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I appreciate the replies! I am going to investigate plastic carboys along with some stainless kegs as others have mentioned. This feels like a setback, but I think my procedures will improve as a result. Thanks to all!

Are these routinely available in 3-6 gallon sizes?

Last night, I racked my chardonnay into a 5-gallon carboy. I had used bentonite a few weeks ago and it was time to rack off. Bottles are in and I was planning a weekend this month to bottle. It tasted great, and was comparable to a retail bottle I opened at the same time. This morning, while...

What kind of filter system do you have/use? This batch is only about 4.5 gallons

Can I ask how this wine progressed? Did you add a second dose of bentonite? I am in a similar situation. My Chardonnay has a protein haze and the first round of bentonite has not cleared it all the way. Curious what you’ve done!

I definitely will test at the end of racking and adjust accordingly. A great learning experience. Also, nice to know that SO2 levels can reach 100ppm and not be detectable. Wine literature indicates this is true up to about 150ppm, but I have never tasted a wine even close to that.

Hey Vinny, The riesling is the first wine I've made that's in the drinking window. I started a chardonnay last Fall that still needs some time. I have been completely enamored with white wines. That is all I plan to make for now. I have my eye on some viognier and chenin blanc this coming...

I racked my Chardonnay off the lees about 2 weeks ago. It is currently in a 5-gallon carboy, and that is the only one I have. I racked the wine off the lees into a 6-gallon carboy. Cleaned and sanitized the 5-gallon carboy, and then racked from the 6-gallon carboy back into the 5-gallon carboy...

I wanted to revive this thread just for a moment. My FWK Riesling is now 12 months old. I tried the first bottle last week and it was VERY good. It was comparable to retail riesling from the grocery store. I made it bone-dry, so it is stylistically very different from most American riesling. It...

I appreciate the reply. I suspect you are right. My initial decision to use Fresco was due to a bad experience with H2S in a Riesling kit. Scarred by the experience, I wanted to use Renaissance moving forward. Fresco was readily available in 10g batches via a supplier I routinely use. It has...

Absolutely! This is chardonnay from Chehalem AVA in Oregon. Purchased as a juice bucket from Wine Grapes Direct, my process was this: Pre-fermentation: added 25ppm SO2 and pectic enzyme. Settled for 24 hours. pH: 3.46, TA: 5.7 g/L Fermentation: Inoculated with Renaissance Fresco (non-H2S...

The TA at fermentation was 5.7 g/L. I haven't checked since MLF, but a quick rule-of-thumb calculation for every would suggest my current TA is around 4 g/L. I guess that would still be quite perceptible. I"m thinking more and more that perhaps this chard is just simply low in flavor, and...

I appreciate the replies. I'll bench test glycerin and give it more time in bulk aging. I'm beginning to understand why so many hot-climate chardonnay makers use oak....it probably helps balance out the high abv and otherwise neutral profile of the grape.

So true. I completely forgot that backsweetening should not occur with MLF!! What is it, geranium (??) flavors that can develop as a result?

I meant to change the thread handle prior to submitting. I originally thought backsweetening would be my only choice. I feel I have more options though.

My chardonnay from last fall has completed MLF and aged on fine lees for 6 months. I have racked off the fine lees and begun the clearing process. My brief tasting notes: Aroma: consistent with varietal. Overall, very pleasing. Palette: - Front: Fruit-forward with acidity that is detectable...

Do you have a way to measure SO2? If there was a clump of kmeta in that bottle, then its possible the other bottles could be low.

Almost certainly Mega Purple.

@Mekpdue can I ask what the original gravity of your cab sav was before you added sugar?

Interesting. I have spoken with a commercial winemaker from LA county who purchases fruit from Lodi. He told me about the permit he needs to buy fruit, along with some type of certification for his scales. It was crazy the amount of red tape he had to go through to acquire grapes. Maybe it is...