Search results

I don't know how they got in there put I have a few dead fruit flies and what looks like assorted fruit fly parts in my wine. I noticed them after I racked from the primary to a carboy. I have no clue how they got in there, the primary had a tight lid and an airlock filled with sanitizer...

Thanks for the tips. I had to buy a bottle of Brunello because I wasn't familiar with it. Delicious and pricey. One additional question, how long is the minimum aging for a kit with grape skins?

It's mostly a beer place, so they only stock a few RJ Spagnols and Orchard Breezin'. But I think they can get any RJS and perhaps other brands. There's another store about 1 1/2 hours drive that carries Mosti Mondiale.

After several months on crutches, I'm finally ready to start my third kit. My first was a Vino del Vida Valpolicella which came out okay, but not great. Second kit was a Cellar Classic Chardonnay that I'm quite pleased with. Seems like the extra money for the higher end kit was well worth it, so...

Well there actually is quite a bit of sediment, which is why I thought maybe to do it again. Not nearly as much as the first time though. I think that when I carried the carboy from the cool back room to a work area to do that last racking, I must have jostled up the sediment too much. I just...

I racked it off the sediment into my bucket, cleaned and re-sanitized my one carboy and put it back in. Checked it again today after a couple weeks and it is definitely improved! I might do that again - maybe even spring for a second carboy. Thanks for the help, this forum is great.

So then, do you think I should go ahead and bottle it over the weekend? The only alternative seems to be to rack it off the lees and let it sit in the carboy again for a while.

It has only been racked from the primary to the carboy once, which is what the instructions said to do. There is some sediment at the bottom of the carboy.

Crisella, I'm only on my second batch of wine as well, so I'm no expert. But my wife said almost the exact thing your wife said when we sampled our first batch (Valpolicella) prior to bottling. She said it tasted like Welch's grape juice. I liked the fruitiness, but also wanted a little more oak...

This is only my second batch of wine, so maybe I shouldn't worry about it. But, here's the situation: It's an RJ Spagnols Cellar Classic Chardonnay. I had racked this into a carboy on February 28 at a specific gravity of 0.996. Following the instructions, I stabilized, degassed and added the...

Excellent idea.

I've tasted it a few times over the past couple weeks. Gets better every time, already better than some I've tasted.

Are oak cubes good for more than one use? These were only in the wine for 10 days or so.

Woo Hoo! 28 3/4 bottles corked... or I should say 28 corked and 3/4 of a bottle to drink with dinner. I noticed that if I didn't drive the corks in one fast motion of the corker, they didn't go in flush. Nothing short of a rubber mallet would get them in farther.

Okay, I think my first batch (Vino del Vida Valpolicella) is ready to bottle. I'm hoping to do that in the morning, but I have a couple questions. I've gleaned a lot of useful ideas on this forum, but I'm fuzzy on some details. Should I rinse the inside of the bottles one more time just prior...

Excellent article. I have much to learn.

I'm ready to start kit #2 and I have a couple questions. I've noticed that kits range from 8 liters to 16 liters. Is it safe to assume that the larger volume kits tend to produce better results? Are any brands particularly better than others? I'm looking for a California Chardonnay, any...

Good idea Wade. I'll see if I can find some cubes locally. About how long do you let them sit in the wine?

Results I waited another week to recover from a head cold that was interfering with my taste and aroma detection apparatus. The wine (Vino del Vida Valpolicella) has been stabilized and clarified and has been in the carboy undisturbed for 23 days. According to the instructions it should have...

I did taste it when I racked it into the carboy - inadvertently at first while trying to get the siphon going. But then I pulled out a few ounces to sample. It was quite fruity and smelled great, but didn't seem dry enough.