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We now have 3 barrels, a neutral 23L, a semi neutral 40L, and a 5 week old 40L one that’s doing a MLF on a Malbec. We Now are aging wines longer in the barrel but concerned on how often I should be racking/cleaning the barrel. I typically do it every 3 months, is that standard? Thanks Roy

Welcome to Wine Talk! We make cranberry wine every year and have never added tannins to it. We also make a lot of Blueberry wine , some with some without tannins. IMHO don’t see a big difference, others may feel differently. Roy

My 2 cents, when I first started making wine right out of college I used screw top bottles, wine, soda etc to bottle my “experimental wine” . I dipped some of those in molten wax and long termed aged them. It Worked!

Heck AJ, I can barely lift the 50L barrel Empty! All my carboys are on rolling carts under a table, the barrels now 3 of them are on top of the table, figuring I don’t play with them as much & im running out of space. Hence the second level. You can see them in my avatar. Roy

AJ, just my 2 cents. The 50L barrel is a lot bigger than the 40L one. I can “man handle” the 40, the 50 not really. The 50 does not fit in my laundry tub, the 40 does for easy cleaning. The 40 at like 10.6 gals works great for my assortment of 5 and 6 gal carboys too. Roy

We made a dry Riesling kit that we added a few pounds of peaches into the primary. It made a wonderful Peach Riesling! We have also substituted juice for water in some kits, with good results. Roy

Sounds like wine diamonds to me. Did you chill the wine at anytime? If chilled the diamonds can form quickly. Just my 2 cents. Roy

C Mason, I totally agree with you. But guess I’m a slacker, I only bring my Cardiologist a bottle each time I see him. ( maybe I see mine more often) LOL ! Roy

Totally agree!! Like mason put stash cases away for 2 years before we put them on our wine racks, which hold 600+ bottles. It’s just so easy to grab a bottle off the racks or out of the chiller. Roy

Thanks Stickman, I did lower the volume a little, so far so good. It made a mess of my new barrel though. Roy

My Malbec in a 40L barrel keeps expanding into the airlock. Back story, new Vidai barrel, 3 day prep their instructions had a few small damp spots, so put sulfite & citric acid per their instructions for another 5 days. Still had damp spots, no real leaks but knew the wine would seep out. So I...

Thanks for the correction, it was over 18 months ago and so many Wineries. Willamette was a stand out. Roy

We went to 5-6 in Oregon, but can’t remember their names right now. I’ll try and find our notes. In Washington we went to Mary Hill & Willamette Valley, plus at least 6 others. Willamette was our fav of the 3 states. Great people, very good wine and a Awesome Hamburger! Roy

Well my 2 cents is they wouldn’t get my vote for number 1! We did Napa last summer for 5 days, Oregon Wine country for3 days then Walla Walla, Wa. For 3 days. Awesome RV trip. This summer we did the Finger Lakes for 3 days and we were very disappointed. We were there 10 years ago and thought...

Dan, it’s hard to beat Home Winery’s concentrates. I make a lot of their wine for our “house wines” . But I use 5 pints per 5 gal batch, not the 4 they recommend. Feel it gives you a little more flavor & body. Blueberry, Blackberry & Elderberry are our favorites. I also add Those 3 in different...

We had a 2015 Cab tonight from Calif grapes that we made. Very disappointing considering all the work involved. So I needed a “little” more so I pulled a 2010 Coffee Wine, Jack Keller recipe, Awesoe!! Wow!! Amazing!! Will have to make it again. What a Great 2nd bottle!! Roy

No, we only do MLF’s on our real grape wines, never did one on a fruit wine. Roy

We just had a 2011 Spiced Apple tonight. It was a Apple Wine made from Stayman Waysap apples. I spiced it with one clove per 5 gals, 2 cinnamon sticks & like a 1/4 tsp Ginger. Left it in a month or so, tasted periodically, Not over spiced, which is what we wanted. Absolutely Awesome even after 7...

FYI, I saved 2 gallons of Petite Syrah skins. Then pressed our 4 lugs of Cab grapes which the skins literally filled a 5 gal bucket packed. Threw those out, No more room in freezer. Roy

We pressed Wednesday, a little too tired to post then. Pressed in the Winery at 68*, instead of the garage at 90*! The Petite Syrah looks awesome. The Cab will be fine I’m sure. Now to wait 2 years for the bottling & final tastings. Roy