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Welcome to WMT! I've been to Edinburgh and Glasgow, I hope we can exchange ideas about wine-making.

. . . what they tell me every Sunday, "Have faith, my son." I thought that the initial phase was yeast multiplication, when they start rubbing elbows at the dinner table, they can start eating.

I agree mostly, but you should not have to worry about the seal, as a towel or loose cover is on it at this point.

MY bottles don't go bad, so . . .

Check out Finer Wine kits, I am super pleased so far! My red Zin kit, with 2 bags of skins, smells amazing. Currently near the end of extended maceration, soon will taste and age. The only problem is availability, they ship fresh juice concentrate (why ship water), and turnaround is high.

Wait . . . if I add sugar, that adds volume, which reduces ABV. So, I need to add more sugar to increase the ABV, which then reduces the ABV! AAAARRRGGG! (lol!)

Absolutely, use the Sodastream bottles!

Interesting idea, I used to have a Sodastream, maybe I have it here somewhere . . .

Going on vaca for a few days (5), but extended maceration works out well!

Good luck, sounds like a good experiment.

I'm just wondering if you even want wild yeast getting a foothold, since you are going to use 71B. Why let a wild (aka random) yeast take over before you pitch your selected yeast. Isn't that why you innoculate your must a day before pitching yeast?

I am going with extended maceration (prolonged exposure to skins) on my red zinfandel, so I expect it to be very low.

Most say 1.020 or 1.010, but under that is ok if you missed it, all the way to .990!. (note: I have done it.) Again, wine is very forgiving!

I think the packet is yeast nutrient, and maybe something else, I'll check the documentation, I think I read it there. BTW, my Zin kit is going well, already at 1.001! I'm doing extended maceration, so Ill put it in the carboy later, after the weekend. It's air-locked, so I don't expect any...

Note: I have made multiple (multiple) country wines, a Chardonnay kit that the producer shorted on the juice, and now a Zinfandel (red). Wine is easy, don't over-think it!

When you are bottling, do a little over half, then add sugar to the remainder, to taste. You can then have the best of both worlds. edit: I would add a 'little' sugar to begin with, your choice.

I'd say to get a 1 1/2 - 2 gallon bucket for primary fermentation, you need extra space for oxygen at this point. You can leave the lid loosely on top for now, because the CO2 will protect the wine, and it still will have an O2 source. If you don't have a hydrometer, you can't know when...

When you stir, and it foams up, that is CO2 escaping, and a good thing. Stir it more for a while, the yeast will thank you! Add the potassium sorbate when you wine is done (<1.000 SG), then you can add the concentrate. Go slow, you can put sugar in, but you can't take it out! And taste test...

Sizzling is fermenting! Check the SG when you stir. Don't leave the cover off for too long (hours), but less is better. You can leave the lid loosely on the top of the bucket, instead of a cloth.

The small, defeating the mighty!