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Yeah that does make sense. The spirals are so expensive. I think I'll give the staves a chance again. Thanks.

I've read here and elsewehre that nothing beats the spirals for its ability to impart oak flavor. I've tried sticks and cubes. I feel that the spirals are best.

I've never heard of roasted or charcoal notes as desirable.. Smokey, yes. Are these desirable notes?

Has anyone tried to reuse their spirals? What about rinsing them well then toasting them in the oven?

Smells more like something burnt... so probably excess sulphite, as you said. A few years ago, my brother-in-law said a wine I made had a bit more of a "green pepper" odor, so more of a vegetative aroma (if that's a thing?), and he said it could be due to malic acid? I wonder if this is the...

Just thought about this - - Could it be malic acid? Does that give off an odour? I didn't do an MLF

Well, I'm glad I don't own a dog - I have no clue what dog farts smell like. I am pretty sure that it's more of a burnt smell. I'll check again. Not sure it's burnt match but I have been under the weather and my sense of smell has been off a bit the past couple of weeks. Thanks for the input...

Hey folks, I have two carboys that both smell of sulfur (I think that is what I smell)... a bit of a burnt smell... I've read about this. I have also come across Rudeless. It's supposed to remove the sulfur odour. Any experience with this? Thanks

My dad never or rarely added yeast back in the day when he used to press fresh grapes. The wines ranged from ok/decent to not very good some years.

Interesting... I have always understood that the creation of co2 kept the nasties at bay... anyhow, ya learn something new every day in this hobby. Hopefully my selected yeasts did the job and outcompeted the native yeast.

Just reading this.. I did not know that wild yeasts had to be killed off with juice pails! I've done this ONLY with fresh grapes! The supplier I've been getting my juices from told me a while back that it was not necessary to kill off the wild yeast as vineyards added k-meta before packing...

whatever the starting SG, this stuff is fermenting like crazy! I've tried a new yeast - Renaissance Avanti. Had it pitched less than a 24 hours and the stuff was on steroids. Had to remove some to ferment in separate fermenters.

Looks like I got it then! the cab is at about 1092.. the Nero D'avolo closer to 1090

If I am reading these images correctly, the SG readings are 1.092 and 1.090. The first is a Nero d'avola the other cab suav. If I get a final SG of say .996, that will give me two wines well under 13%. Now I have not stirred/mix these batches yet as I have been advised not to do that in the...

Here is the SG reading taken yesterday evening. I can never understand the the initial SG readings.. I get it once it's past 1.000 but I get confused at this stage. Is this 1.092 or 1.094?

Happy to report that the fermentation is underway! Added the oak just a while ago. My guess is that the Sg reading I got pre-zante currant addition will be different now that I added 250grams of it. There's a lot of sugar in those raisins! I'll take a reading tonight to see if it went up.

This is for sacrificial purposes. I have more but it's been sitting for a few years in zip lock. Still good? I could add the old stuff too.

By the way, there's already a tiny bit of foaming on the surface occurring. Wow, that was fast!

I've yet to add my oak chips. Only because I rushed out the door today after pitching yeast. Should I add the chips now (and without stirring?) or wait til the batch starts going? I bought a 200 gram oak chip bag. Does 100 grams per 6 gallon pail sound about right ?

93f It did foam then settled down. I could see the little bits of yeast floating up and down, sort of circulating. Anyhow it's been pitched. I took an SG reading then added zante raisons.