# October 2014 Wine of the Month Club



## vernsgal (Oct 3, 2014)

I ask all of you to have patience with this month's because..  this is my 1st.

Okay everyone I want to see some recipes posted here! For those of you who have done earlier months, lets see a new one!! For those that haven't ,this is a great way to show what you're doing, receive help and/or suggestions and most importantly enjoy sharing your new found hobby!

For this month's ,if it's okay with everyone, I'd like to welcome all sizes of wines. Normally this is for 1 gal new recipes but I know ,myself included(see Sept), that sometimes you have enough fruit to try 3,5 or 6 gal.

So no excuses lets try some wining! (and not the urban dictionary kind  )

 
This month:
buffalofrenchy - Pumkin Wine
aryoung1980 - Pear/Grape Wine
Waynep - Peach Wine
vernsgal - Blackberry Port


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 3, 2014)

Let's do it.. I am in! I missed September and am back in October...
No recipe yet but it will be pumpkin wine because I see those darn pumpkins everywhere so why not make some wine that I will age till thanksgiving dinner 2015 ~ 1 year from now.


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## vernsgal (Oct 4, 2014)

Lol. Looking forward to your recipe! Pumpkin has always sounded intriguing .


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## homesteader26 (Oct 4, 2014)

I'd love to try a pumpkin batch for 2015. I will await a recipe from those with experience and give it a whirl. The hardest part of this new hobby for me is waiting for the wine to age!! What does one do for a year waiting!! Guess I'll have to buy wine for a while.


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## RegarRenill (Oct 4, 2014)

homesteader26 said:


> I'd love to try a pumpkin batch for 2015. I will await a recipe from those with experience and give it a whirl. The hardest part of this new hobby for me is waiting for the wine to age!! What does one do for a year waiting!! Guess I'll have to buy wine for a while.




Make some quick drinking wines like Dragon's Blood or Skeeter Pee for while you wait for your other wines to age...also gives you an excuse to buy more carboys, lol...


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## freqflyer (Oct 4, 2014)

What are the rules to this? I know its a gallon or so but what else?


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## the_rayway (Oct 4, 2014)

There aren't really 'rules' per se. We ask that you post your recipe and each step you take, preferably with pictures! If you have the time/inclination at the end of the month, we would appreciate a breakdown of what you did right/wrong/learned about the fermentation portion. These are experiments, so share with us what you're learning - because we're all learning.

As you go along through the year, you can periodically post about progress.

At the one year mark (in this case, Oct. 2015) we will pop open a bottle of our experiment and taste it with remarks, what we've learned, what we like, don't like, etc. If the recipe is good - post it in the recipes section of the site for others to try!

This is still pretty loose as we haven't quite made it to the first WOTM year mark - that will be next month. If anyone wants to check out what happened in our very first go-around, search "November 2013 Wine of the Month Club".


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## vernsgal (Oct 6, 2014)

I'm beginning to shudder at the thought of having to try my December wine at it's year mark


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## the_rayway (Oct 6, 2014)

Lol! Was that the onion wine? I'm a bit concerned about the Pumpkin Hazelnut one of mine. 
So many are still aging in their carboys! I should get some bottled...


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## vernsgal (Oct 6, 2014)

No that was my "beetle juice". I buried them deep in the cellar. I'm still not sure whether to taste at 1 year mark or to wait the the 2 year


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 7, 2014)

I don't know if I will have time this week end to start the pumpkin wine as I have 4 wines at different stage that need my attention but it might not take me as much as I fear for these four wines since I should receive the all in one wine pump from VacuumPumpMan tomorrow.

Whether I start this week end or next, here is the plan:
Credits goes to Jay's Brewing from Virginia. I found the recipe online randomly. It looks very similar to the one available on the Jack Keller's website except with less sugar (2 vs 3.5 lbs) so I will go with less!
Jay's Brewing Pumpkin Wine 1 Gal Recipe
Jack Keller's Pumpkin Wine 1 Gal Recipe



Jay's Brewing in Northern Virginia Home Brew Store said:


> Pumpkin Wine Recipe – 1 Gallon Yield
> 
> Looking for a wine that is good in the fall? Maybe seeing pumpkin beer has got you bummed out if your a wine maker. Well this is the recipe that you want to do if you want to make a pumpkin wine. With this wine you can either produce a super dry wine which will be around 18% or a sweeter wine, it’s all based off the wine yeast.
> 
> ...


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## aryoung1980 (Oct 11, 2014)

I was reading the ingredients on a pouch of fruit juice that I happened to have an excess of and saw that it was nothing more than pear and grape juice, both from concentrate. After a quick hydrometer reading, I found the juice was at 1.052 so I measured out my sugar to get me to 1.092.

One Gallon Pear-Grape:
1gal. + 1pt. Juice
1lb. + 1/4c. White sugar
2tsp. Wine tannin, liquid
1/2tsp. Acid blend
Montrachet yeast

I added the extra juice and sugar to primary to avoid topping off my one gallon carboy after my first racking.

24 hours into fermentation there is a strong H2S aroma. I realized I never added nutrient so I added a 1/4tsp.

I'm planning on doing the 5-20-40-90 schedule that I read about for kit wine making.


I'll fine with Sparkelloid around day 20.



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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 11, 2014)

Pumpkin wine is under way.
Took a pumpkin from the front yard and leveraged help from the little ones...


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## waynep (Oct 12, 2014)

I posted in Sept that I was going to start a gal of Peach wine. That didn't happen due to not being home enough consecutive days to be able start it and get through the primary fermentation. So I am finally starting it today. The Must is in the bucket and I have a yeast starter brewing at the moment. I am following the recipe in the book called "Enjoy Home Winemaking". The starting SG is 1.110 and the acidity is a bit low. I am going to recheck the acidity in a few days once the fruit starts breaking down before doing anything about it. 

This is my first fruit wine made from actual fruit. My second batch ever. I have enough pears in the freezer for a 5 gal batch. I thought a 1 gal peach batch would be a good test run so to speak.

10/13 Edit: Had a little concern about the yeast starter not being foamy this morning. I started a second batch and when it started foaming, I added it to the must. Came home from work and the airlock is bubbling slowly so it's working!


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## vernsgal (Oct 14, 2014)

Sorry for not keeping up daily on this.I had a house full of company these past 4 days. Now that the house is empty again...lol
I'm glad to see some of you have gotten your wines under way 
*There's still lots of time for anyone else who would like to participate this month!*



aryoung1980 said:


> I'm planning on doing the 5-20-40-90 schedule that I read about for kit wine making.


I think I know what that is but could you give us a bit of info on that?


buffalofrenchy said:


> Pumpkin wine is under way.
> Took a pumpkin from the front yard and leveraged help from the little ones...


Now that looks like a fun way to make wine! 


waynep said:


> I am following the recipe in the book called "Enjoy Home Winemaking".


could you post the recipe for those that don't have access to the book? I'm glad you got your fermentation under way. Sometimes it just needs a little nudge lol


I've decided to do a blackberry port this month. 
So far I've pulled the blackberries from the freezer (approx.7 lbs.)


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## aryoung1980 (Oct 14, 2014)

The 5-20-40-90 schedule I read about goes like this: primary ferment until 1.000-1.010 (about 5 days). On day 5, roughly, rack to secondary. On day 20 add finings. Day 40 rack. Day 90 bottle.


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 14, 2014)

That is the schedule advertised by Tim Vandergrift in the following article
https://winemakermag.com/459-make-your-kit-wine-shine

I have used several times if not all of the times except for my first kit.


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## aryoung1980 (Oct 15, 2014)

I heard about it on WMT and read that same article after researching it.


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## waynep (Oct 16, 2014)

Hi All . . . Racked my peach into the secondary this afternoon. It's pretty cloudy but the SG is down to .995. I did sneak a slight taste and it's pretty harsh right now. I hope it gets better.


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 17, 2014)

Don't know if fermentation is going on the pumpkin wine.
Slow to no signs of airlock depending on the day.
I have seen one bubble going out in the airlock couple days ago. Today the airlock is resting low.

It is hard or impossible to measure the SG. At the beginning there was too much solid and now (probably due to the pectic enzyme) it is a thick sludge.

I have some montrachet yeast. Should I make a starter and pitch it? Could it be bad if I have two full bags of yeast in one gallon? The first one was Cote des Blancs and didn't make a starter.


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## sour_grapes (Oct 17, 2014)

I am no expert, but my $0.02: No problem having extra yeast. HOWEVER, Montrachet does not seem like a good choice. Too finicky, from what I have read. Not sure if you could wait this long, but do you want me to mail you some EC-1118? (I have plenty leftover from kits.)


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 17, 2014)

sour_grapes said:


> I am no expert, but my $0.02: No problem having extra yeast. HOWEVER, Montrachet does not seem like a good choice. Too finicky, from what I have read. Not sure if you could wait this long, but do you want me to mail you some EC-1118? (I have plenty leftover from kits.)



Thank you for the offer, I appreciate it. 
I live 10 minutes away from a LHBS.
I was working on some other wines tonight and I noticed the "moving piece" of the airlock moved up against the top but no bubbles...
I guess I will get the EC-1118 tomorrow, make a starter to rule out bad yeast and pitch it. Is EC-1118 recommended over other yeasts for sluggish fermentation?


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## sour_grapes (Oct 17, 2014)

buffalofrenchy said:


> Thank you for the offer, I appreciate it.


De rien!



> Is EC-1118 recommended over other yeasts for sluggish fermentation?




Yes. Despite living in the spiritual home of Red Star yeast, I am not familiar with their products. I only "know" Lalvin products. (I put _know_ in quotation marks because I am just an ignorant nearly newbie repeating what I have read elsewhere.) In any event, Lalvin EC-1118 is recommended for stuck fermentations over almost every other yeast. (The only yeast I know of that is more highly rated for stuck fermentations is UVAFerm 43.)


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## the_rayway (Oct 18, 2014)

Hey there Frenchy,
I saw your other posting as well - here is my .02cents:

Pop that guy into a nice big bucket, ensure the must is warm/not too hot, use a strainer to press gently down on the sludge on top in order to get a sample for an SG test, and then whip the snot out of it.

This way we're addressing several issues at once:
1) primary fermentation requires air, and lots of it to ensure the yeasties are happy (big bucket and whipping)
2) if the must is too hot or too cold, the yeast will struggle to take off
3) SG test will clear up any uncertainty there (seems like it might be a bit low based on your sugar...but US gallons are a bit smaller than my UK gallons)

If nothing happen within 24 hours, re-pitch with a nice starter using the EC-1118.
Let us know how it progresses!


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## vernsgal (Oct 18, 2014)

I was going to say the same thing - primary needs lots of air for a good ferment. You said Frenchy that it's really thick so even if my post came in late and you've already pitched another starter ,make sure to stir it well a few times a day.If you have it under airlock, remove it and place a damp towel over bucket (I dampen my towels because it stops those pesky fruit flies from finding a way in)
Also just want to mention another great yeast for those stuck ferments- Vintner's Harvest SN9. It's a high stress and ethanol tolerance yeast. It'll ferment to 18%.


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 18, 2014)

It's quite thick - kind of like a slurpee.
I moved it in the kitchen so I can mix it few times a day. I removed the cover/airlock and just have a towel over it.
To be continued...


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## vernsgal (Oct 19, 2014)

*There's still lots of time to get a recipe together for this month peoples*
Hope everyones wines are going well so far. Frenchy let us know how your ferment is going.

Just thought I should touch base on my choice for the month. Had the flu the last few days so berries have been put in refrigerator til Tues. I'm seeking a bit of help on how to do this here:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f137/any-experienced-port-makers-42453/index13.html
I know port makers all have their way and truthfully my WOTM for January this year has a lot of my friends vying for a bottle already lol, but I like to try different ways (reason for joing WOTM) So stay tuned


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 20, 2014)

No signs of fermentation after 24 hours so I pitched the EC-1118 and it is very active now but I am disappointed.
I wanted residual sugar and final SG under 14%. Now it might be 18% alcohol which is not appealing and dry. I can back sweeten sure but the alcohol bite at 18% might never go away... I actually considered dumping the whole thing just before adding the EC-1118.
Part of me is also considering trying to cold crash it in a few days and transfer/drain while cold into a jug then add k-meta/sorbate... easier said than done... I have never done it and read that cold crashing doesn't work well at stopping a fermentation. Finally with that sludge it is nearly impossible to measure accurately the SG so it will be a lot of guessing as to when attempting to stop it...


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## vernsgal (Oct 20, 2014)

Frenchy, I''m not sure why you think adding more yeast will put your SG up.If it's because of the yeast strain I have to say no worries .Because a yeast is capable of fermenting to 18% doesn't mean it will. To reach that level you usually have to step feed more sugars and nutrients when it slows or stops. The lalvin 1118 should leave you with the same SG as you were going to get with your original yeast.Hang in there!!


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## Stressbaby (Oct 20, 2014)

> I actually considered dumping the whole thing just before adding the EC-1118.



It would not have been the first pumpkin wine to go down the drain.


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 20, 2014)

vernsgal said:


> Frenchy, I''m not sure why you think adding more yeast will put your SG up.If it's because of the yeast strain I have to say no worries .Because a yeast is capable of fermenting to 18% doesn't mean it will. To reach that level you usually have to step feed more sugars and nutrients when it slows or stops. The lalvin 1118 should leave you with the same SG as you were going to get with your original yeast.Hang in there!!



Reading the yeast description and original recipe notes that I am following, I was under the impression that the cote des blancs would have stopped much earlier than the EC1118 fearing that the latter one would go dry all the way... I guess I have to wait and see.


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## the_rayway (Oct 20, 2014)

I have to be honest: I always expect my yeast to ferment to dry. Unless I'm making a port where I stop it at my desired sweetness level with hard alcohol. Even 14% is a very high alcohol content for a wine if you're thinking about store-bought.

Admittedly, I don't really trust residual sugars not to re-ferment. Un-fermentable sugars, sure.

My thoughts are that unless you are starting at an exceptionally high SG (over 1.100), in which case the yeast would have a hard time getting started, it might leave residual sugar. Alternately, I also know some mazers who continually step feed their yeast until they poop out, thus ensuring no further re-ferementation after backsweetening.

Again, just my opinion. I'm super anal that way as I've had renewed ferments in the bottle. My father in law also had a batch of red the sprung its corks all over the basement.


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## vernsgal (Oct 20, 2014)

Frenchy, the hard part with your wine is that you never got a beginning SG. The good part is, doing the WOTM, it's not a large quantity so working with it is a little easier.If you have the patience I would allow it to continue to ferment for about 5 days, then I would rack it off the pumpkin and take a reading.Now racking will be an issue. You may have to just strain it into another pail.Because it's still fermenting, doing it that way won't hurt the wine with the added oxygen.Then rack to your carboy and allow it to continue ferment.
Personally, I still wouldn't give up yet!


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 20, 2014)

Yes that is the problem with solids recipes (well in this case on day 1 it was mostly solids: shredded pumpkin), the SG cannot be measured. All I know is the water + sugar that I added corresponds to 1.114 (2lbs of sugar in 0.8 gal). Hard for me to quantify how much the pumpkin brings once it breaks down. 

I need to start dialing down the amount of sugar added from the original recipes that I find. It is not the first time that I follow a recipe to the T and after the fact realize it was way too much sugar hence too much alcohol. By now I should know better...


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## the_rayway (Oct 20, 2014)

I agree: I learned early on that you never take a recipe at its "word" on sugar amounts. Add until you reach your target S.G. Also, to get into the right ballpark, I use a wine calculator.

Something I'm noticing with my own Pumpkin Mead is that it's definitely taking some time to come around. Then I remembered that it's a vegetable and they can take a few years according to what I've read.

Keep with it!!


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## vernsgal (Oct 24, 2014)

Wow this month went quick! Sure sign of old age when time just flies lol

How is everyone's wines going? frenchy were you able to rack yours? aryoung did yours ferment dry?waynep you had trouble getting yours to start.Did it go dry for you?

I was reading through here tonight and realized I never even posted mine yet so here's what I've done.
*Blackberry Port*
7 lbs blackberries
1 L pinot noir grape concentrate
1 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
bentonite
yeast nutrients
sugar
vintner's harvest sn9 yeast

I did the usual,putting pectic and a bit of water over blackberries while defrosting.added concentrate, 1/3 nutrients, bentonite and enough water for 1 1/2 gal.Added sugar to SG 1.100.pitched yeast.
I added another 1/3 tsp nutrient today and tomorrow it should be down to 1.030 where I'll feed more sugar


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 25, 2014)

Thanks everyone with the suggestions last week end when I was stuck. 
I transferred into a jug on Thursday evening - 4 days after the second yeast pitch. 
During these 4 days, I mixed the wine twice a day very well.
Below are some pictures of the wine in fermentation when I would mix it and one picture from today in the jug.
SG was at 0.994 when I transferred. I tasted it and to my surprise it was not "hot" tasting.


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## vernsgal (Oct 25, 2014)

That actually came out looking pretty good! Did you add any k-meta when you racked?


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## buffalofrenchy (Oct 25, 2014)

vernsgal said:


> That actually came out looking pretty good! Did you add any k-meta when you racked?



No, should I have added some? I was thinking about adding it at the second raking roughly a week later along with sorbate... kind of mapping the kit wine schedule that I am used to.


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## vernsgal (Oct 25, 2014)

I noticed you added a campden tablet at the beginning,I'm not really familiar with those and what the equivalent amount to k-meta is so hopefully someone can steer you right on that one.I think because you already added at beginning you should be good for now.
I just failed to notice you added at beginning when I made comment.


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## Winenoob66 (Oct 25, 2014)

homesteader26 said:


> I'd love to try a pumpkin batch for 2015. I will await a recipe from those with experience and give it a whirl. The hardest part of this new hobby for me is waiting for the wine to age!! What does one do for a year waiting!! Guess I'll have to buy wine for a while.




Give Dragon's Blood a shot it's easy and an early drinker.


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## vernsgal (Oct 27, 2014)

sorry slow on posting my update: I let my port go down to 1.030 then added sugar back to 1.090 ,refed some more nutrient and today it's down to 1.050.I'm hoping it'll reach 1.030 in the next few days then it "should" be at approx.17% in which I'll break down the math and add plain vodka til 20%.


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## vernsgal (Oct 29, 2014)

Yay! My port ended at 1.033 which was as close I figure as I was going to get (my target was 1.030) I then added 1 liter of vodka to the 1 1/4 gal I ended with. My math has me roughly sitting at 20 % (I did an 80% wine +20 % vodka ratio)I wanted to make sure my port was mostly the fruit wine over the alcohol additive. Will set it aside and check on it when I get back from Calgary in 2 weeks.


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## vernsgal (Oct 29, 2014)

Wow this month again went too quick!!
We again had a small amount of members this month but it's not the quantity we're looking for but the shared experiences.Looking forward to seeing November ideas.
Remember those who participated this month to keep updates on you wines!
I'm heading for Calgary to do 2 weeks of grandbaby babysitting tomorrow. Hopefully I can get a moment on computer to wrap this month up.Even more so, hopefully I survive the 2 weeks 
*So who out there is available to do the November WOTM?*


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## homesteader26 (Oct 31, 2014)

Winenoob66 said:


> Give Dragon's Blood a shot it's easy and an early drinker.




I have a Dragon Blood and a skeeter pee that just went dry! Can't wait to actually be able to drink something I created


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## wineforfun (Oct 31, 2014)

homesteader26 said:


> I have a Dragon Blood and a skeeter pee that just went dry! Can't wait to actually be able to drink something I created



Backsweeten it and you can start drinking it now. If you give it a month or two in the bottle, it will be even better.


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## waynep (Nov 2, 2014)

I racked my peach gallon into the glass bottle and then about 15 days later into another glass bottle to get it off the stuff on the bottom. It's sitting now. I measured the acid today and it was .40 so I added a little acid blend. About have of what was suggested so I don't over do it . . . . 

I also tasted a little, it's strong but not as peachy and I would like. Is there anything I can add to it to make it a little more "peachy"??? My wife likes it sweeter so I was planning on figuring out how to sweeten it some also.


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## the_rayway (Nov 2, 2014)

I would suggest either making an f-pack, or using peach juice concentrate to sweeten after you have sorbated. That would give you both more peach flavour and more sweetness.

I'm in for November 2014 WOTM @vernsgal Totally in!!


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## calvin (Nov 2, 2014)

Is there a November WOTM thread started yet? I may want to start joining in on this. Sounds like a great excuse to try some experimental gallon batches. I have a few ideas

Jalapeño 
Jalapeño/tomato 
Peppermint candy
Chocolate covered cherry
Lime skeeter pee
Orange skeeter pee
Pineapple

That's already 7 months. I better get going


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## the_rayway (Nov 2, 2014)

I'll get one going shortly! @calvin


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## aryoung1980 (Nov 16, 2014)

On day 20 I chose to skip the finings because I thought a juice wouldn't need it. Well, I was wrong. I mixed up 1/2 tsp of hot mix Sparkolloid today, day 37, and I will let it rest for a month or so before racking.


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## aryoung1980 (Nov 16, 2014)

It should turn out to be a nice blush


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## aryoung1980 (May 30, 2015)

I dosed this wine with k-meta and sorbate this morning. Planning to back sweeten in the next few days with a simple syrup.


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## aryoung1980 (Jun 6, 2015)

After tasting it again today I decided to not back sweeten the wine. It's all bottled up and ready to age for a bit.


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## Jericurl (Jun 6, 2015)

Wow! It looks really good.


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## vernsgal (Jun 6, 2015)

It looks real good!


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