from WE. Can I use the airlock -...

What would you if you had about 6 lbs of strawberries and 6 lbs of blueberries? I've made both as wines in the past and neither was impressive. Any ideas how I could make some port and maybe combine these with some grape concentrate to give it some body?

I've warned others on this site to not be in a hurry to bottle, and I think I've not followed my own advice. I assumed that after much degassing and racking I was OK with the Luna Rossa, so I bottled it. During bottling I noticed that some foam was forming in the bottles but continued on. No...

Hey all. I have tried my first Skeeter Pee. It fermented nicely down to .990 and I followed Lon's recipe but adjusted for 2 gallons. I racked to two 1 gallon jugs and added Sparkaloid, Campden and Sorbate. It really did not clear much so I racked again 3 weeks later, added another dose of...

I am giving this recipe a go maybe early next week after I get some slurry. The only thing I don't have it Yeast Energizer. Do I need this or can I go without it?

I wanted to hear some opinions from some of the experts here on this. I've done a variety of kits - mist kits, WE Luna rossa, CC Showcase beefy red kits etc. Most of my cheaper mist kits, white wine kits and lighter red kits ferment like rockets down to .990 or close. But my beefy reds seem...

Does anyone know what grapes are used in the WE Luna Rossa kit? I've read that Merlot is the best grape to compare to it. I just bought this kit and started it a few days ago. Smells fantastic and had 4 packs of french oak included. I'd like to label the wine something other than Luna Rossa...

I couldn't find anything on this so decided to post. I was bottling my Rosso Fortisimo yesterday and had a very difficult time filling bottles with a punt on the bottom. I can't seem to get a quick flow with those bottles. Its not a huge problem but it slows the bottling process by quite a...

Does anyone have plans for a home made bottle tree? I am taking Friday off and thought that it would be a fun project. I am thinking of a 4x4 post with adequate support base, but am not sure the angle of the holes on the side for the dowels, the length of the dowels and diameter of them. I...

Hey all, I've done 5-10 kits in the past year and a half and a few fruit wines. The kits are OK wines but I keep hearing that if you get real juice you can make better wines, although it sounds like more risk of goofing it up. If I try a bucket of juice, what more equipment do I need...

I'm curious as to what others do as far as posting the estimated ABV on their lablels. I've done this in the past. I do find it difficult to feel like the % are very accurate. I am doing a CC kit with skins and my initial reading was 1.083, but I really did not stir in the skins, which I'm...

I am considering taking my Blueberry wine made from last year and opening the bottles (3) and making Blueberry port out of them. I made that wine way too strong - 15%+ and even after sweetening it really doesn't taste good. Probably didn't use enough blueberries either. I was thinking of...

Can I use some frozen grape skins from a WE crushendo kit that I saved? I am going to make some Strawberry wine and some Blueberry wine and I'd like to see if adding skins will give these more body. When I made the crushendo kit I saved the skins thinking I could use them in the future but...

Does anyone have a way to keep label ink from smearing? I'm using Avery 5264 labels designed for Laser printing I print them on a color Laser printer. They seem to smudge alot and over time start to rub off. Any way to keep the ink from doing that?

I think I know the answer but want to get an opinion on this. Most my WE kits ferment down to .990, but this SE Cab has been at .998 in the carboy and is not moving. The temp is 75. I've tasted it and it tastes finished - dry. I don't think its going lower and I think I should probably move...

Hey all, I'm going to start the WE Sonoma Cab w/crushendo tonight. I noticed that the kit includes a strainer thing you put in your racking tube for the racking to avoid transferring the skins from the primary. Has anyone just put the skins in a mesh bag instead? It would seem to be easier...