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Those all sound like great suggestions and I will definitely check them out. Thanks everyone!

We're going on a trip in a few weeks and I'm looking for a book to bring along. Not a basic "how to" book. I'm looking for something more in-depth and interesting. Maybe something on the history or culture of winemaking? Or organic/biodynamic viticulture? Or wine chemistry and biology...

I'm watching this thread since I'm in the market for new pruners too. My vines are only a year old so it hasn't been much of an issue so far and I've been getting by with my Home Depot cheapos. But I'm going to need something better soon. Been looking at the selection on Lee Valley's site...

We picked up a pail of Chilean Syrah from them 2 weeks ago. We checked the pH, TA, and Brix and found that it needed both sugar and acid. Before adjusting, the juice had a slight cough-medicine flavor. After bringing the pH into proper range with tartaric acid, the cough-medicine flavor...

Thanks guys. I'll be sure to post back if I ever perfect the recipe. Scooter68, I can definitely see your point about the blueberry flavor being hard to notice. I also find that blueberry wine has a flavor that is remarkably similar to a generic red wine, so it might be really hard for the...

Ever have one of those hair-brained ideas that you just can't get out of your head until you run it to ground? Well, mine is co-fermenting cold hardy grapes with wild blueberries. For some reason I even want to try Concord grapes with blueberries, even though I'm aware of the usual caveats...

Thanks for the reassurance Grapeman. I can breathe again. :-) I'm definitely going to sink a few pieces of PVC pipe though to use as "monitoring wells." Even if the water isn't a problem, it will still be interesting to see it fluctuate as each season progresses.

Probably a good idea to keep a hole open. Matter of fact I could put a piece of PVC pipe in the hole to monitor the water level as it rises and falls. I'm really hoping it doesn't need drainage tiles. I mean, I certainly could install them and they'd probably work. I could just let the tiles...

I'm sure we've all heard the rule of thumb a hundred times: Grapes don't like wet feet. OK, but what does that really mean? Our vineyard is in its 2nd year. Last year I planted Petite Pearl, Marquette, Seyval Blanc, Aromella, and Arandell. All grew great and all came through the winter...

Walmart carries a 2 gallon glass crock that only costs a few bucks and works perfectly for me.

Lucky you, being so close to the ocean and its moderating effect on temperatures! We started a vineyard in central MA last year. We're still newbies so I don't have a whole lot to offer, but I will say one thing, since you mention you like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Those are two of my...

How do they taste? If they taste good, maybe look for frosted wine glasses - nobody will even notice the haze. :-)

Glad you posted this, thanks! It conforms with my limited experience with Concord, which is that our single Concord vine just started producing last year, so I only had a few pounds of grapes and had to supplement with Welch's. I used RC212 and, as you say, thus far it tastes... like Welch's...

Gotcha, thanks Grapeman.

I could see them trying, but I wonder if there would be any success? If someone gets drunk on wine (or any other alcohol for that matter) and crashes their car, can the producer be held liable? If that were the case, I would think producers would get sued all the time. Budweiser and others...

OK thanks all, I guess we'll bite the bullet and go with an LLC. I was thinking maybe start with a sole proprietorship and convert it later, but it sounds like I'd have to go through all the permitting again, which would be a pain in the neck to say the least.

Wondering how most of you have incorporated your wineries? As sole proprietorships or LLCs? I know an LLC is probably preferred, but they are expensive ($500/year here in MA) and I'm musing whether it's absolutely necessary for a really small mom & pop winery like we hope to be, producing only...

Sounds like good advice, thanks to you both. Glad to have found someone who has worked with Aromella before. I know it's been around for a decade or so, but it's still pretty "new" by winemaking standards I guess, as there doesn't seem to be much depth of info and experiences on it yet. I...

First time working with Aromella and I'm still in the learning phase of winemaking, so I have an acid question. I bought 6 gallons of Aromella juice, which smelled and tasted awesome, but came in with a TA of 1.42. My goal was to bring it to 0.9 by adding 78 grams of CaCO3 using the...

You know, I never thought about using a 2-hole bung - great idea! Anybody ever used marbles to take up the extra space? I think marbles are made of glass, right? So they shouldn't impart any flavor?