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You may be right. That was my first time to read the hydrometer and try to understand those readings, so I may be somewhat off.

That is a great site! The labels there look terrific and they have a lot of options! Thanks for sharing.

Day 3 and a lot of bubbling going on in the Big Bubbler! Now I know what you all mean about watching the bubbles! I'm tempted to keep going back and uncovering the top and peeking in to watch the action and take a whiff of the must! It's smelling good so far!

Sounds like a lot of fun! Thank you again for including me!

mainshipfred, I'm excited to get the opportunity to try real grapes! JohnD has been very, very helpful and I'm looking forward to learning more from him! I didn't change much in the Fontana kit, so I'm hoping my first attempt comes out ok.

Very generous of you! Just keep me in the loop as to what you need from me!

pgentile, I am about half way through the "Tweaking Cheap Kits" thread! Lots of information there! I did drop my volume back to 5.5 gallons for this and I added the oak chips. I considered doing an fpac, but as this was my first kit, I wanted to make sure what I make will be drinkable, so I...

Thanks Kraffty! I was excited to find JohnD here in our little small town, I'd always had an interest in trying to make my own wine, but really wasn't motivated enough to do it. When I found out about John and approached him about asking some questions, he was open and very generous with his...

I'd love to do that, but I'll need a lot of hand holding! If you think you can stand all of my questions and lack of skills, I'm in.

John, you're the master wine maker in our parts! I got lucky and found out how to contact you. My wife thought I was crazy for reaching out to you out of the blue. But I told her that it appeared you were passionate about the wine making and passionate people always like to discuss things they...

I have some tannin and considered putting some in the primary. Any thoughts if I should do that now or wait until secondary?

Well, I finally got the time to start my very first home made wine! I started with a Fontana Premium Merlot kit.My primary is a Big Mouth Bubbler. I followed all of the directions except instead of filling it to 6 gallons, I only took it to 5.5 gallons. The other change I made was in pitching...

So...now I’m ready. I think. I got this today but didn’t have time to open it yet. I’ll unbox everything in the next day or so and hope to get that first batch going asap! I did order a Fontana Merlot kit that was cheap and had free shipping on Amazon. It arrived today as well. Y’all get ready...

7 at one time?? That's space limited? Wow, I need your space! I have a large garage, but it's not air conditioned, so this time of year with the outside temps in the 90's, the garage hovers around 80-85%. I don't think that would work. Maybe later in the year I could start another batch or two...

GaDawg, I asked that same question on another thread! Have you had experience with the Bergamais?

After getting a few comments on my last post regarding my choice of the W.E. Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet as my first ever kit to try, I'm wondering if I should switch gears and try a red that will be ready to drink much sooner than the Cab. That would also allow me to gain experience without screwing...

John, as soon as I get everything in, I'll touch base with you to make sure I have everything figured out. I certainly appreciate your generosity!

I hear ya! I'm not a big White wine drinker, just thinking that might be the way to go. I like the bigger reds, so I got the Cab thinking that's what I want to make! Any suggestions for a kit that makes a drinkable young red? Not a fan of fruity wines, so those are out. I'm ok with a red I can...

Now you guys have me thinking I need to buy a white wine kit to start with, so I can drink something I make early AND to make sure I don't screw up the first batch!

Thanks Trevor! Yes, I'm certainly going to try to be patient. If things go smoothly with this, I'm sure I will start up a second batch rather quickly! I'm getting pretty excited about starting this journey!