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I think kits are more controlled and are probably therefore easier. A lot of adjustments to pH and sugar levels and so forth are taken care of. My first attempt with a kit was good enough to get good reviews from self-proclaimed wine afficienados who have had no problems critiquing my wine...

When you use apple juice 2 + questions: What is the reason for the banana? Do you use clear apple juice or with some pulp? And if with pulp is pectin enzyme a good idea?

From my beehives. First year beek but got over #50 lbs from 2 of my hives. Left a lot for them for winter. Maybe next year will be better.

I wouldn’t add anything to it for flavor or backsweetening until about ready to bottle. And even then just slowly add adjustments after dosing with potassium sorbate. Add a fraction of what you want to use for flavor or sweetener at a time, let it sit for a week, test and add more if desired...

If it has started fermenting, hopefully it will gain some momentum soon. Sometimes they just start out a little slow.

Stirring with a sanitized utensil may help. Sounds like you might need to check for high acidity if yeast is struggling though.

It won’t hurt to add campden tablets if fermentation is complete. Check out this link. https://blog.eckraus.com/add-campden-tablets-to-wine

Zwack. I made a batch of tart cherry wine from some wild cherries growing on my own trees and thought it was some of the best wine I’ve ever made. Don’t give up on clarity, my recommendation anyway. It can make for a really beautiful wine. I did backsweeten some to my taste. It would give a...

Thx. Yes. That’s pretty much it except I was going to try vodka made from grapes because I don’t really like brandy. Vodka is more neutral. Do you continue bulk aging on oak or just age in the bottle from that point?

I have a batch of red wine that has been bulk aging for a couple of years. I’d like to make some into a Marsala. Does anyone have any experience with trying this?

I used a recipe from a Winemakers Recipe Handbook that went like this: Apricots 2.5# Water 7 pints Sugar 2# Acid Blend 1 1/4 tsp Pectin Enz 1 tsp Tannin 1/4 tsp Energizer 1/2 tsp Campden 1 tablet Yeast EC-1118 Starting S.G. 1.085-1.09 They recommend a fermentation bag. You will have to...

Strange year for me and friends in CO. Good growing season except for drought conditions. We got a lot of grapes with higher Brix than normal. But watering was a challenge. Bird and vermin damage was light but yellowjackets were a pain. And I had problems with leafhoppers galore. Some of...

Well durnit. I bought a copy of that book a few months ago. I found it to be very informative in case anyone is wondering. I haven’t tried making any yet. But plan to soon. Steve.

What Brix do you expect out of Crimson Pearl?

Jimmy....Apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I had heard that phylloxera had hit GJ. I don't know where else, if at all on the west slope it's been encountered. I did not know that Pierce's disease had hit in Delta. I guess Marquette is a bit susceptible. We might have to...

Can't believe it's been that long since I posted this. Anyway, to update, Frontenac and Marquette vines are both doing pretty well. I had a few pounds of Marquette's that I let sit on the vine until everything else ripened. The sugar content got to be close to 30° Brix. Yeah, it was...

I stopped at a grocery store and found that they had a lot of apple juice on clearance. It was normally $7 per gallon marked down to $1. The contents showed it had both K-meta and K-B above. At that price, I decided to give it a try and bought 6. With a little bit of internet search, I...

Red oak is too porous for barrels. So, it's a given that it won't be good for that. I have a batch of wine I'll split and try some of each and let you all know how it goes. Thanks for the responses.

Not to be contrary, but a little more research and I found that pin oak is the species that has foul tendencies. I'd never heard of pin oak, but read that it grows in swampy areas. So, that sort of figures that it would taste off. Red oak might not be all that bad. This is from the...

Thank you Paul. Good to know.