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I will try that next time. I was thinking of placing a piece of Teflon in between the ratchet and the spacer blocks.

Fermentation takes its own time. As long as the hydrometer shows progress, just let the yeast keep working. Depending on your conditions, it may take 2 weeks. Keep checking it every few days. And don't worry!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS! x 1000

I wanted to have some good quality, small tasting glasses for when I have friends over for barrel tastes. I had some crappy ones from the dollar store. Then I found these. They are 6 oz. crystal glasses from Ravenscroft of Pennsylvania. Great size & shape, crystal clear and well made. They...

@jgmann67 I have the same press as you. The spacer blocks tend to move around when I press. Do you put any sort of slippery spacer under the ratchet to keep the blocks aligned?

I would suggest you read the thread about "tweaking" kit wines. The guru of that thread is @joeswine . He goes into great detail about additions to cheap wine kits that can really make a difference. Many on that thread have tried adding citrus zests, dried fruits, spices, etc .... By...

Based on my bench testing, I think a tiny amount of sugar brings out the fruitiness of the wine. After my wines have aged 6+ months, if they still taste "sharp" or tart, I go for back sweetening.

I start out with about 1/8" between the rollers. That's bigger than the seeds.

This is 5 hours on the Zinfandel skins then pressed. It tastes great but very "young." . It looks dark in the carboy. Here are 2 pics. The glass by itself and a pic with the "top off" jug.

I took some of my Zinfandel grapes to make Rose. 4 hours on the skins and it is quite a bit darker than I thought it would be.

I use the All In One. I runs the wine down the side of the bottle.

In another thread (HELP???), the discussion turned to skins in white wines. Hence my question, why aren't white wines fermented just like reds? I sometimes put crushed green grapes in my white kits to tweak the body, but when I make Chardonnay from grapes I follow the standard protocol.

I would rack it out of the demi-johns after 3-7 days. Most of the gross lees will have settled by then. Personally, I would let it stay in the demi-johns 3 to 4 weeks after that, to get the fine lees to settle out. Then I would go into the barrel.

@Booty Juice Fantastic pictures, thanks.

Yes, "pitching" means throwing the yeast into the container. Most of us use buckets, or food grade trash cans for fermenting. The juice and pulp is called must. Keep the skins next time. How much must do you have? One package of yeast is good for up to 6 gallons.

I think it does both. The skins deliver the body & mouthfeel," while the seeds/stems deliver the tannins. Some folks prefer to blend the free run with the press run in proportions that suit them.

I use oak spirals only one time. After they contribute their goodness to the wine; they wind up in my smoker, to contribute their goodness to the baby back ribs...

Never use water!

Did you separate the "free run" juice from the pressed juice? How long did you let the juice sit on the skins? In my view, those two things have the most influence on wine body.

@CDrew The pics are coming through now. Thank you WMT gods.