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Vacuum Degassing: If you bulk age for 1 year, then there is no need for a degassing step. Time and Racking under vacuum (primary to secondary, 1 week after when stabilizing, 4 weeks after that, and every 3 months after that) will take care of the gas and sediment.

I think it was Cellar Craft Showcase where they packed the skins in a plastic jar with a wide mouth. That was my favorite. Recently, I have only seen skins in bags. I have made Winexpert, Cellar Craft, and RJS, Seems like the kits with the best reviews have been Cellar Craft, so those are the...

6 gallon plastic fermentor. Just because it is easier to clean than the 3 gallon carboy.

The HF costs $100 for the pump only. The AIO costs $200 and comes with all the tubing.

Let me start out by saying that I get it that some people brew beer and make wine for the fun of it. I make wine because I like the wine, and I save a lot of money vs buying commercial wine. I actually made a few batches of beer (Mr. Beer) prior to making wine. I didn't like it because I...

Put an airlock on it, and put it in the wine cellar. A month from now, rack with your vacuum setup, add k-meta, put a vented silicone bung on it, then put it back in the wine cellar. Repeat every 3 months for 1 year. It should be degassed by then.

K-meta is 1/2 the cost of Na-Meta

It will take forever to degass a 15 day old wine.

I use Na for my gas chamber to keep equipment and corks sanitized. I use K for winemaking. Na is in a bag near the gas chamber, and K is in a small bottle with my other winemaking ingredients. Virtually nil chance of measuring out a 1/4 tsp of K-meta to pour into the wine.

You could use it with this setup. http://www.blichmannengineering.com/products/wineeasy

IMHO, While aging in a carboy may seem similar to aging in a barrel, there are big differences. The most obvious being that a carboy does not add oak. That can be equalized by adding oak cubes, spirals, etc. Things not as adjustable are: The barrel allows for slow oxidation, and slow...

If after a week, your SG is at 1.07, IMHO, there is a problem (assuming the SG started at 1.12 or less, which is likely for that kit). I would buy a packet of EC-1118 (or whatever yeast you started with), make a starter, and pour that into the juice.

I usually rack and add 1/4 tsp of kmeta. I then wait a day to a week to give the k-meta time to disperse. then bottle.

Draw off enough to give you at least 1 gallon of headspace. 1.5 to 2 gallons would be better. Store that in the fridge. Pitch the yeast. Stir twice a day to release co2. When the SG gets down to 1.020, add back in 1/2 gallon increments (wait 1/2 day between additions). By then, the risk of a...

I am chaptalizing an RJS Chocolate Orange port kit, and estimate that it will take 2.5 cups of sugar before the yeast call it a day (already added 1/2 of the f-pack). At 1.010, I added 1/2 cup of table sugar (cane sugar) on two successive days. It took the table sugar fine. I am now adding...

So far, so good. I left the slurry in the pail from a Chateau Du Pays kit, and mixed an IM Blackberry Cabernet kit to 5.5 gallons. Added 1/2 of the F-pack, and 2.5 pounds of sugar (brought the SG up to 1.075), and the used skins from the Cellar Craft showcase Chateau Du Pays and a Winery Series...

It assumes you can buy/sell without transaction costs. Buying and selling stock has little transaction costs. Buying and selling wine has huge transaction costs. IMHO, I wouldn't put it in the kitchen. All the cooking fumes making its way into the wine cabinet. Nope. I don't have a wine...

Let say that you buy 145 bottles (12 cases plus a bottle) of 2015 Chateau Mouton Rothschild at $475/bottle, and sell it in 15 years for $1,500/bottle (current prices of 2000 and 2015 vintages). When you sell, you get about 50% of the value because the buyer has to pay a 25% buyer premium, and...

I also skip clearing agents too. Time seems to clear the wine well enough after 9-12 months. The only chemicals I use from the kit are: k-meta Pectin Enzyme K-sorbate - only if backsweetening, and will skip that with dessert wines that I chaptalize to the yeast giving up stage.

I use the AIO, and do not specifically degass. I age my wine for 9-12 months, racking every 3 months. Time and racking with the AIO seems to take care of degassing for me. In fact, I try to minimize degassing during rackings in the hope that the CO2 helps protect the wine - if the CO2 is coming...