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I washed my first fresh grape wine. I didn't like all the spiders, bugs etc. It was one of the best wines I have made - that said I haven't washed them since. Now, if I see a bunch of spider webs or bugs or whatever on the grapes on the vine I'll spray (wash) the grapes on the vine with a...

My first wine was from fresh blackberries after an unusually productive season. The wife has told me to keep my grubby wine stained hands off her raspberries ; ). Shortly after that I planted grapes...

I've got some tires you can rotate for me ; ) Maybe tomorrow I'll get to it. Today, I used a press for the very first time. A very generous WMT member gave me his old press. It was really easy to use and saved me hours over my neanderthal method. I gave him a couple of gallons of...

The metal cap that came with the bottle, but I usually don't really tighten them. I must have tightened it down more than I intended. Once tight they do form a good seal and I have stored wine in them for at least a year with no detrimental effects. Thanks for the bottle info. I thought your...

This year I had a bottle break. I use these 1.5 liter bottles to store wine that didn't fit in the carboy and use it for topping off etc. Usually I'll open the top every few days to let off any pressure but this year I had to leave town for several weeks. Even though I never noticed any...

I think I need to clarify my question. What I'm wondering if the age of the vine (not the grapes on the vine) affects the potential PH of the grapes. In 2018 PH averaged 4.0 In 2019 PH averaged 3.9 In 2020 PH averaged 3.9 In 2021 PH averaged 3.7 In 2022 PH averaged 3.6 In 2023 PH averaged 3.4...

hmmmm I've got high PH clay soil that I been trying to amend with compost and a little soil acidifier fertilizer - maybe it is starting to work.

Why chaptalize? I know it increases the alcohol content and that can have a preservative effect but how does it impact flavor? I have some Tannats that are at about 21 brix and am trying to decide if I should add sugar. I'll end up blending the Tannat into my Malbecs (several ferments with...

I ended up picking about 35 lbs of tannats before I left town, 22 to 23 brix and probably ph under 3. I forgot to write it down before I left and they are still frozen... Yesterday I picked about 150 lbs of malbecs. Average brix about 24 but one section was 23 brix and the other section was...

My sister gave me some advice once - don't tell anyone what you're going to name your kid until the kid is born because once the kid is named no one will say anything negative. I'm approaching the label that way ; ) I did 3 mockups about 2 years ago, so I have a decent idea of what I want...

Yes, lots of very nice labels in this thread.

Very nice. I was bored or couldn't sleep one night and went through all 149 pages of posts in this thread. Your label is my favorite. I don't have a label yet.

I "press" by hand by using a nylon bag from the beer supply store and twist/wring the grapes. The key is to only do a little at a time. I think I would get at least 3 gallons If I started with 4.5 gallons. I usually end up around 3lbs of grapes per bottle of wine. Just say you only used the...

We finally got some tomatoes. A neighbor killed all my plants with herbicide in July. I replanted a few with little hope, but Sept/Oct have been really warm. This is a favorite summer dinner for me.

I always do ; ) I told my company I want to retire or take a possibly never ending sabbatical starting Dec 1 so hopefully more ski days!

Great question, wish I knew the answer. I've been wondering that as well. I have had good luck with just throwing a couple of cups from a finishing ferment into a new ferment instead of pitching new yeast. Yeast is so cheap I don't think I'd bother trying to save it for next year but I agree...

Thanks for posting pictures!

I picked another 90 lbs of Malbec last night. 40 lbs from one area, 24 Brix, 3.45 ph and 60 lbs from another area, 21.5 Brix, 3.45 ph. Would've left the one area on longer but I have to leave town for work for 2.5 weeks. It was either pick last night, ferment, press Sunday night, then leave...

That's why we need to quit our day jobs! I'm thinking of pulling the plug on my career. My motivation to continue working is on life support, and this year work is really interfering with my harvest plans. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the remaining 350 or so lbs of grapes still on...

The birds found my grapes this year and I had to put up emergency netting. The netting did negatively impact ripening and increased disease pressure. In places where the netting confined and bent leaves, ripening slowed down and powdery mildew increased. In areas where the netting didn't...