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Welcome to the hobby! Do you get a strong rotten egg smell or just a funky smell that kinda reminds you of rotten egg? I ask because there is a "fermentation funk" that you get that is normal. But a stronger distinctly rotten egg smell is indicative of stressed yeast and something that should...

You could also add a bit of tannin to add some mouthfeel and complexity. But I would start with some cherry concentrate (not juice). Doing fruit wines, I regularly add fruit in primary and secondary, as they contribute different flavors and characteristics.

A few years ago, a local winery did 2 batches of riesling: one pressed and fermented without skin contact at all, and the other had about 24hrs of skin contact before pressing. The difference between the 2 wines was striking. The non-skin riesling was light, fruity, and citrusy. The skin...

Yeah, I would add a small dose and call it good. I'm also doing PN currently, and the fact that you're using real fruit usually gives the yeast enough nutrients to finish cleanly. Hence why I asked about the DG and fruit type. But I think you're fine to add a small dose now if you want.

I do the same as well! Typically, I use a mason jar and use my autosiphon to rack it out of there when it separates. Much easier with a wide-mouth jar

If you can post your SG readings, that would be helpful. Also, what kind of juice/fruit?

Remember, there is a lot of trapped CO2 in the wine from fermentation, so oxidation isn't as big of a concern as a few months down the road when the CO2 is gone and you need to add sulfites to keep the oxygen out. As for infection, the higher the alcohol, the more protected the wine is. On my...

GoFerm is meant to be added when the yeast are re-hydrating. It contains a host of various micronutrients that the yeast absorb *when they're rehydrating*. It will not do anything useful if you add it later in fermentation or secondary. Think of it like this: GoFerm makes sure fermentation...

If your SG reading really is 1.020 with all those solids, then that's a good sign. Did you take a starting SG reading? If not, always do that. But 1.020 is fairly low compared to typical starting SGs for grapes (usually 1.080-1.120), so it seems like fermentation is happening. But you will see...

Let it clear fully. It may take some extra time, perhaps even another week or more. But waiting a little longer now will save you from having a bunch of ugly sediment in your bottles. If you plan to bulk age anyway, then why not give it more time? You might want to give it a gentle stir as well...

Well I got my grapes! They're cold soaking until tomorrow night, then I'll let them warm up over night and pitch on Thursday. Will co-inoculate with Wyeast 4007 MLB sometime on Friday. Thanks for all the help everyone!

That is an insanely helpful presentation, thank you very much for sharing it!! I was actually reading through your other thread last night, got a lot of good info front there as well.

Thanks for the advice @BI81! I should clarify: my usual go-to wines are big reds, but I'm also a fan of medium amd light body ones as long as they don't have a watery characteristic to them like I've gotten from a lot of commercial pinots. Hence my questions for how to make a balanced pinot. I...

I'm venturing into grape-land with some pinot noir grapes from a local winery. Looking to do a few gallons only this year to see how it turns out before taking a bigger plunge. I have a few questions: 1) Typically, I go for bigger reds (cab sauv, merlot, zin, etc) because I often find the...

That is a really good price on honey, nicely done! I would just chuck the oak in now. No need to wait for it to clear, you can multitask and let it clear and age simultaneously. Are you planning on backsweetening this? Heavy oak and sweet wines don't usually turn out well, so if this is going...

Sorry, you put 3lbs honey in a 6 gallon batch? Did I read that right? As for oak, I add it after secondary during bulk aging. Maybe I don't have a good enough palate, but I don't get any of those vanilla/coconut/etc flavors from oaking. I just get different levels of oak based on length and...

I scored a good deal on a clearance Island Mist Raspberry Dragon Fruit kit from my LHBS. Figure I would make some easy porch sippers. Added a gallon of Raspberry juice and white sugar to OG 1.074, and pitched QA23. My plan is to ferment to dry, and then split the 6 gallon batch into several 1...

@Chuck E do the spirals you have give off a similar smell?

I just took another smell of the spirals and they remind me of the lumber section at home depot. Definitely a different smell than the chips I have, which are more like what you would expect. The spirals are a lot more woody smelling. So maybe I got a bad batch? I don't know how long these were...

A few years ago, I made a cab sauv kit where I didn't use the included oak cubes and instead used a M+ toasted french oak spiral from my LHBS. The package said 1 spiral for 3 gallons, so I used 1 spiral in about 5.5 gallons in secondary for a milder flavor and left it for 6 weeks per the...