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i use a lid that does not seal tightly (the lid & pail were designed that way for fermentation) and does not have a hole for an airlock. I believe that it is better than using a towel but it's basically the same thing. Steve

Sounds like you have a beer hydrometer. Wine should ferment to about .995. Although you instructions talk about watching the bubbles, that is a poor thing to do. Trust your hydrometer reading. Bubbles will escape depending on a couple of factors, principally temperature. Steve

There are hundreds (or more) different PET plastics. Just having the 1 logo does not mean that it is "correct grade". The 1 is a recycling symbol, not a manufacturing symbol. It just means that it can be recycled with other PET plastics. As mentioned above, how does the ph of the liquid...

Igobru brand. Thanks for that info. Personally if those are the instructions, I will not be purchasing that brand EVER. Five weeks in primary? Is it at least in a carboy or something with an air-lock and limited head-space? Steve

Wine in primary for a month or two? ***NOT*** what I would call a recommended practice. Steve

As far as I'm concerned if the sg is 1.005 or less, it's good to rack to carboy. Steve

Whatever yeast you choose make sure that it likes concentrate. I believe that Vintners Reserve is a mostly concentrate kit. Steve

Ken Ridge Showcase German Gewurztraminer. We added the Suss Reserve to primary, and made it dry. This brand no longer exists. Might be called Atmosphere now. Steve

The cap and CO2 do NOT mean that fermentation is very active. They mean that CO2 is coming out of solution. It is possible that fermentation is complete (or almost complete) as the .994 indicates, and CO2 is still coming out of solution. As already mentioned, the CO2 in the wine is affecting...

Did both methods fully degas the wine? Personally I find that a round-and-round action is not as successful as a back-and-forth method. Thus I don't think a drill helps much. Temperature is more important. A warmer wine degasses faster. One month minimum for either kit. Longer aging is...

I'm sure that these are just typos; however, please do not add sulfate. The proper product is sulfite, specifically potassium (or sodium) metabisulfite. Steve

After a "few weeks", the sg will be below 1.000 (which happens to be below 1.020) possibly .995 or .992 which is consistent with "the hydrometer plunged to the bottom". The sour taste could be a lot of things. It's likely a dry wine and you prefer sweeter (as BernardSmith suggested). Which of...

Several of the Eclipse kits come with two different yeasts. Sorry I don't recall the reasoning provided by Tim Vandergrift but I don't think it was the reason that Boatboy provided. Perhaps somebody can provide the link to Tim V's comment. Steve

Out of interest .... what is the kit that you are making?

Some kits are off-dry because they contain a sweetening bag to be added after the sorbate. If this is a suss-reserve (ie juice), I generally add it to the primary fermenter instead of some of the water. If it appears to be a sugar addition (usually less expensive kits), I don't use it all. I...

I have made all three brands, although not in a few years. IMO, they are all about the same quality; however, the fruit flavours vary. One summer we made the OB apple and the NM apple. They tasted a little different but there was no clear winner amongst our friends. Steve

Here's an article you probably should read. https://winemakermag.com/924-sur-lie-wine-kits Steve

That's something that I've thought about trying, but 1 gallon kits have been rare in Canada. I should do some looking. I expect the varieties to be somewhat limited though. Spagnols has a new 3 US gallon line called Mivino (https://www.rjscraftwinemaking.com/mivino/). They seem to be...

Some blends are co-fermentation (Syrah-Viognier for example) but most are post-fermentation. One reason for post-fermentation is that grapes mature at different times and the wineries don't wish to store one variety until the second is ready. Steve

What was the date on the box? Steve