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Thanks Ajmassa. It's now calibrated - and better but is still not necessarily correct. I'll recheck ot in the distilled water again.

This may be my first batch ever - but is certainly not the first one I tasted :-) I would know if the wine is lacking - but I didn't react well. Apologies. Tried some demineralised water and it showed 6.6. Then tried again with the little calibration bag the manufacturer provided and it was...

Thanks Sour Grapes :-) It could be. I bought a cheap digital PH meter on eBay and followed the calibration instructions. Can't tell if the device is faulty, but it was high (4.0) as the secondary (MLF) commenced. Seemed to have increased in the last 3-4 months - used the same device. The...

Thanks Mainshipfriend. I'll just add a minimal amount. Added some acidity to one keg 3 mths ago and that keg is 0 1 ph more. Better not to play with chemistry this year around :) Will add sone into the must next year. And cmason - regardless of the outcome, I'll add 5gm of sulphite per keg...

Finally !!! I "cracked open" the first barell - if one can "crack open" a beer keg :) Must say mightily impressed by the outcome. I would gladly pay $20-$25 for such a wine in shops. That is, the wine may be even better, however, I don't usually buy wine that expensive... A friend help me...

I reused the original screw tops with some lesser quality wine and it worked OK. But not sure how it would stand the test of time. I ordered the Novatwist tops anyway but will use 10 proper bottles for longer keeping.

Cheers guys. I'll order the Novatwist tomorrow. It will save me a lot of time. Even better if I could use them twice. Should be able to collect enough of proper bottles within two seasons. Until then... :)

Thanks Slappy. Re: spelling Google picked it up and I got the right page :-) It's actually very practical to twist it on by hand. No need for thr machine. Will order a set, thanks for this info Cheers

I'll google it. Thanks....then retrieve the bottles I just put into my recycling bin :-)

Thanks guys. Probably better to get the proper bottles then. Will be easier with the cork sizing as well.

Hi , About to bottle wine for the first time - and only have the screw-top wine bottles available. Any issues with storing wine in the screw-top bottles using cork? Thanks

MLF - non-MLF... I tasted the non mlf-ed wine before I went away (two months ago) and found it inferior to the MLFed version so I introduced the mlf bacteria into it. I was hoping I could start it although I added 1/3 teaspoon of K-Meta several weeks before. Fingers crossed :-) Yet to try...

That thing is looking a very high tech :) My kegs are pretty simple (see photo) I think I'll leave it in the kegs and drain it into bottles one keg at the time - as I get ready to drink it. It was never meant to be kept for long anyway. 150L would be a a year supply for me and my adult kids. If...

Thanks Ajmassa, Yes - 3 kegs of shiraz. Not "brave" enough to do it without getting someone else's experience :-) As a beginner - I need to be conservative and I won't experiment and risk my wine without a positive feedback I'll order another VCT with a floating lid to be used with paraffin...

http://winequip.com.au/products/home-winemaking/tanks/stainless-tanks-with-paraffin-oil-seal/

Thanks Stickman. I witnessed the paraffin oil not messing up at all. Doesn't seem to stick to anything. My kegs are converted - the tops modified into a simple screw-tops and a taps welded into the body. To get the wine out all I need is to open the tap. The head space is very small and once I...

Hi , My brother in law uses variable capacity tanks with a floating lid. The lid sits on wine surface and he pours paraffin oil around it - this blocks the air-wine contact. He then just pours wine into a bottle as he needs it and the lid just drops with the wine. These tanks are built to be...

Shayne : re equipment. Bought three beer kegs and fitted them with stainless steel taps and kegs. Purchased a 200L variable capacity stainless steel tank from Busselton WA. They also supplied the MLF bacteria. The yeast, yeast food, yeast prep material, and oak chips from Qld. Two plastic...

Thanks guys :-) Shayne, my first batch ever completed. The whole journal captured here : https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/beginners-diary-shiraz-making.64892/ I left for Europe a month ago and left the wine in a nearly completed malolactic fermentation stage. Hope to see it nicely...

Thanks the crane. 27 Brix on Merlot? Wow that's high. My first experiment went really well. 160L of Shiraz safely stored to mature. A commercial yeast and MLF bacteria applied - it tastes really good. The PH is a bit too high at 4.0. Still need something to measure the TA - bought the rest...