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What I do is have the carboy in a room that can be totally darkened. In the dark room take a strong flashlight and hold it right against the glass. First, shine the light from the side. The more distinct the beam is in the wine, the cloudier it is. Wine itself does not reflect light. Only...

I thought the bentonite was used to remove any residual protein and eliminate the possibility of protein haze. If bulk aging makes bentonite unnecessary I am all for that!

I use the year the grapes were grown for the vintage, but I put a secondary label on the back containing the dates the yeast was pitched and the bottling date.

The quantity of chlorine in tap water is not an issue for winemaking. All public water supplies are chlorinated by law, but the requirement is 0.5 ppm Cl2 at the far end of the distribution system. My town routinely over-chlorinates, to the point where you can often smell it, and it has had no...

How much wine do you lose trapped in the filter?

The sulfites, K-meta and Na-meta, react with oxygen. Tap water is highly aerated, so it has lots of oxygen in it. Dilution with tap water is usually sufficient to a)dilute the sulfite level, and b)neutrailze enough that the sulfite level is low enough for most wine yeast.

Mighty hard to lay on their sides on a rack, though.

I wouldn't be concerned with the high ABV, but I would be concerned with the sweetness. I think that could linger in the barrel.

F-packs, because of the high sugar content, require vigorous stirring to incorporate them.

I spoke to Matteo Meglioli (Mosti's tech director) about this at the last Winestock. He told me that it is a filling/shipping issue. The bags they can buy are tall, rather than squat, with the fill spout at the top. This works well with the automatic filling equipment they use. If the boxes were...

I got a full 6 gallon (Mexican) carboy plus a 1500ml bottle.

Mike is right. Here in the mid-south we don't have basements, so my wine is stored in an internal hallway at a fairly stable 73F. If I had a basement I would wall off a corner with R-50 in the interior walls, ceiling, and halfway down the exterior walls. That would leave only the floor and lower...

Is the Chateau du Pays a Chateauneuf du Pape type wine?

Brandy, I made a batch of green apple riesling last year that, right after secondary fermentation, tasted like rocket fuel. It improved very much after a few weeks.

Lead used in the glass making process is not a problem. All of the finest crystal is made with leaded glass. The lead is bound in the glass and will not leach. The problem is with painted marbles that may contain lead in the paint. Lead in paint is not chemically bound - it's a filler and...

Cassie, having done a grape pack (MM Meglioli OVZ) I recommend a 10 gallon primary. Adding the grape pack took the level in my 7.9 gallon primary to within 1" of the top. It didn't boil over, but it was close.

No. Do not buy painted marbles - they may contain lead. Use only glass marbles.

I did the Zin that had the grape pack. I squeezed it well and filled a 6 gallon carboy and a 1500 ml bottle. Not ready for a second racking yet, but I expect to get at least 31 bottles out of this one. Yes, a 10 gallon primary is a must (pun intended) with these kits.

Bottled water is typically chlorinated or ozonated to kill off any bacteria. If you treat water with sulfite and sorbate you cannot use it to make wine because the sorbate will inhibit the yeast. If you just want to store water for a potential disaster do what I do. Buy a couple of cases of...

Nice! How do you move the 55 gal primaries once they are full of must?