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I add raisins and do an extended maceration. I leave the bucket sealed up and skins in place for a month to 5-6 weeks. I like med toast French or American oak added during aging.

Thank you. I decided to skip it. It will be bulk aging for a year so no rush trying to clear fast.

I forgot to add my Bentonite to the water before mixing in all the water and juice. Should I just forget adding it or should I remove 8 cups of juice and warm up and mix in the Bentonite and then add back to the bucket? I’ve not added the yeast yet. Thanks

Getting ready to start some Lodi ranch 11 cab and noticed the kit came with Bentonite. I’m thinking I do not need this for a Cab Sauvignon. Does others use it or skip the Bentonite?

For a couple packs I will squeeze and wring out the bags. I used a press after wringing them out once and got about a 4-8 oz of wine. So you would have to determine if the press is worth it.

@winemaker81 Thanks! That will work great then. With no heat it will stay around 62 and I don’t have to worry about the heater plugged In.

I will be going out of town in a couple weeks and I have my Zinfandel closed up and on the skins. I’ve been keeping the room averages around 70-71f and will continue that until Dec 1. After that for the next week would it be ok for the temperature to run 65-68? Or should I continue to keep it at...

Thanks @winemaker81 I will move forward and pitch the yeast later today.

I mixed up the Zinfandel Forte kit yesterday to prepare to pitch the yeast today. Measured the ph 3.85 this morning and it seems a little high for a starting PH. New Apera PH60 with new calibration solution. Calibration done prior to testing. SG is 1.102 With 6gal of water. Should I leave it...

Sangiovese kits available now on their site. Some are preorder.

Downloaded! Thanks!

Here is a calculator that I have used. Fortification

Got an email from Matt yesterday. “The Full Truckload of Fresh Juice Concentrate arrived last Friday and we have been in production ever since it arrived. The Pre-ordered kits will be shipping out by the beginning of this week.”

Is there anyone on here still waiting for their pre-orders? I guess it takes a few weeks to get them all out. I’ve not heard anything yet on mine. Waiting for a couple Zinfandels.

Thanks. I just keep reading red wine should end up between 3.4-3.7 so was wondering if I should do anything.

Just finished an extended maceration on my Petite Sirah and checked the ph. Starting it was 3.65 and after fermentation it is 3.81. Should I do anything at this point or is that PH number fine? I tried calibrating my ph meter three times and it tested each time with in +- .05. in about a...

Thank You

@winemaker81 Since I have the Color Pro that I used in my last batch of Petite Sirah, Is this good to add to all reds? I will be doing a Zinfandel soon and was wondering if I should add the Color Pro to it also?

For people that made the Zinfandel Forte Finer Wine Kit, I was wondering how close the Gnarly Head old vine Zinfandel Is to it. I like the Gnarly head old vine zine. I was thinking about making one of the FWK if it taste close.

I was wondering what area that would be. Just went by that area last week. Do they have a commercial vineyard or private? There are a couple commercial vineyards down that way. That is about 2.5 hours from me. Sounds like you all had a fun time.