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Before I got smart and bought a pH meter I used to add 4 teaspoons to a 6 gallon batch. But, the acidity of cider can vary quite a bit, so it really is better to measure the actual acid in your batch. Another thing I learned the hard way is that if you add too much it is really hard to correct...

If the cider isn't acidic enough I use malic acid, but blend would work too.

I make a lot of cider wine as well. Here's a few things I do: - Make sure the cider doesn't have sorbate added as a preservative. It won't ferment if it has sorbate... learned that the hard way. - Add K-meta to the cider to suppress any wild yeast and let it sit a day. - Add pectic enzyme and...

I know there are a few threads on pH meters, but in case there are new opinions I'll start another one. My Vinmetrica just isn't reliable, so I'm shopping around for a new dedicated meter. Is this a good choice for a serious home winemaker...

My first step in making wine from apple cider always has been to add some k-meta and let it sit for a day to inhibit the wild yeast. Now the local orchards are UV treating their cider. I wonder if that makes the k-meta step unnecessary. Any thoughts?

This is how I do it. Back-sweetening with a concentrate will give you real fruit flavors and more body in the wine.

I also back sweeten most of my apple and pear cider wines. I make my own concentrate from fresh juice. This adds much more flavor and body to the wine compared to sweetening with sugar or fructose. Even with the addition of sorbate, I've had a couple batches start fermenting again. So you need...

Well, malic is the dominant acid in apples, so I guess its no big surprise that it is susceptible to MLF. I actually think it may have happened to me with a small batch of pear wine I made a couple years ago. The last few bottles at the end of the year had a little light effervescence - similar...

Okay, thanks. If it doesn't settle down over the next week or so, there's a winery nearby that will do a paper chromatography MLF test for me. Pros and cons for MLF with apple wine. I think it would lose a lot of apple character, but make it smoother and buttery.

Wouldn't I see some activity in the air lock with MLF?

I have a batch of dry apple cider wine that has been bulking aging with some oak for a couple months. Thinking it was time to bottle it, I checked and tasted it today and was surprised to find it quite fizzy. The wine had been degassed when I stabilized it back in January. I had checked it a...

In Massachusetts, churches and schools have a right to object if they are within 500 feet. There is one church just slightly within that radius. But with other existing liquor license establishments in the area, I don't expect them to object. Thanks. I expect I'll have many other questions.

Thanks... good idea to just call the TTB and see if they will offer an opinion. I've talked this over with town hall and, so far, they are quite positive about it. In recent years Massachusetts has made it pretty easy to start small wineries and breweries. The state license is only $22 per year.

Does anyone know if the TTB would consider an application based on a winery that has not actually been built yet? In other words, can they work from a floor plan? I've been offered free space in the basement of a large commercial building. So, I would have to build walls to create the bonded...

I didn't peel them. They just went through the cider press skins, stems, seeds and all, then I fermented the juice. I would think the skins might add some beneficial tannin.

I asked an orchard guy about this last fall. They keep them in a cooler at just above freezing. They don't ripen evenly at room temp... at least for eating. Made a 3 gallon batch of pear wine from not very ripe pears last year. Came out delicious.

I've made, enjoyed and survived sumac lemonade before. You have to strain off the fibers. I know there are easier ways, but there's just something cool and novel about the idea that I like. Found a story this morning about someone using sumac in apple wine...

I read somewhere that staghorn sumac (the non-poisonous sumac) can be used to increase tannin in cider. I make quite a bit of cider wine and I'm interested in experimenting with this idea. Does anyone have any experience?

It is more like Sauvignon Blanc than anything else, but with the sweetness of semi-dry Riesling and a nice tart finish.

Sounds great. I haven't tried cranberries, but I believe they are pretty high in tannins, which in straight commercial cider are pretty lacking. Some old-timey traditional hard cider makers use crab apples to add tannin. I might try your idea to use maple chips. Home toasted sugar maple chips...