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Cap is gettin’ a wee bit slooshy and SG is at 1.012. Looks like It’s going to be a Monday night after work pressing the grapes and moving the new wine into glass for next steps. I might be able to get another day of maceration on the skins and press Tuesday evening. Hope the new NaOH 0.133N...

Try degassing a small sample by putting it in a bottle and shaking till you don't hear a "pop" when you take your thumb off... That's an easy way to degas a small'ish sample to confirm that CO2 might be contributing. Cheers, johann

Here’s a procedure on the Vinmetrica site to standardize and confirm NaOH normality. https://vinmetrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/KHP_standardization.pdf Cheers! Johann

I realized that my TA titrant solution is probably out of date so I ordered another bottle to retest and confirm TA readings. I know my pH calibration solutions are accurate because I also confirmed with a solution of cream of tarter saturated with distilled water and measured pH 3.56 which is a...

I second the AIO filler and pump. I need to order some new tubes, valves, and a repair kit for the vacuum pump but it bangs out the bottles. Cheers! -johann

Looks like it's going to be a nice batch! I might try to piggy-back off of a Colivata order within driving distance next year. How many lugs do you order for a 60 gallon batch? Watching this with anticipation :) Cheers, johann

Hi, I'm considering an 80L Vadai for a cab sav / merlot blend. Would like to bulk age for at least a year+ and wondering whether folks think this might be too much oak? Maybe I should do a smaller barrel and cycle the wine through it over 12-18 months? 80L = 22 Gallons. Thanks for the input...

Vacation is over so punching down morning and evening. Already dropped 40 SG points and added second round of nutrients. Smells and looks great. Looking forward to the press probably this weekend and starting the merlot. Cheers! Johann

Mlb pitched this morning. Foamy purple love. Cheers, Johann

The final acidity measurements were pH 3.74 and TA 0.9 My yeast starter was going quite well so yesterday I mixed it with about 1.5 gallons of must. By evening that bucket was forming a cap so I fed a little fermaid O and late evening pitched the whole thing into the main fermenter. This...

This afternoon my blended and strained sample measures pH of 3.70 and TA of 0.95 g/L. I haven't measured the merlot juice yet but it says Acid: 0.50 so that's my Aces in the hole and I'm going to need a bigger boat... Cheers! -johann

Thanks guys! Next season I'm considering a larger batch and a larger barrel - maybe shooting for 20 gallons of wine. I have been mixing the must well as it warms up and taking a sample of about 1 cup berries + juice, blending, straining, and warming up to room temp. The pH readings have been...

After the 60g tartaric addition last night to four buckets of must, A test sample of juice this morning reads pH 4.03. I’m concerned about adding enough to bring it down to the 3.6 range. -johann

Started the BDX and rehydrated with some go ferm. Added a cup of must juice and they’re loving it. I’ll add another cup of must juice before bed tonight. Also gave the must a dose of scottzyme color pro. It’s about 25*F so having a nice cold soak. -johann

Tonight brix measures in the area of 24.7 and pH of a 1cup blended and strained must sample is about 4.18. Higher than I was hoping. I’m going to start by adding 60g tartaric and retest as it comes up to temp. -johann

I’m going to take some measurements later tonight and I moved it all into the 32 gallon brute. Hope there’s enough room for the cap. Each bucket also came with 30g of tartaric. Probably pitch yeast tomorrow or Saturday and I’m starting the yeast now so i’ll have a nice colony going. I think I’m...

Buckets arrived and are thawing. These will go into a 32g brute which i’ve had soaking in a mixture of star san, kmeta and citric acid for a couple days in anticipation of arrival. These buckets were shipped last friday. Six days in the mail and still not completely thawed. Very nicely packed...

Just a quick update on these since they've been sitting in the basement bulk aging for a while. Malbec - Bottled a couple weeks ago and it spent almost a good year in a neutral barrel. This was pretty good at bottling time and I got about 25 bottles out of it. Looking forward to letting it rest...

Hi, I'm making four buckets of 2018 Calistoga Napa Cab Sav from Winegrapesdirect.com this season. http://winegrapesdirect.com/2018-cabernet-sauvignon-frozen-grape-must-2/ Also ordered two five gallon Merlot juice buckets from Walkers Wine Juice - These will ferment on the CS skins once pressed...

I finally started my first small batch port this past weekend by blending some Cab Sav, Merlot, Syrah, and Malbec - all from grapes and bulk aging for 18mos-2yr range, bumping the SG to the 1.010 range, topping up with some stiff grappa brandy to about 20% ABV and have moved it into a small 10l...