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And by "toys" I'm sure that you mean carboys!

A little zest from either grapefruit or lemon can brighten the wine up. I wouldn't go overboard on additions with an En Primeur kit since they are usually very well balanced on their own. And definitely avoid getting into the pith (white meaty layer) beneath the zest. I am big on adding zest...

Now that this wine is over a year old I can hardly detect the kit taste and this is becoming one of our "go to" wines for the warmer weather. The flavor is somewhat mild, especially when tasted side by side against the local Rieslings (Finger Lakes), but it's pleasing with no harsh notes left...

During primary I hardly stirred at all. Maybe once on day 2 or 3 and then I just left it sit.

Ditto salcoco on the SG levels. 1.068 to start and stuck at 1.010 or 1.020 would be more reasonable. What temperature were you able to maintain? If the must/wine is chilly, but still putting off CO2 then simply warming it up a bit may get the fermentation re-started.

I can't answer your question . . just yet. My Stags Leap Merlot is 10 months old and just went into bottles this weekend. If the leftover partial bottle from the bottom of the carboy is any indication, then this will be very good wine before too long. It is already rich and full bodied with...

I've made the basic RJS Grand Cru kit twice (this was my very first kit), the Cru Int'l once, my second batch of Cru Select Riesling-Traminer just came out of primary and I have a WE Eclipse German Mosel Gewurztraminer that's in bulk, aged about 2 months. We like Gewurztraminer! I think they...

On that note . . . I'm all caught up on Grape Radio so I've been listening to the "I'll Drink to That" podcast. Most of the time it focuses on sommeliers, but there are many interesting episodes that deal with detailed aspects of grape growing and wine making. The recent podcast with the...

I have used up all of the sweet (final SG 1.010) RQ Cab Sauv batch at this point. While this kit did not come out as planned it still made a really nice contribution to several other wines I had in progress. Blending this into other fully dry reds really added flavor and a hint of sweetness...

It's hard to beat a good Cab-Merlot blend in my book. I have an RJS RQ Cab from last year and an Eclipse Merlot (Stags Leap) which I blended a small amount of when I stepped down from 6 to 5 gal carboys. The blend was very good. Unfortunately, it was so good that I'm already down to 4 bottles...

Thanks . . . I will put that one on my "buy" list. I love a good Cab.

Ditto Sour Grapes on the fact that a tight seal is not really important at this phase.

I have not fermented in a bucket so I am not much help, but I would suggest pulling the lid, checking for any irregularities and then put it back on good and tight. A light stir early in the ferment will often kick up the CO2 discharge and might give a hint to where the air is going, if not...

I go both ways . . . small kits and large. I feel more freedom to tweak the heck out of a kit that cost under $60, whereas I'm more likely to follow the rules (mostly) when working with a kit in the $125-$150 range. However, it's easy for me to rationalize spending more when I figured out that...

Are you sure that the dosage is 1 campden tablet per gal every 3 months? That's more campden than you put in to start a grape/fruit batch to kill everything prior to fermentation. I've only been adding 1 tablet per 6 gal every 3 months. So far I've had no issues . . . am I ridiculously lucky...

What type of vessel are you using? I have a big mouth bubbler with a screw on lid and sometimes there's just enough of a gap round the rim to keep the airlock from bubbling. This just happened the other day. I started a batch of Riesling-Traminer and everything seemed good except for the lack...

I'm just a few years out from retirement myself, but I'm ramping up. So far I'm into this about 2 years and 20+ batches, mostly kits, plus some fruit wines. The ticket below is what started it all for me. A 25 winery tour around Seneca Lake (Finger Lakes in NYS) that opened my eyes to the joy...

Thanks for the heads up - I guess I can plan for a normal ferment, clearing and aging process. That simplifies things a bit.

LP still had the WE LE Petit Ruby Cabernet kits in stock so I bit the bullet and placed an order. Mine should be delivered today. I was planning to start this over the weekend. Since it's a bigger kit with skins I had planned on an extended maceration of 6-8 weeks. I've been happy with the...

I was under the impression (possibly erroneously) that the Fermonster and Big Mouth Bubbler are intended strictly for primary fermentation. Yes, you can put an airlock on them, but even if filled as full as is practical, you'd still have at least double the airspace you'd have in a normal...