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I added some conditioner and some simple syrup to a VR Reisling kit I made last year. It was very nice. Probably too sweet but it has softened with age. I think a little sweetening is what you need. Take a few sample glasses and measure different amounts of syrup for each glass and see what...

Thanks Wade. I'll find out I guess. They were only on the Crushendo I had for about 5 days so I'm hoping to squeeze some tannins out.

Thanks, I will dump them in the primary. They were frozen immediately following my first racking of my WE Crushendo cab so they are OK I"m sure. Just wasn't sure if anyone had done this and if it did any good. My blueberry from last year was colorless and no body so I'm going to make a...

Can I use some frozen grape skins from a WE crushendo kit that I saved? I am going to make some Strawberry wine and some Blueberry wine and I'd like to see if adding skins will give these more body. When I made the crushendo kit I saved the skins thinking I could use them in the future but...

If you look at the dimensions doesn't 13 inch diameter at center and 16 inches long seem kind of small? I'm not good at estimating volumes but that doesn't seem right. Here is what it says This 6 gallon barrel is 13 1/2 inches diameter in the middle, and 11 1/4 inches diameter on the ends...

I"m going to count them myself when I go to California this coming Friday. I'll report back.

I"m going to guess 50% because Oregon and Washington State are covered with vineyards in certain areas.

I found this to be true of my WE Vintner's reserve Pinot Noir, which is a pretty thin wine. Mine is now a year old and I still open it up hours in advance now. It may depend upon the kit but most kits are not at their best for at least 6 months and some 2 years or more. The way I understand it...

Yes - you will learn to like the smell of active fermentation! Midwest is a good place to go. I got most of my first things from them but I am now going to try a cellar craft kit or two and the prices for kits are comparable at Northern, so I go there now. Its also closer to where I live...

I've done that kit and it is thin. Can you return it and step up to a better quality kit?

You may want to post your recipe on here so we can see what you added. I've heard stories about bad pumpkin wine, but also heard that some wines taste bad in the beginning and after a year taste just fine. Post your recipe and some senior members can help.

Welcome, I"m from the twin cities also. Great location for winemaking. Northern Brewer is a great store on Grand avenue and Midwest Supplies is in MPLS. I got my feet wet with a similar kit last year. I did the VR Reisling but I think its a bit thin. The Gwurts is better I've heard...

OK - I think I will go to Staples from now on especially for my good kits. So I just bring a print out of my label or should I bring the publisher file or print out of 6 labels per sheet?

Does anyone have a way to keep label ink from smearing? I'm using Avery 5264 labels designed for Laser printing I print them on a color Laser printer. They seem to smudge alot and over time start to rub off. Any way to keep the ink from doing that?

yes - patience is important, and Im getting more as time goes on. This kit has been in secondary for 13 days now and I've had 3 days of consecutive readings of .998. Directions call for 10 days and two consecutive days of stable readings at .998 or below. I'll rack tonight.

I'm pretty sure it came with Lalvin. It was not Red Star like the other cheaper WE kits I did last year. I've heard that the Luna Rosa stops around there too so I figured maybe the big beefy reds just don't go as low. I'm going to go onto the next step tonight and add all the other...

OH - forgot. Welcome to the site. This is a really good site and the people are nice. Make sure you complete all your profile info so we know where you are from and when you ask questions its good to provide too much information rather than quick questions without any background. Most of us...

Yes - Kits are a good place to start because they have a high success rate and will give you confidence and you can learn the art. Once you have a few under your belt then you can try concentrates, then frozen grape buckets and maybe even grow your own.

I think I know the answer but want to get an opinion on this. Most my WE kits ferment down to .990, but this SE Cab has been at .998 in the carboy and is not moving. The temp is 75. I've tasted it and it tastes finished - dry. I don't think its going lower and I think I should probably move...

If its still cloudy then you may not have degassed it enough. These WE kits need lots of degassing. It will eventually clear with bulk aging but not in the timeframe the kit says. I'd degas again. You might want to let us know exactly the stage you are in. Did you add the 3 other packets and...