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You really don't have to use the standards since the acids are always in the same location. Plus it will give you more room for wines to test. I can't find it but the test is not the completely accurate and there is a margin for error. The absence of a malic dot doesn't necessarily mean the...

I just assume you did the initial racking off the gross lees. Do you feel a second racking is necessary at this time? Also, what is your experience with the time for MLF to complete? Mine always take at least 2 months and sometimes closer to 3. My bacteria of choice is MBL 31.

There was a thread a while back concerning ABV. The topic changed a little to the different methods used to calculate the ABV and the methods resulted in different numbers. There was never a definitive outcome so all the methods appeared to be logical. My point is perhaps your ABV could be a...

The guy who wrote this article most certainly knows more about wine making than I do. However I do have to disagree with most of what he says. It is said that if MLF is done in barrels the next wine will probably undergo it. I don't buy it for any other properly cleaned or sanitized...

Welcome to WMT, I'm in Chantilly, where are you in NOVA? It's hard for me to comment on kit wines since I was never a fan. We are fortunate to be living in arguably the fastest growing wine region in the country and have access to fresh grapes. Some folks don't have that luxury and the only...

I would definitely take gravity readings. If it's in the .9 range I would press it to limit the O2 exposure.

For me it's rough carpentry carpenter's pencils, fine woodworking mechanical pencils, metal framing, sheet metal and steel work sharpies.

When you say multiple cycles can I assume you are referring to deflating and rotating the drum? The wineries I help out on occasion do 3 cycles and the pulp is really dry. I break up the pulp and do a second press, athird doesn't produce that much more wine so I don't bother.

I just opened the link to your White Pages. I didn't read all of it but what I did read I thought was well written, very nice job.

I didn't research it but I never heard of CF Blanco. Unless you wanted to make a rosé or blush you could always do a whole cluster press. I just pressed a whole cluster carbonic maceration batch and use my basket press. I didn't want to take a chance on puncturing the bladder. Also, are you...

Unless you have a need to tweak your wine I don't see an issue with bottle aging. The vast majority of my bottled wines are a blend of some kind. My palate is not experienced enough to know how a young wine will develop over time. I let them bulk age for at least 2 years before blending and...

I'm more of a left bank person, I prefer a Cab over a Merlot. I once made a Bordeaux blend that had fairly equal portions and I called it Ile de la Lande. It is an island on the Garonne River that sits between the 2 banks.

I just found this on the Virginia Vineyards Association site. The link won't tell you but they have merlot ready to be harvested. The location is the north central part of Maryland just south of the PA border. It's probably too late for the other varietals for this year. Thought folks in the...

Just a silly question, did the 3 buckets weigh160 lbs?

Good luck, I'm sure you'll make the right decision.

I commented before I saw your second post. It is interesting but I still wonder why they aren't letting them hang longer. Could it be due to weather?

Is there a reason they are not letting them hang a little longer?

Glad it worked out, have a great time in Bordeaux, I'm kinda of jealous.

I think most will agree that there are wines we are not the proudest of and something is just off. These are my cooking wines.

So we might be on the same page, I also do my starters at a higher temp, more like around 100 though.