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Thanks all! Seems like it's a sticky issue. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of us!

I really hope no one on here is suffering from these fires. The smoke is pretty bad here in SF. If you do need help, let me know. To my question: I'll have a couple hundred pounds of Sonoma cab sauv in a few weeks. With the insanity of the smoke lately, I'm worried about smoke taint...

Oak Barrel Winecraft in Berkeley seems good. Got my grapes there last year.

I used BottleYourBrand.com and paid $0.89/label. No problems so far.

I put together a one-size-fits all label with a blank to write in the details, as well as a stamp version of the same design. I stole the logo from a now closed dive bar in Austin. Not very wine-y, but it's fun.

Great ideas! I've got two five gallon guys going. So maybe I'll see which one is running a little more tannic (they're different yeast strains) and use the egg whites on that one.

I've got some super tannic Petite Sirah hanging in carboys right now. I was chatting with a winemaker the other day and when this came up, he suggested using egg whites as a fining solution which would also soften the tannins. I've heard of this process and been curious about it, but...

I bought from Oak Barrel Winecraft this year and so far, so good. Looks like they list pricing for quantities up to 900lbs on their site, so might be worth a try to see if they'll throw in an extra 100lbs to make it a clean 1/2 ton ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@NorCal Very interesting!

I ordered 200lbs, but I didn't get the sense folks were limited to increments of 100, just got price breaks at increments of 100. If they've already confirmed that, there you go, but if not, you may want to give them a call. Nice folks regardless. Brehm (who also sell frozen must) was also...

I've only got a couple harvests under my belt as well and I'm already up to 5 carboys of varying sizes and a few 1 gallon jugs. @Fuzzywuzzy I'm in the SF area and got my grapes at Oak Barrel Winecraft in Berkeley this year and through Brehm last year. If you're also in the Bay Area, would love...

@Mario Dinis Awesome! How'd it work out?

Haven't seen these guys before. Have you been pleased with the quality and delivery/pickup of the grapes?

I'll ashamedly admit that I overlooked measuring the pH beforehand don't have the TA equipment, so out of luck there! That said, it's not tasting like a high pH wine, so I suspect that means the TA is not crazy. No MLF for me on this batch. [edit] --> and to @mainshipfred, I got the free SO2...

Just did an SO2 dosing on my PS, so had an opportunity to taste it first. The D21 is still considerably tannic, though it's noticeably softer than it was a month ago. It feels more structured and restrained. The RP-15 is comparatively fruity (a shift from before), though still with noticeable...

Thanks for checking in! Got 5+ gallons of each of the D21 and RP-15 (and apx 2 gallons of a 40/60 blend, respectively) hanging out in carboys now. Last I tasted a couple weeks ago, the D21 was SUPER tannic and the RP-15 more approachable, but somehow less fruity. The 40/60 blend (which is...

I ended up taking a possibly weird approach. I'm doing one Brute with RP-15 (thanks buzi!) and the second with D21 (thanks CDrew!). After almost a week, the RP-15 is seeming a bit fruitier and they're going at roughly the same pace so far. Not sure if I'll blend them at press or keep them...

Hey all. I'm working with Petite Sirah (not blending) this year, and should be picking it up this week. This kind of came together quickly, so I haven't put too much thought to the yeast. I was thinking RC-212 or BM4x4. Has anyone had notable success with any particular yeast strain when...

I'd stress a few things on your list as more critical than others, namely, sanitation, monitoring, and patience.

The "gross lees" typically refers to the residue that is made up of bits of skins/seeds/other stuff that might be in the juice in addition to the first dead yeast cells. The fine lees are just the dead yeast cells. You'll probably get more experienced answers from other folks, but I'd...