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Thanks for posting the video, very informative. I was having a lot of trouble with #9 corks last week and I can see from the dimple that the plunger isn’t centered… will try to straighten it out as shown in the video.

@Rob Kneeland was that 1 year from pressing ie. 2020 grapes? Or 1 year in the bottle after a year of bulk aging? If these were 2020 grapes, you will definitely have a better wine a year from now. That J Lohr you opened was probably from 2018 or earlier.

I just bottled last fall’s zinfandel/barbera (75/25) blend. It is a nice easy drinking red. I think it will be pretty tasty in another year or so.

I used a 1/8” drill bit. I probably should have just run the bit in an out a few times to clean the hole, but with a gazillion holes, I just sort of punched it in and out quickly.

Thanks everyone. I did a combination of sandpaper for the inside and outside of the bucket, and reamed the gazillion holes again with an awl, and then blasted the whole thing with a hose gizmo that has good pressure. I’ll still put the bucket in my fine mesh bag to catch any stray pvc buts, but...

I’m doing my first all grape batch. Usually I do a juice pail and grape combination that I can crush and then press by hand. So I drilled my gazillion holes in a juice bucket, and jigsawed a circle for pressing. But how do you all clean out the plastic fragments from the drilled holes? I plan...

Keystone Homebrew grapes were pretty sad... maybe that’s just because it was an off year in Chile, but they looked really old, some mold and some shriveled up. Nothing like what I have gotten at GP in the past. My juice bucket came in last week, but I waited to pick it up so I got the grapes...

@Ajmassa were you able to get grapes at GP or did you pick up juice?

Thanks for the info @Ajmassa. Food for thought... with my small quantities I’m pretty fussy about only grapes going in the vat. But when I think of big operations I know there’s all kind of stuff in with the grapes, so maybe I can be less fussy. I don’t have a press either, so if I get the...

I just got a call from Keystone Homebrew that my Chilean grapes are in. They asked if I wanted them crushed or not, I didn’t realize that they offered that service. I’m only getting 36lbs to put in with my juice bucket so I’ll crush them by hand as I planned but that is great to know for the...

Nice @heatherd ! You’ve got this well thought out. I do spring and fall with a juice pail and 36 lbs of grapes (crushing and pressing by hand which I enjoy at that quantity) and two winter kits to round out my batches. 140 bottles over the year. I just find the kits boring after doing all the...

Well, you can put a red juice pail through MLF.. Personally, I like to add grapes to a pail. A hybrid approach that doesn't require a crusher or wine press, but adds some character and makes it more fun for me.

@Kraffty That’s great. Our utility only allows us to have a system that produces 100% of our usage. We bought a plug-in hybrid last year and now our usage outstrips our production most months. Our added electric costs are still less than we were spending on gas, but I wish we could have put in...

NJ is a net metering state, which means our production goes back to the utility and offsets what we get from the utility. In the summer we make more than we use and in the winter it is the opposite. In May we true up. So there is no variation day to day for us.

We purchased our panels outright. With the fed tax credit and the SRECS we can sell in NJ, we are on track to meet our 5 year ROI. It was a no brainer for us. But every state is different.

Nice meeting you Joe, and thanks for including the crates with the carboys. Adding another 3 and 5 will make my life easier... but that’s it for me, no more!

The RJS super tuscan en primeur kit included grape skins, my RJS Rosso Grande was just juice. The super tuscan is quite tasty. I made it as per directions, though I should have left it in the carboy longer to degas. I’m taking my time with the Rosso Grande, I made it in January and it is...

I don’t make enough at one time to sit this season out. I hope Keystone can fulfill the order I put in early last week. The order was confirmed and I haven’t heard otherwise. I only ordered 36lbs of Merlot (they didn’t have Cab Sav) since I just add that to a pail. A Merlot/Cab blend hopefully...

But no South African as well, I don’t know what the story is with that. I think they are supplying their winery (bulk) customers, just not the home winemakers. I ordered grapes from Keystone in PA, is that an option for you?

I usually do a combo of juice pail and grapes. Keystone said their grapes are most likely coming mid-May, and their 2nd shipment of juice pails is also supposed to be mid-May (their first shipment of pails is the end of April). They have no real firm schedule, but I guess I will go for it and...