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Howdy; this is an extrapolation question. Maybe. My grape harvest this year was pretty sad (only 12.5 lb from 6-7 vines; maybe due to predation from birds/'*****/squirrels?). In the past, I made wine using a 3 gal bucket and 32 lb of grapes, with 8 cups (wt?) sugar. Made another batch with a...

Hi; my background is in micro. I guess you could say I see things through the lens of bacterial/viral contamination. In the environments I'm used to working in, you keep any "fresh air" contact with any medium to .... a minimum. Maybe this doesn't apply to wine. Is there the possibility the...

I'm not sure of the proc for back-sweetening. Would it not involve contact with stirrers, more air exposure, things that have the potential to contaminate?

Hey, Tim; I ... have never heard of "bench trials". Should I google that, or can you give me a short/sweet description? Thx.... Mitch

It's been a while; I hope all's good for you folks in wine-land. My 1st batch of wine, 2 years ago, was with muscadines. I didn't want the usual super-sweet stuff, but ended up with a super-dry batch. "Not bad" for a first try, the old hands told me. But (I'm sure) not great either. My second...

Thx a million, Rembee; I think I can go the route of either of your suggestions. Re: Gallagher - yeah, he was a blast. Recall the melons? None of the young kids I see at the gym nowadays has any idea of him. I was on a flight from FL to NC once, and he was in 1st class with me. A total hoot...

I've collected about 16 lb of these grapes -- really tough-skinned, but ripe. I don't have access to a crusher, and when I tried to use things to smash the grapes last time -- not a good result. Does anybody have any innovative ideas about how to crush these grapes? I've frozen all of 'em, in...

outstanding, troops! Thx again for all the useful and intelligent input .... Mitch

OK -- "nylon", it is. I couldn't drdge up that name. Too technical for me ... As long as staining's not an issue later, I have no problem with it. Aesthetics, not my main concern.

Thx, folks - some good common-sense answers. I thought of Oxyclean, too -- may do that as well. Don't wanna make a huge magilla out of what s/b no big deal ..... Mitch

I just did the 1st racking of my experimental paw paw wine. Is there a tried-and-true way to make sure the mesh I kept the paw paw meat in (during the fermentation) gets thoroughly cleaned? It's pretty fragile-looking material. I've hand-washed/rinsed it a few times in detergent, but there's...

Much obliged, guys; sounds totally logical and reasonable to me. I played with the concept of maybe sprinkling half a packet of yeast into the must and stirring it in, then sprinkling the rest on top and leaving it. I believe the "put it all on top and leave to find its own destiny" may be the...

Maybe this is nit-picky, but sometimes the simple crap is what sinks the ship, so .... When I add the yeast to the paw paw brew tonight, do I stir it in once it's been sprinkled onto the top of the mixture?. Or ... sprinkle it on top and leave as-is?

when I first began making wine (mead, summer of '19), I was instructed to put the yeast (lalvin 1118) into a vial with water warmed to a certain temp, mix, then let it sit a while before placing it into the jug with the honey and water. Worked. I don't recall now, though, if I did that in making...

Thx, troops, for all the input; it's been eye-opening for me .... Mitch

Wish I knew, Rice ..... I was kinda amazed that the btl itself even cited the pH at all.

Per the 2 1-gal btls of water I used to start: "spring water, ionized, with natural electrolytes and minerals". I feel better about it now. I was thinking I had bought deionized water. No memory .... Mitch

OK, Vines -- I'm wondering (now that I've actually begun the process) .... When you wrote "a fast ferm", exactly how fast was that? Maybe something I can play by ear -- to see when gas production has stopped? Also: you used Lalvin 1118 yeast; the only yeast I have on-hand is Lalvin D47; I...

Thx -- that's what I'm using today (not sure the pH of 9.5 is necessarily a good thing, but .... that's what the btls say) .... Mitch

Does anybody have a preference for what water they use? I'm thinking City water (from the tap; with chloramines) is a no-go. That said, would distilled be better than deionized? If so, any reason? Would it make sense to maybe boil the water (and cool it) before adding it to the ingredients? I'd...