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Primary Fermentation pretty much wound down yesterday, 6 days. I pulled the berry bag out of the must and did a quick SG, which is .096 ( 11.01% ). The must is now on airlock and will be kept in the primary fermenter until Saturday, then moved to glass and stored for 3 to 4 weeks and stabilized...

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated! I did invest in the All In One right from the start. That's a must have for any home winemaker. Minimal waste, fast transfers, great device! Plus he's from the Chicago area, much like I was!

This has been a great site for learning and two way feedback! Kudos to the senior members. I am a small batch winemaker, simply a space and old age lifting issue. Before i begin my litany, is there any source for grapes to make small batches, say 2 to 3 gallons? I'd love to try a from scratch...

I wish I had found this thread before I opened mine. Same thing but with Merlot concentrate. Fermented in 3.5 days with a 13% ABV. I racked to glass to get off the lees. What did you end up doing in terms of time for the secondary ferment in the glass? Did I mention what a great site this is...

I did make a yeast starter with about a third of a packet of EC118. Two days later the fermentation didn't "look" aggressive when I opened the fermenter and I stirred the must so I did sprinkle in an additional pinch of the EC118. I did leave the cover loose for the first two days then sealed...

Well, I moved off the Lee's and into glass this morning. Sediment was heavy, despite only 3.5 days of primary fermentation. I'm going to leave this batch alone for a few weeks and check sg again. This was a good lesson that every batch does not follow consistent patterns.

Thanks for the feedback. I am going to take it off the Lee's tomorrow into glass. This is an experience for a novice like me, fermented in 3.5 days.

Oh, and I used EC118 yeast for this batch.

Hi All, I have a question regarding my most recent batch. It's a 2 gallon must in a 3 gallon pail. It's a Merlot from Coloma, 2 quarts of concentrate. I started this wine on 4/21 in the AM. Specs were SG 1.086, PH @3.5, room temp at 70 plus degrees. Added one cup of sugar, grape seeds and oak...

I bottled my inaugural batch of wild blueberry wine (frozen Wyman Blueberries)yesterday, it really came out nice! Right at 9 weeks, it's pretty drinkable right now, I tested a sample from the leftover dregs, light and dry, perfect for a hot summer day, 10.4% ABV. I did ferment this batch dry...

Here's an interesting adventure regarding my batch of tart cherry wine. I set up a 2 gallon batch in a 3.5 gallon fermenter, tart cherry concentrate from Coloma, a 2 lb bag of frozen tart cherries and 2 lbs of sugar. The SG was 1.085. I pitched E71B yeast and for 3 days the fermentation was...

Interestingly, the Blueberry must started fermenting again in the glass jug on Tuesday, so there is some secondary going on. I'll wait until the airlock quiets down and I can see the top foam has subsided and I'll recheck SG and perhaps rack off some of the sediment. Definitely more going on...

Hi Big Dave - quick update, I did add the extra lb of Blueberries in the nylon mesh early last Wednesday, on Thursday PH was 3.0-3.5 best I could discern with the test strips. Fermentation was strong until this morning, almost none. I popped open the fermenter and it was pretty quiet, so I did...

Big Dave, I have the PH strips coming today, meanwhile the must is foaming up like crazy so it appears to be "happy". I'm planning to let this go for 14 days to get as close to dry as possible. Stay tuned! Thanks to all for your feedback.

Hi Big Dave, thanks for the feedback. I don't have a PH meter at present, one of the few instruments I don't have as I build up my kit. I'm going to add a pound of blueberries this morning as both of you have suggested. Thanks to all

Thanks Raptor, I do have time to round up another pound of wild blueberries ( yes frozen) bag 'em and add them to the must today. Fermentation hasn't quite kicked off yet, the environment is at 73 degrees in the boiler room.