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Been battling black rot for years now and can’t get it under control. Wind up losing half or more of my grapes. My current spray program- Western Pennsylvania May 15, Captan (dry) .4 oz/ gal. May 29, Daconcil (liq) 2 tbs./ gal. June 6, Captan .5 oz per gal. June 15, Daconcil 2 tbs. / gal...

evshro it will change the taste in the end. It won't be as flavorful. Stick to the recipe if you can. Also inverted sugar is what you will back sweeten with. Enjoy!

I need to purchase the following fungicides for my vines. I only need small amount, maybe 10 ounces (dry) will last several years. Can anyone recommend a place for these? Manzate, Pristine and Captan. I am not looking for a mix of fungicides just these three specific ones alone. Thanks

If you transfer with the pump you won't need to degas. It will remove the CO2 during transfer.

You don't mix yeasts. They will compete with each other and you may actually end up with trouble down the fermentation road. I would stick to the Lalvin EC-1118 Companies spend a lot of time and select the best yeast for the wine.

There is a tutorial on here on fermenting juice buckets. It's in the Tutorial Section. Here is the link http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14202 I have made over 100 buckets over the years. Absolutely love them.

Grow tubes are great. They helped my vines take off quicker by warming the vines a bit from the sun though still was chilly. Definitely mound a little dirt at bottom to keep rabbits from nibbling.

Clear it with Sparkolloid. If made correctly you may see it clear very quickly. Also make sure it is well degassed. There is a tutorial on using Sparkolloid in the Tutorial section on here. Patience.

You can add a little Super Ferment. It will energize the remaining yeast and ferment dry. You will then need to clear it again to get all sediment and yeast out. Add some Sorbate. This will stop any remaining yeast from reproducing.

You will add a little Sparkolloid, Bentonite or whatever clearing agent you plan to use. The remaining space needs to be filled. Do you have any more juice? Usually to end with 5 gallons you start with 6 gallons. Marbles, glass item can carefully be added to fill space.

If it's still fermenting you are fine. Once it's finished, you rack to clear. This is when it must be filled to the knuckle. Don't add any sugar then.

Freezing grapes as with other fruits will help to open up the membrane holding the sugars. This allows for an easier fermentation. Freeze now and start your must at your convenience.

Start a spray program to eliminate black rot. We have lost entire crop for two years until understanding what it was and treatments. Finally I believe it's under control. I use a variety of chemicals and spraying times to stop it. Black rot comes from within the plant. Once it's spotted it's...

You should always degass sooner than later. Excess CO2 will hold sediment in suspension longer which could drop out after bottling. Degassing after a racking then let it rest. No need to expose wine to air more than necessary.

If you added any peptic enzyme to your must there is no need at all to squeeze your straining bag. The enzymes will break down the cell structure allowing the sugars to be released. I myself in lieu of a straining bag will remove remaining fruit pulp/seeds with a colander with a handle. This...

My fruits and whites age at least 6 months after clearing. Many go a year as time doesn't always allow me to bottle at times. There is less air space in a carboy than 25-26 bottles. Once bottled allow to relax. Open a bottle from time to time and taste the difference. Bottling too soon may...

My wife notices the same thing the day after the bottle is opened. It's probably getting rid of the K-Meta taste. Julie's absolutely correct. Let those reds age. At 4 years you will be very pleased. Open a bottle every few months and you can see how it improves then begins to fade.

I only see 3 holes for a 3 wire trellis. These things are huge. You could trellis pumpkins on them. Never seen them that tall. Must be an aggressive vines. Looks like somewhere very hot by looks of the ground. I see troughs for irrigation too. I have no idea. Interesting.

Fill a 6 gallon bucket with hot water. Add K-Meta Insert 7-8 bottles into the bucket and hold under water till they fill. Take bottle brush and brush them out quickly. Remove bottles after a few mins and rack on a bottle tree to drain a bit. Start bottling while slightly damp. I will...

The first batch I made I slowly introduced the lemon juice and it went well. Fermented dry in a week. Now that I have changed brands and add lime it takes forever to ferment. After much thought I realized that there is no sugar in the lemon and lime so adding these high acidic juices will...