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I speak from professional experience - yes.

Wow - that is a serious reset to my mental timeline. Tincture of time and patience. Just to be sure I am absolutely clear - no kmeta while tending/waiting for MLF to complete? Even if a year? Thank so much.

Ditto - I just did a forced side-by-side comparison with a $13 pH meter (well-rated on Amazon) and the Apera pH60 (AI311). The quality difference was profound and the results significantly different (using the word significant as a scientific academic). Thought I might save the cheap one for...

Thanks, all, for the comments and help. The weekend update is one lesson learned and a new path forward. Lesson learned - equipment matters. Cheap things are, well, cheap. The new pH meter arrived (Apera Instruments- AI311) - no comparison with the old one. Caliberated easily, functioned...

Thanks for the response. Taste is sharp and neither pleasant or unpleasant. A bit of aftertaste (not in a good way). Guess I am not quite experienced enough on this one to determine if it will age out. This may be one of those upticks on the learning curve. Experience is a good teacher, if not...

Bringing this back up and hoping for some insights. Perhaps just waiting to see if a new pH meter (on order) gives a better answer? Pretty sure I have a low pH problem that prevented MLF.

Ugh. Cheap pH meter decided to be calibration challenged. Can calibrate neutral and acid solution, or neutral and base, but not full range (error reading). Calibrated neutral and acid - was reading those consistently, so went ahead and tested zin after gentle heating/degassing. Still very...

Thanks - will recheck pH tomorrow as suggested. If it is still low, will address that.

Tale of two juice buckets: I fermented two Chilean juice buckets this spring - a syrah and a zin. Both were co-inoculated with BM 4x4 and CH16 (from same packet) a couple of days later. Additives were the same for both - FT Rouge, Opti Red, Fermaid K 1/3 way through fermentation). They have...

I bought a cheap set of maroon towels specifically for winemaking. Easy to keep separate from household linens. And no stains. That I can see. 🤣

Love the math jokes. :) On a somewhat related note the original topic - are there any issues in blending wines from kits/juice/must/grapes? While it would be wonderful to have a variety of wines from grapes to work with, I have some juice buckets that are aging after MLF that I am thinking of...

I cannot tell a lie - I lose about 1/3 of my range during the bitter winter. Motivation to retire and move back to the southwest.

I think I read earlier in this thread that a skin/double skin version of these kits will overwhelm a BMB with foaming action - might need to remove some must and add back in after things settle down or start in bucket and transfer to BMB for EM. But noting that in the question posed, the SG is...

Another vote for EV - not going back!

Same concern here - wonder if they reuse or set up a return system? Personally, I would gladly pay a little extra to not contribute to that environmental problem.

Thanks. Being in MN, I am closer to OH and (theoretically) should be cooler than TX. The past week has been an exception, though.

So how often do you check MLF? I just checked my Chilean buckets (5 weeks post-inoculation) with Accuvin strips and they are both at ~75mg/L. At this point, should I be checking weekly, monthly or on some other schedule?

Planning to take the plunge on one or two of these kits and just want to see if anyone has concerns about shipping during current summer temps?

Sounds like we have some things in common! What did you pick up (I have zinfandel and syrah)? Have not had problems with pH on these buckets in the past (or this year). Waiting for that lovely aroma to start....

Same source - probably passed by you at pick-up day yesterday (were you the one with the truck getting a dozen buckets in front of me? Just kidding). These do have yeast already (something bullet-proof like EC1118) and usually start to show fermentation about 48h after I bring them home. I added...