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Thanks Stickman. Makes it more clear now. I obviously don't have any means to test the YAN levels so will go with 10-20gm. The temperature prediction is al in 30C so I've been luckly. Usually, this time of the year we get scorchers in high 30s to 42C.

Looking at the yeast nutrient "Fermaid A" in front of me - the label says 10-30grams per hectolitre. The spec sheet says 35-40 grams per hectolitre. Well, they should make up their mind. How to add it ? Should I stagger it every few days - or add all in one go? Together with yeast...

Great, that's easy.Thanks. I presume they will just float on the surface, but will still get a decent soak, as the must is turned daily. And, yes, purchased untoasted American Oak.

I intent to put the oak chips into the mast and discard before pressing. If I put the oak chips into a plastic net - I.E. a potato/onion net liek we find in supermarkets will the plastic react with wine?

Excellent - thanks a lot John. After pressing - I need to fit the liquid into a 200L VCT - I'm sure 227 litres of must will reduce to well under 200 litres. Sorry about the units.. I have a bit of a grasp with the Imperial distance and weight units but still struggle with with the volume.

Starting :-) https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/beginners-diary-shiraz-making.64892/ Please feel free to share your experience and advice. Thanks

Starting :-) https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/beginners-diary-shiraz-making.64892/ Please feel free to share your experience and advice. Thanks

Some progress - the pending parcel arrived today (yeast food and protect, oak chips, straining cloth), and installed a bung to the vat. Setting up the stands for the VAT and the Variable Capacity Tank (VCT) using pavers , and assembled the VCT bits. Plus a bit of a reprieve - the grapes will...

Thanks. - didn't even consider not adding bisulfite - I would rather avoid it if I could. Will monitor the grapes condition upon the picking. Not sure I would go too far with the checks - it's all a bit overwhealming at the moment. May still get to it as I progress through the process. The...

Thanks - a good point, need to read up on the levels - better than timing. A slight information overload at the moment - reading too many articles.

Some issues: The VAT does not have a bottom pipe installed - didn't have time - so I'll address it using buckets. The grapes are maturing fast, and I was told it may be ready as soon as this Sunday (in 2 days) - panic !!! Need to sanitise equipment, test the crusher on the VAT, etc. The...

Hi, My fist batch of wine ever - how exciting. I thought I could share the plan with this frum and hopefully be stopped by you guys before I do something stupid. My target - 150L of Shiraz. (I should mention I'm located in Perth, Western Australia.) I got a press and crusher, a brand new...

Redrum...to continue from the previuous thread... Dalmatia is similar in many ways, but the temperature is on average 3-5C less than in WA, and what's really important, it has a mild temperature in October when the grapes are pressed. Also the soils are much richer, and not sandy at all. So...

Hi Redrum - very much so :-) (Will respond in my other thread)

Hi Slappy, Good to hear from you. Hope to be able to compare notes as we start. Some of my friends mix 80% of Grenache with 20% Shiraz. I decided, for my first attempt - to stick with a single variety. I also helped an older guy before who let the nature take it's course and his wine...

A more heat tolerant yeast is obviously better, however, from the discussion above I understood I should try not to allow the must to be at 40C and need to keep the temperature down. So all good from my side. My next task is to search for the previous disucciosn on how to manage the must...

Good point thanks.

...and after a lot of reading, and comparisons ... I decided to go with Enoferm Syrah

Thanks. Makes sense. In particular - as it seems after reading a number of forum posts - it's good to mix a few differenrt Shiraz yeasts to get a nice blend. However, given it's my first attempt, I'll try to be conservative and record all the steps so to learn from the process.

C Cheers Toonster. :-)