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If MLF is proceeding, sampling from the top of the carboy is fine. The bacteria change the chemistry of the wine and you are looking at the acids specifically, so off the top is fine. I use a standard glass wine thief, about 12 inches long, to pull samples from by carboys.

I should have specified that my "barrels" are plastic, open top primaries, not oak at this point. My bulk storage and post press wine will go into the steel tanks. Thanks for the comments. I decided to add the MLB nutrients and inoculate with the bacteria today, so MLF will start during EM and...

I have 100 gallons of must just complete AF in barrels with fairly tight lids. I pump in some CO2 through the plastic barrel bungs and will do an extended maceration for about two weeks. Should I inoculate for malolactic fermentation while in the primaries with skins and all before pressing...

Thanks Tberns. That's the kind of input I was looking for. Do you use the ball valve at the bottom for cleaning out or transferring at any point?

Howdy winemaking community. Looking for some good advice here, I have about a 100 gallons of must (in 4 varieties) nearing completion of AF in plastic primary barrels. I recently bought 3 Speidel 110L stainless tanks and have them set up to receive the wine but have never used these types of...

Beautiful hillside rows and location. I'm jealous. Enjoy it all.

Those are some good observations. Thanks.

Or maybe soaking peppercorns in vodka to remove the capsicum oils, then adding to the must. That might allow the other pepper organic compounds to macerate while reducing the bite of the pepper. Just a thought. I also would like to try using a half spiral of "Spanish cedar" (actually a type of...

Hey, was just following up threads and discussions about peppercorns. Any further thoughts, some 8 years further along? Thoughts on dumping a standard supermarket spice bottle of mixed color peppercorns into at 24 gallon barrel of Tempranillo must, currently fermenting. My main concern would be...

Yeah, similar here. I am looking into going commercial so I could sell some, but the federal, state and local permits and taxation are a bit complex. First though, I have to make wine that people will buy ;) . Once you get up to producing 30 to 40 cases of wine a year, it has to go somewhere.

We've been to NL several times over the years. One of our favorite places and some ancestry from there on my mother's French Huguenot side of the family. Vanarsdales, Coverts, etc. Took our young boys to Madurodam in the 90s, have gone to the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam a few times...

That's quite a setup, sjjan. Would love to stop in one day and get a tour. I see what looks like a glycol cooling system running through 3 of the tanks. Are there distinctions between commercial and private/home use (untaxed or unlicensed) in the Netherlands for various quantities? Just curious.

Thanks for these responses. Perfect example of what makes this forum so great for us. I went ahead and bought 3 of the Speidel 110L tanks. Tempted by the lower price of the Marchisio, which are also good quality, but the vinyl seals pose a bit of a problem for some folks although I hear you can...

So with federal ATF and TTB regulations, how are you able to produce 500 gallons of wine without a commercial license? Federal regulations dictate a maximum of 200 gallons per two adult household. Just curious. Are you just licensed and not selling? Is that possible?

Hoping to get some informed opinions on the use of 110L Speidel variable volume tanks for secondary fermentation/storage. Deciding on whether to build a solid bench for the tanks (3) or more steel shelving units to add 6 more 6 gallon carboys. 1. Advantages/disadvantages of storing wine in...

One consideration with EVs are the production of efficient batteries, which currently rely on rare-earth metals like lithium and beryllium. Most of these are mined in poor countries with exploited local and child labor. Despite the noises companies make inside the US (eco-friendly, fair labor...

Don't forget to add a paper chromatography kit for malolactic fermentation tests. Stapler, pencils, markers, etc.

Thanks. Btw, I read about your, um, mishap. Tough lessons happen to us all. I broke my favorite glass wine thief a couple weeks ago. Just careless. All we can do is move on and try to not do that sort of thing again.

That's part of my problem. I am out of MLB nutrients at the moment. Will see if I can find space in the fridge to let it chill and macerate for a week.

Thanks. That gave me the extra push I needed. Think I will inoculate and just cover it up. I will have the nutrients ready when I return in a week. No harm in adding them a bit later, right?