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Glad you updated the post. I was missing in action for a few months and had not seen it. Very cool to see your entire process, equipment, and methodology.

Ditto - what John says. Alternatively you could add some inert gas, but that is more of a hassle and less fool-proof than just adding some store-bought wine. BTW - the wine looks great!

First time I made wine it was wild Muscadine. It is a legend in our house though, because I made the girls (four little girls ages 3-8) stomp the grapes barefoot. The acid started to burn their feet. I was so desperate for a solution to quiet them down I told them to put socks on. Another bad...

Agreed! One thing I know is that all the wineries around here use argon gas for the last racking and for bottling. I have started to do this as well in the basement. I have noticed a difference in recovery time, but I have to admit it could be psychosomatic :tz

John great points as always - I agree it is an open question. So it was incorrect to say there is a "generally accepted" position on this. Seems like the difference is in a finished wine that is decades old vs. a new wine that is going from carboy to bottle or jug. I think in this case...

This may help: http://www.eckraus.com/blog/what-is-bottle-shock

No, it is generally accepted that it is the the dramatic exposure to oxygen that causes the shock. Corking does pressurize the wine temporarily, forcing in more oxygen, but you will most likely still experience bottle shock going into jugs as well. But the larger volume will actually help you...

Seems like a good first step would be to try those wines from Mondavi. I think they use lower grade grapes - maybe even bulk wine to get to that price point. Got some great ideas from the team. Use Cabernet, Syrah, Zin, maybe Merlot. Or better yet make a Port!

You all might love this one then. Family winery with only about 6 acres of vineyards. They produce 6000 bottles of Brunello, and they Helychrysum is maybe less than half of those. In the Cellar I have 2008, 2009, 2010. These still drink a little young with Tannins still mellowing.

I like the guys at winegrapesdirect.com. What are you interested in making?

Did you see their fermenting juice on the WGD site? It looks like quiche on top. Similar to yours. Mine is not like that yet. Will take some photos.

Are you going to get more? Have any 2010?

Well we are doing the exact same grapes at the same temperature. :br Our only difference probably is yeast. I think you are a little further along - mine just has little sparkling bubbles and very small amount of foam.

Yes, you should stir at least once a day and add nutrients I would add half now and half at 1/3 sugar depletion (just like your reds?). By my calculation that is at 1.059 specific gravity. Here is the guide from WGD for this particular Chenin...

Great point. No more solid stoppers for me. This was strike three. But it has never been disastrous. Glad to hear that there were no ill effects to your wine. Spider would just add a little nuanced flavor.

Fermenting yet? What are your temps like?

Thanks for the article. I was thinking about this for my blend with the voigner. I'll probably go sec or demi sec, but I added a bit of oak to the primary to see how it tastes. Then probably oak a half gallon or so and do bench trials with the blends and sweet levels. How long post...

Hahaha :) Just telling it like it was. Maybe it was only on the floor for 20 minutes, but I think more likely 4 or 5 days - those gases would expand in the carboy pretty quickly right?

I had a blueberry 6 months bulk aging with a cork bung, it had been in the cellar and I pulled it out to bottle before I left on vacation. Well - forgot about it in the rush to pack, and went on left for 6 days. Temp in the cellar was 54, outside the cellar 62-65. I came back to see the bung...

Beautiful! Well done. It is sold out now, tried to get some after reading this. I had the 2012 and loved it, this is supposed to be way better!