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What protocol? As things evolve the science committee in the vinters club has started offering grape skins. A demonstration is envisioned which would be 1) a control steep on the hybrid’s natural skins, 2) press immediately after crushing and steep on California vinifera skins, 3) press...

* a new wine should taste carbonic, bitter seltzer notes. You could degas as 50ml in a microwave for 30 seconds > mix > cool > taste. I would also check pH on this sample. * with the low pH a second test would be 100ml in a small 100ml bottle in a fridge for one or two weeks. This will pull...

Have you investigated the Scott Labs tannin kit? , , , Using what is available locally I have constructed a big red out of mulberry juice (no tannin but lots of polyphenol pigment) andding excessive grape tannin out of the bottle. It has made it to five years growing less harsh flavor notes...

* YES, I have used Costco honey. They have had several grades, one of which was “raw”. Cyser is part of a continuum. Under 8% is technically a beer or a hard cider. Over 8% is a wine. Personal opinion, cyser is more interesting than a straight mead or a straight apple wine. I like the...

The person who was filming didn’t zoom in on the flies. One can’t make traditional food without them. And yes that is mold on the traditional non-refrigerated sausage.

Leaving? Actively managing vs Ignoring for a week? there is some risk of mold growth on the floating skins if they are not periodically moistened. You won’t be the first person who makes wine who has had an extra week in the process. If work meant that I couldn’t manage every evening I would...

H2S is very reactive. If this gas has been there for a month 100% should have combined with compounds in the wine creating a family of molecules called mercaptans. The flavor is called “fried chicken” in the local wine club. Meaty/ dull/ not fruity/ burnt chocolate. (Sulfur like odor or...

YES if I was in Boston I would 1) look for the local fruit distributor 2) search out the local vinters club (Winemaker.com/resources/ ) and 3) put a post up on Marketplace asking. Grapes are available. There are folks on WMT who do group buys and grow. It is only a matter of asking enough to...

Welcome to WMT Wine (fermented foods) is a multiple variable food preservation system. Mold is an organism which requires oxygen for growth. As noted already we stir to wet floating skins and minimize the growth of aerobic organisms. In a finished wine the exclusion of oxygen is key to...

You have a risk that you have introduced an infection into the wine. OK, so what? The grape juice was not sterile when you introduced yeast into it. The grape was not sterile when you treated it with metabisulphite. The wine is not sterile when it has 12% alcohol. Wine is a multi variable...

Are you coming for juice pickup? It is a good chance to look at the winery’s press and talk to the owner about how press cycles operate. There are club folks picking grapes and if you have specifics I could ask. Generalizations * time is required, especially on a static press. Mixing reduces...

I like the pH at 3.2 to 3.3. A lower pH is more resistant to wild lactic acid bacteria infection. If you use commercial pasteurized juice you should be safe running the pH high.

Before getting this from someone in the vinters club I was using a six inch diameter basket plus mix process. With that the yield was in the low 80’s. Drumlin Ridge winery (where you pick up juice buckets) with a commercial hydro press that cycles: fill > pressure > relax and rotate > pressure...

In 2020 learning how to blend crabapple tannin I put together a bouchet with 10% crab and 90% mixed apple juice. At bottling the astringent notes were dominant enough that I back sweetened to 1.020 for balance. Since then the percentage of crab has been lowered and the required back sweetening...

I have used the dry mixes in the pilot plant. They work and were easy. The main risk with a pH buffer is picking CO2 up because they have head space. Keep the bottle tightly closed. Unless you are doing research work to 0.001 unit, accurate enough buffers last longer than half a year. Our...

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My yield was 76% (destemer 17.85 & press 13.6Kg) Gravity 1.094 (last year 1.102) ph 3.33 (3.30 in 23) TA 0.98%. (0.57 in 23 ~> a hot & dry year) As a variety I really like Itasca. After last year I was wondering about picking earlier. The juice has spent a week in a fridge to pull down...

The thirty second version: Traditional ciders were done with a mixture of apples. They have names like Sharps (acidic) Bitter Sweets Sweets Bitter Sharps (spitters) It is important to have a variety of apples to have enough acid to last.

a young man’s sport ~ ~ tree monkey at work ~ ~ OOPS,,a young lady’s sport can you shimmy up a rope? WOW!

Welcome to WMT There are numerous other wines ranging from elderberry to apple mead (cyser). Have fun cooking one up.