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In that case, I also have a 72:28 blend of Cab Sauv and Merlot in two barrels right now. Grape from Mendocino county and I let them macerate for 32 days. One barrel is a 3:1 mix of free run to pressed, while the other is 3:2 pressed to free run. The barrels are neutral so I added a...

Just started a 8:6 Cab Sauv to Pitet Sirah field blend this week. Hopefully it turns out good.

Thanks all. It seems like I will be back sweetening on this one. I am just too busy to deal with stopping the fermentation, not to mention I do not have the experience to think I will get it right.

Hello All, I plan on starting a Tawny Port this year (yes I know this is a long haul) using a 1:1 Cab Sauv to Petite Sirah blend and will be fortifying it with a ~65% abv brandy made from a 2:1 Chenin Blanc to Sauv Blanc blend. I have three questions. First, how long should I let this sit on...

So we all know that wine has some pretty nice preservative properties, such as tartaric acid and a lot of it, which beer does not have, allowing it to be easily aged without going bad. As someone who has brewed beer many times, it seems to me you kind of need to work hard to get wine to spoil...

Just pulled this guy out of salt after 21 days to hang dry. Looking pretty good and, as my wife said, "wow, this one does not smell rancid." So here is hoping this one goes the distance. I bought this leg from a farm two days after slaughter where they pasture their hogs, raising only...

The main issue with American oak is that it is not seasoned as long since it is predominantly used in Bourbon barrels that are looking for an intense in your face flavor. Most cooperages will only let their American staves season for 6 months. They are also not as interested in only using the...

Nice, I just started a Prosciutto Crudo a few days ago with a 30 lb Berkshire Leg I got from a local farm. It's currently buried in salt until the 28th and I hope to let it hang for two years. I've wanted to try beef curing. That looks like very little fat in your. Are Bressaeolas prone to...

I was referring to barrel fermenting red wine in which you will need to remove one head (in order to pump in the must) and then put that head back on after the barrel is filled. Then after filling, you need to now move a now 500+lb barrel onto a rack that will allow you to spin the barrel...

I did three barrel fermentations of three different meads this past year and would certainly do it again with either mead or white wine, albeit in larger barrels. (Red wine seems way too much work for me, but that can be done as well.) I did find an increase in rounder mouth feel compared to a...

I just bottle a Bochet that was a real hit as a recent party I hosted. Three different levels of caramelization combined with some raw honey. OG was 1.112 and finished at 1.000, so semi-dry in taste. I partially barrel fermented and sur lee aged it in a new European oak barrel (using two...

Any SO2 added will inhibit MLF, so you need to take that into consideration. However, your PH is at the upper limit and you do not have enough acid to really protect the wine long term. Not saying that it is going spoil overnight, or even in a fortnight, but a PH of 3.7 provides little...

We will see ... in a few months. I just ordered some malic acid and plan on doing a few half gallon runs of maple wine using different combinations of malic and tartatic acid to bring the ph down.

I did not know you could add diacetyl directly.

I was thinking about maple wines and meads today, of which maple syrup is very low in acid to the point where you need to add acid to achieve a proper PH, and wondered how well MLF would work with added malic acid. Specifically, would MLF with artificial malic acid produce the buttery flavors...

Started these about 1.5 to 2.5 months ago, and all is well so far. No sulfur issues as of yet, which is great since I am Sur Lee aging three of these.

I do not like the idea of having various sizes of barrels for the same product. I would actually see that as an implement to having consistent meads year after year, in addition to keeping track of the yearly variances in honey. I would rather achieve my complexity though using many barrels...

Thanks. This is more of a practical question at this point. I am a rather entrepreneurial person and I am exploring the idea of doing small production mead runs coming at the production from a wine making direction, with barrel usage being part of that. I have been testing out different...

Yes, and thank you for the info. I am more wondering if I wanted a less wood flavor then I would get from a barrique but still have the same time of aging (say 18 months), how much less flavor it would be with using a puncheon. I am thinking if I wanted to maximize aging but still have...

Other the obvious size difference, how extreme is the effects of wood flavor, oxidation and evaporation between these two sizes? I have read varying opinions on this from puncheons provide almost no flavor to they will impart a flavor that is more subtle but still there.