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Bergamais used to be my go to for quick turn round. Sadly, it's no longer available. Pinot Noir is a good one. Actually drinkable at bottling within a couple of months from start

100% I average 1 bottle a day

Just an observation--green, black and white peppercorns do not contain capsaicin, they contain piperine which is soluble in alcohol. Red peppercorns are not available in dried form. Another plant (common pink peppercorns from the Brazillian pepper tree) is often confused with red pepper; this...

No problem. Once secondary is finished there is no need to rush anything. You've got plenty of time--weeks if need be as long as sulfite levels are decent. As for your Cab problem, more info would be helpful.

I bottled my Super Tuscan a few weeks ago and tasted it a couple of nights ago. It was phenomenal! I was genuinely surprised. In the first place, I only used a single skins pack. Also, primary fermentation proceeded so quickly and I wasn't ready for that so I racked into the secondary very...

Probably a little late for this, but you could try carbonic maceration.

I can remember exactly when I drank my last glass of milk. I always hated milk, detested it, would never drink it as a kid. In August of 1966 I was in Peace Corps training and spent 2 weeks living with a family of native Canadians in Shefferville, northern Québec. I didn't speak their native...

I don't like having to remove labels so I don't use paper labels. Instead, I write on the bottle using an enamel paint marker. When the bottle is empty, it is easy to remove with a stainless scouring pad.

I love this cheese. Cypress Grove has an impressive lineup and they're all exceptional. Midnight moon is very nice

Champagne, a sparkling white wine, is made from Pinot Noir grapes. On the other hand, there are teinturier grapes, red/black grapes that have red juice. Maréchal Foch, for example. It makes a fine, light, fruity wine when pressed right after picking.

I usually weigh everything. Sometimes though I just measure an exact amount of water and add most of the flour mixed with the yeast and salt. Then I add more flour until the dough reaches the right consistency. I tend to like high levels of hydration (about 75%) with the dough being still a...

It will not affect the test. Regardless of how much distilled H2O you add to the must, the total amount of acid is still there and it takes the same amount of NaOH to neutralize it.

I have used Concords several times, fermented out dry. Decent enough wine but not very complex. I recently tasted a 2001 Concord which was surprisingly good. At crushing it was at Brix 15 and TA 75%. I left on skins 2 weeks and chaptalized at a rate of 10 oz/gal. Oddly, my notes don't...

If you like "stinky" red bacteria cheese, you can't do better than French Meunster or Willoughby (an American cheese). Sweet, rich, nutty. One of my faves

Any opinions on the Buon Vino filler? Not the electric version.

Supper at our house usually consists of a variety of cheeses, sausage and olives. The cheese selection usually has a white mold cheese such as Camembert or St André, a Roquefort, aged Manchego (one of my faves), a smelly cheese such as French Meunster (Willoughby is an excellent American red...

Yeah, I've had a similar problem. A couple of times I had 7 or 8 carboys of wine underway, some reds, some whites. They were unlabeled and it took a bit of forensic detective work to remember which varieties were in which carboys. Now, I label each carboy with the variety and dates of actions...

One more thing. I recently made a couple of batches of sweet pickles that involved a 7 day fermentation period then an overnight bath in alum water (for crispness), then a 6 hour rinse in vinegar. Finally, the pickles are packed in sugar and pickling spices which leaches the liquid from the...

Lacto-fermented is the same thing as fermented. The natural fermentation produces lactic acid which, along with salt, preserves the vegetables. I always use grape leaves for crisp pickles.

I put a grape leaf or 2 in each jar to retain crispnes