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Another option I have would seem to be most obvious now that I think about it. I have a couple of 10 gallon corny kegs that I use as fermenters for beer. Plenty of headspace for primary, they seal up real tight, I can slosh them around to my heart’s content, I can get an airlock on them, I can...

I have in my possession an insulated stainless mash tun that already has a silicone gasket on the lid to form an airtight seal. This thing holds 10 gallons and has a port above the 9 gallons mark that I can use for an airlock (tube into some starsan). The bottom has a 5 degree slope with a drain...

I just got the kit in mail. It came with 2 packs of grape skins; each 1.25kg. That is a lot of skins. More than I expected. I was thinking it was a few ounces. This is almost 3 quarts. I will have to rethink my plans here. Not sure my bar is heavy enough. It also came with a muslin bag that...

That is very fine advice, thank you, but I just can’t take it. I’m a tweaker. I help bread machines stir. Best I can do, is reduce the EM down to 3 weeks if I can’t get this kettle sealed up right. I’m made a gasket that fit along the top lip of the kettle out of a length of tubing. With...

Good point. I can place a stainless flat bar in the bag with the skins. It's heavy enough to sink dry hops, so I'd expect it to be enough for the skins.

I got an idea to make due with what I have on hand. I will start out in the kettle. Once the gravity hits 1.020, I'll give it one last stir and cover the kettle with some sanitized sheets of cling wrap, sagging down to the wine level, and the lid. That should allow any pressure build up to...

I don’t have a bucket large enough for primary. My buckets are 6.5 gallons. I have an 8 gallon stainless kettle I was planning on using for primary. I guess I could rack to a bucket with an airlock for the EM. Then rack to a carboy after pulling out the skins. Do the skins eventually sink...

@San Diego jeff interested in shipping a few cases of bottles?

This is great info. Thanks! I have a decent pH meter I can use. That should make the target level very clear at each addition. The assumption I will make moving forward will be that 3 months of sitting in a carboy at 70*F will lose 30ppm of free SO2. That should get me by until I decide to...

Obviously, a test kit for free SO2 is the only way to be sure. But all of my reading and, I think your post, converge on the same advice. Target a 50ppm addition after secondary is complete and racking into a fresh carboy. Target a 50ppm addition after every 3 months of bulk aging. Most...

Still waiting on my first wine kit to arrive. Hopefully, it will be here next week. In the meantime, I’m planning out my process and wanted to get a sanity check on my understanding of sulfite additions. Making this wine from a kit, I’ll assume the juice and skins are already treated and...

I'm still reading up on sulfites (when and how much to add) so I'm not smart enough yet to understand your concern with the skins. My plans were to use the kettle and rack to the carboy as the yeast rage dies down but before totally dry. If I can manage to get the skins in and out of the...

I’ve been reading about extended macerations as well. My primary ferentor will actually be an 8 gallon stainless kettle. The lid fit is not air tight and there are no provisions for an airlock. My plan was to rack to a 6 gallon glass carboy after the primary rage dies down and get an airlock...

So, you're saying there will be no noticeable difference in the wine if pitched colder? I have found that for beer, managing the yeast makes the biggest difference in the final product. That not the case for wine?

Figures. That's where I ordered from. We'll see how it goes. Thanks!

I generally keep my home between 69*F and 73*F when someone is home. I let it climb to 77*F - 78*F when it's empty which is usually for a few hours at a time. For the first few days of fermentation, I plan to keep the temps in the 69*F to 73*F window. I was planning on placing the bag of juice...

Never made any wine before. I am planning my maiden voyage on a RJS Chilean Malbec with dried skins. I love me some Malbec. Looking for a dry, fruity wine with some astringency. Not sure why I chose to buy a pack of RC 212 but I did. Bellow is my plan for this kit. I would greatly...

Brand new to making wine. In all my searches, this place seems to consistently show up with all the best information and answer. No good deed goes unpunished, so I decided to join the forum. Congrats! I will start with a 6 gallons kit and make a separate thread for it. I'm usually not one...