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Laithwaites. Ready now. See above.

I mainly have experience with the RJS dessert wines (2 Coffee, 1 Raspberry Mocha and 1 Caramel)--all of them are excellent. I've done one WE Apres, and it tastes very close to the RJS Coffee--with the edge going to RJS Coffee, but I wouldn't hesitate to do the Apres again. Others can chime in...

Yes. I would say you are fine and on target. I'm only familiar with the 3 gallon sizes and have done 1 Apres which we really like. I wouldn't sweat this at all. Enjoy!

I've ordered from them in the past with no issues. Just ordered more last night and noticed they must have been selling a lot of wine must lately as their inventory is much smaller. Could be that they are just overwhelmed.

I'd set them aside for another year, then sample a bottle. My 2020 Petite Pearl was very acidic and now after 2 years is getting close to good.

It's been recommended on this site to add 16 oz. blackberry f-pac to primary along with 1 cup of French oak chips. Then a tsp of tannin added to secondary. Depending on the quality of the kit you're doing, try to get the starting SG to 1.100.

We're like you and don't like sweet wines. This wine is not sweet when adding the pack. I don't even care all that much for white wines but this is a good one. Enjoy!

Thanks for responding. Yes. Lactic acid makes much more sense. So under this scenario, MLF happened naturally. lactic acid was produced causing the buttery taste. Then, apparently, aging neutralizes the lactic acid and the wine becomes tasty. Does that sound about right?

The 2nd wine I ever made was an Australian Cab Sauvignon from RJS. It was their high end En Primueur series. For the longest time, even after a year, I thought it had kit taste (of course how would I know since this was only my second wine?). Then over winter it did get a few wine diamonds in...

Final SG before f-pac was 1.006 Final SG after f-pac was 1.020

A Dessert Wine worth a try Last summer I was looking for a dessert wine kit after the most popular ones had sold out. But I found one lonely kit that I thought I'd give a try Apre Dessert Wine Kit--it wasn't the chocolate one or any of the other offerings that would draw people to it, just...

Mitchell Vineyard near Madison suggests this for skin time with Northern varieties like you're doing: "Ferment on skins 2-5 days. Longer is not recommended.."

Thanks for the detailed answer. I have much to learn and enjoy reading different points of view!

Thanks Bryan. Great information.

I'm seeking your advice for fixing this wine. I started Sept. 1, 2021 from fresh grapes. pH 3.23 and used Red Star Premier Classique yeast. Had some early smells so used Fermaid which seemed to work. Pressed and racked on schedule. End of October the H2S smell had returned. Tried splash...

I think you're right. If you're talking about Laithwaites, my orders come through a distributor in Joliet, IL since they're a British company.

I've been a member of Laithwaites Wine Club for a couple years having switched from Naked Wine. I liked NW's concept but at the time all the wines were domestic, and most were very young as mentioned above. Laithwaites has domestic (mainly California wines) and others from around the world. All...

I've got 6 gallons of PP in carboy going on 2 years old. Advice given to me on this forum for petite pearl was to be patient--so I wait. I also fermented some Marquette and Foch last year that I'm toying with the idea of blending.

if it's half as good as their Blackberry, it will be fantastic.

Yes. Rubber bands size #16 2-1/2" x 1/16" seems to be a good size. If you store for more than a few years, you might want a thicker band. Another thing that I like is being able to tell easily what's in the bottle when it's stored in the wine rack. Here's a picture I just took with commercial...