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If your handy, the Tractor Supply goat feed fence works great. A few straps or wood frame and you can store 288 bottles. I used it for my cellar. I made mine to be 2 bottles deep. One goat feed panel ($60) and a lot of wood and I store 526 bottles...

The 4 gallon bottles get left there or put in the machine for the discount coupon, but they cannot be used again, The rep will be glad to set them aside for you so he does not have to dispose of them.

To build an inventory you need to make wine fast without rushing, tough balance. I made 6 of the Fontana kits in the spring because I couldn't find time to go pick up juice buckets. I was really happy with the way they turned out. They drink well and I started them May 1st. I did tweak them...

Bleach is a no no, I used it for really cruddy bottles , but I did it outside in an old tub, really rinsed and let the bottles dry out in the sun. NEVER NEVER NEVER bring or use bleach in your actual fermenting/bottling area. I been using OXiClean for a long time but it started to leave a...

My wife and I kill a bottle every night except Tuesday. That's Margarita night. Talk about being stuck in a rut

The air lock debate, The purpose of them is to lock air out. If you have a solution in the lock the negative pressure will suck in a little fluid, not air. To avoid too much fluid sucked in on PET carboys, I remove the lock while moving them, so the flexibility of the carboy does not suck in...

I got all mine from the Primo kiosk at my Walmart. They put them on top of the recycle machine. The 4 gallons get turned in but can't be reused, thus FREE. Picked up 20 one day. Find out when the delivery/pick-up guy comes around, they will gladly give you the 4 gallon ones, less work for him.

I tried something new this week. I usually use Oxiclean, but if left them soaking to long the bottles developed a mineral like crusty film inside and out that required use of the bottle brush on every bottle. There was always some bottles with the sticky residue requiring charcoal lighter...

In my last batch I didn't use any of the fruit juices, only the reconstituted lemon. The fruit added was from bags of frozen berries, Pretty much a knockoff of Dave's Dragon Blood.

81, The one gallon jugs I've used for batch overage are stamped PET1 and I use them primarily for secondary fermentation, I've not aged in them. I've been aging in 4 gallon PET bottles a few years now. I always use an air lock with K-Meta. Seth, One of the main reasons I use the 4 gallon...

Just bottled one of the Cab Sav (top row of pix) so bulk aging a year in the free carboys. It's very good. In my opinion (I will remind you I worked 14 years as a research chemist in extractive metallurgy) The first full layer of molecules in the PET carboy keeps out the oxygen, The...

I'm sure I was impatient on the dissipation, but the Cab Franc needed something as well. So far the blend seems like I may have pulled one out of my #$%. I think it may turn out better than most. For this fall I got 60 gal drum of Amarone juice and 4 lugs Merlot from Luvabella. So far so good?!

Another version of Dollartree wine: Skeeter as the base using 2 bottles of lemon juice. Added 10 bags of various frozen fruit from Dollartree: Strawberries, Blueberries, Mixed fruit and Blackberries. I added my own toasted dark oak, that added a vanilla note: I got sugar on sale for...

Update on the 6 cheap kits. The one (Sangiovese) that I added 2 TBS coffee beans to, I blended with 3 batches of Cab Franc, (4gal Cab Franc : 2gal of the kit) there was just to much coffee taste. The Valpolicella turned out great, nearly gone already. The one merlot is very fruit forward...

Sweeten it, fortify it to 20% ABV add the coffee beans and call it a Mocha Port

Well I got brave and tasted the coffee bean batch. DAMN it's going to be good. The oak seems to have mitigated the coffee flavor with it's vanilla and caramel notes. It's big in flavor and body already. I may add coffee beans to my arsenal of tweaks, we'll see.

Finished

To weigh in on excessive de-gassing, Yes you can over whip the wine. I've done it, and it oxidizes. On the upside, you won't run out of cooking wine. MY CHEAP KITS All 6 kits are in clearing stage. The kit with the raspberry preserves never got below sg 0.998 so I added sorbate just in case...

I got out the saws and nailers last week. I'm not building anything wine oriented but rather a roof over the grill area where I cook the food that requires wine consumption. There used to be 4 umbrellas covering that space. All of which bit the dust with one gust of wind. (plus 4 more in an...