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I believe its an issue of degree. You'll be adding k-meta and stirring it in will probably return sediment into solution. If the amount of sediment is sufficient to make this undesirable, rack before adding k-meta. Otherwise, don't bother.

Welcome to WMT. Making wine is like drinking it, only different - whatever that means. :h

That's what makes horse races.

Robert, it would be interesting yes, but not my preference. I'm not big on adding flavors, preferring to get them naturally. Also, adding flavor may be difficult to control. In the case of smokey flavor, I think you're referring to something you'd get from oak, specifically toasted oak. Oak...

I suspect you're correct, but not certain. It will be interesting to see what others say.

Mike: A brew belt aids in maintaining an adequate temperature during fermentation, primary or secondary. If your thought is to accelerate the wine's development though, I suggest you reconsider. Wine takes its own time to age, so speeding the process along forces your wine to skip some steps...

A spigot on your primary is one thing, on a carboy it's something else. It may be easy, assuming you can attach a siphon hose to it, but don't think about running from the spigot directly into anything. You'll be adding a lot of air which could be disastrous. For me, racking was fairly...

Elmer: I didn't realize you were the one with the hydrometer in the carboy question. Hydrometers are difficult to read easily under good conditions, and testing in the carboy doesn't qualify as good conditions. Keep in mind that the wine will stick to the side of the hydrometer (called...

I was curious so I had a look. Going across town in Paragould is about 8 miles. My suggestion is to use a solid bung (if you have one) and secure it with something easy to remove like masking tape. That's just to make certain you don't spill the wine. There are no issues with the wine...

I don't know why they do that. In fact, leaving the pack loose allows the contents to fall to the bottom or stay on top - neither of which is desirable. My suggestion is to do it your own way but be certain to keep the cheesecloth from drying out.

I'm down to my last 5 bottles of last year's WE Limited Edition Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon blend. I'm so depressed by the thought of ending my relationship with this dear friend. How I've enjoyed our intimate moments. With each glass the wine exposed it's innermost secrets to me. And I drank...

Please let us know two important things. To Mike's point, how do you know the wine has finished fermenting? Second, how do you know you have not finished degassing? If you have bubbles describe the activity and bubble size if possible.

The BetterBottle carboy is fine. Clearly there are advantages to glass but it is somewhat more expensive and a lot heavier. As I said before, over time you'll have several duplicates - particularly carboys - and you can decide for yourself what you prefer. There's two small items I'd suggest...

For the most part an equipment kit makes sense for someone starting out. You'll find that some people want to spend more on one item versus another. Beyond that, however, eventually you may want to have a duplicate of virtually everything, so the items in the kit can at least be back-ups. In...

As with many things, the issue with chlorinated water is degree. I believe most public water systems are fine, but I've been to places where you tell the water was chlorinated by turning on the shower and taking a whiff. In those cases, it's possible to use tap water, just let it sit for a day...

Making wine the easy way Get a container of ready to drink 100% Welch's Grape Juice (not white). Add one packet of active dry baker's yeast: Red Star or Fleischmann's to the container. Screw the top on 1/2 way. Wait a week. Drink. (Strain first, if you prefer.)

I suspect it will be somewhat difficult to recreate in the US. The wine is croatina (60 percent), barbera (30 percent), uva rara (10 percent). It should be a bit fizzy and slightly sweet with only about 7.5% alcohol. And, by the way, it's Italian.

Jerry, to clarify my comment I didn't say water is just water. I said distilled water is just water. Other variants - spring, mineral, tap contain other stuff. In the case of spring water, the other stuff aids in fermentation.

I don't believe it's 12 bottles for $25, just $25 for their $75 worth of high-priced wine. That's, of course, without shipping. Making the two Groupons about equal.

Jerry, I'm certain Seth has it right here. Distilled water is, well, just water. Yeast doesn't need more because (as the Dr. said) kits contain all that's needed. The only thing is that they'd benefit from more. So, while your wine kit will ferment adequately with distilled water it is...