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Welcome to the forum, Mike! It can seem very tedious and exacting at first. There are some steps in the process that are exacting and others that you can tweek or alter as you gain experience. My advice is to stick strictly to the kit instructions and if you have any questions feel free to...

For a bold red wine like a Cab try to keep the temp in the upper 70s, although anything 70 or above will do fine. The fermentation by itself will usually genetate 4-5 degrees so don't let a brew belt get it too hot. Around 86F is usually where you need to worry about a stuck fermentation. Fred

Rifleman, Welcome to the forum! I also am not familiar with Numoline; however, I know invert sugar is acceptable for use. I just started a CC Showcase Cab. Sauv. yesterday and invert sugar was listed as an ingredient in the grape pack to be added. Most people wanting to sweeten use a...

V.V., Sounds like it's going well. The only comments I have are that the beginning s.g. (1.076) is low for a Cab. Sauv. You may have added just a little too much water in the beginning. Typical beginning s.g. is about 1.090-1.010. If it ferments to complete dryness (.990), your ABV will be...

V.V., I didn't mean that 60 days was a requirement, only that wine needs time (aging) to develop it's full potential. You can drink it (and maybe enjoy it if you just want the alcohol) as soon as it's finished fermenting. There'e a reason why when you buy a red commercial wine it's 1 or more...

Yes, that's correct. In fact, you can use any normality of NaOH as long as you factor it into the following formula: TA=(75 x mL of NaOH x N of NaOH)/mL of wine sample Fred

Omerta, You didn't say whether you're doing a kit or juice, but never attempt MLF with a kit wine. Kit makers often add K-meta and/or K-sorbate to their concentrates to help protect against bacteria and early fermentation. SO2 will kill mlf bacteria and sorbate will cause what is described as a...

ODM, It will require twice as much .1N as .2N NaOH for the same size sample. Fred

On second thought, I agree with Wade. If you're racking using tubing and not splashing, it's probably okay. Fred

PPBart, IMO, I wouldn't risk the open air exposure and additional oxidation of combining. The splashing will add O2 and reduce SO2. If it were mine, I'd make the adjustment you want to one of the carboys and then calculate the other adjustments based on their relative volumes. Fred

I don't recommend bottling until at least 60 days has past. The true measures of minimum bottling time are: 1) Has your wine cleared enough and this is somewhat dependent on whether you use clarifying and fining agents and filter the wine or not; and 2) has all yeast and malobacteria, if any...

IMO, the answer is yes, it is more typical to rack at about 1.020 and let the fermentation complete in a carboy. As you start to get below about 1.020 there is not enough CO2 being released to adequately protect against oxidation. The carboy and airlock help maintain CO2 levels over your wine to...

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Thanks, Tom. She's 3 years old. She calls our dogs and scolds them if they bark too much. She will imitate the phone ringing, answer it by saying "hell--ooo" and carry on a coversation with the pretend person on the other end. There is never a dull moment with her around!

JDL, Also, you can remove the majority of pulp by using a large kitchen strainer. You may need to extend the handle by attaching it to a stick, or whatever you have, so that it will reach the bottom of your fermenter. Fred

Zog, You didn't mention whether you had racked from the primary to secondary, but if you have not it is safe and advisable to do so now. As everyone has said so far, get your temp up to 74F - 78F and then rack to your carboy. The increase in temp should help fermentation and the carboy will...

It looks really good. How did you get that deep red color? My strawberry has a good flavor, but it's more orange/red in color. Is the secret that bottle that looks like cranberry juice behind the carboy? Fred

Wade, I know nothing about making beer, but it looks really nice! If/when I get into beer I'm sure I'm going to want/need one. :)

My favorite wine is amarone. I have made the Cellar Classic Showcase 18L amarone w/grape skins and the Mosti Mondiale AllJuice 23L amarone. IMO, best value for the money is the CC amarone. I have made 4 of these thus far and plan to make many more over time. My longest aged is close to a year...

It really depends on what you like, but all the whites require less aging than reds. The Island Mists reuire the least aging of all. Welcome to the forum! Fred