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I know there are mixed reviews on bentonite. I've always used it in the primary per kit instructions and notice that there ARE more lees after one week. Sturring the homemade wines twice a day during primary ferment may be a factor however. Not in a real big hurry with this one, but if you...

Jericurl, If you look closely (first picture) there is chicken wire on the outside of the inner fence. It looks like he has put the bee hives inside his garden. Just a guess.

I added 3 1/2 tsp (PE) for the 7 1/2 gallon batch. I had a mango/peach/pineapple wine that would not clear this summer. Added 2 more tsp to a 6 gallon batch and it started to clear in about a week. I'm not sure how much is too much. Should I add the bentonite now and if so how much?

Yes. Take a sample and shake the s++t out of it you get no more bubbles. Co2 gas can throw off the reading. Then test again and see what you've got. If your pH is really that high you should add some acid and bring it down to the 3.2-3.6 range. Not just for taste but to protect the wine also...

Earlier in this thread you mentioned preferring wines on the dry side. I think you will find that back-sweetening fruit wines helps bring out the flavors. I have found that if the ABV is a little high (above 12%) that the alcohol gets in the way. Adding some frozen apple concentrate could help...

Thanks wineforfun. I'll be trying this one in the spring when I get back from Sunny AZ..:h Keep us posted on how it turns out. Thanks

I agree. I feel that most of the kit wines I have made, even the 4 week kits are way better than a $6 or even $12/bottle wines on the shelf. The 6 week kits are up there with $20/bottle wines that I have tasted. And it does not take a year to get there either, IMHO. :h

The carboy is already racked off the gross lees from the primary bucket. Because I had been stirring, up until two days ago, there was only about 1/2 inch of lees in the primary. I think what you are saying is to let the 1 gallon ferment out before adding to the carboy. I will probably have...

My first thought is that Vandergrift if probably right. Adding k-meta every three months and an occasionally racking is going to expose a lot more o2 than in the bottle. This does raise a question for me that I've thought about for a while. If bulk aging requires additional dosing of sulfides...

The wine level is right at the shoulder of the carboy where it starts to taper. It's a 6 1/2 gallon carboy and could probably get about 1/2 of that gallon in there. It's still bubbling about every 8 seconds in the carboy compared to every 3 seconds in the gallon jug. 8 days since pitching yeast.

I started a batch of apple wine 1 week ago from my daughters apple trees. Out of 110# of apples I ended up with 7 1/2 gallons of juice. This is the first wine I've made that wouldn't all fit into my 7 1/2 gallon primary so after adding nutrients and kmeta the day before, I moved 1 gallon into a...

Would you care to share your recipe?

I had the same problem with my Mad Mango this summer. It was a combination of Mango, Peaches and Pineapple. Even after the SuperKleer it was still cloudy weeks later. Finally added some additional Pectic Enzyme (I had added 3 tsp for a 6 gallon batch preferment) and a week later it finally...

I made Lon's Skeeter Pee this summer. I added the "Slurry" (about 1 1/2 quarts from the primary of a Dragon Blood) and it took off like a rabbit! It fermented out in 3 days. THREE DAYS it was done! Talk about microwave wine...this is it! Good luck Dawg.

I had a skeeter-pee that fermented out--DONE in 3 days. I called it my microwave wine. :h

Why the solid bung NorCal? Won't and airlock protect it just as well?? I find my carboys bubble occasionally with a couple of degrees temp change. Wouldn't a solid bung create a problem with this?

Well there is your answer newBendOrfanatic, a steady dose of your favorite country wines. Maybe and IV line will help even out the dose. :D NURSE!

Thanks for the suggestions Roy. I think I will split off a couple of gallons and do some experimenting. BTW, the batch is down to 1.032 tonight and smelling fantastic!

I made the original recipe back in June and made another batch in August. The second batch had double the triple berry fruit (12#) and I added raisins and oak while it aged for a couple of months. It turned out much better IMHO! I also cut the lemon back to 32 oz instead of 48.