Buried the needle

[Ajmassa]

Buried the needle on this blueberry wine. Looks a tad under .990, bordering .988, Smells great, tastes like, well hopefully it will come around.

I assume fruit wine grabs the hydrometer the same way as wine from grapes. The "actual" reading is not typically your true reading. Accounting for the meniscus curve I'm usually .002 off from the wines level surface. (One "dash" on the hydrometer). And actually even more on my smaller hydrometer.
Splitting hairs, I know. But that reading looks like
.992. And If you already knew about the meniscus bit then pay no mind. fughetaboutit

 

[Smok1]

I assume fruit wine grabs the hydrometer the same way as wine from grapes. The "actual" reading is not typically your true reading. Accounting for the meniscus curve I'm usually .002 off from the wines level surface. (One "dash" on the hydrometer). And actually even more on my smaller hydrometer.
Splitting hairs, I know. But that reading looks like
.992. And If you already knew about the meniscus bit then pay no mind. fughetaboutit

Ya i didnt do a temp adjustment on that either, i think hydrometers are accurate at 59-60f from what ive read. I took that at 70f, i have been looking into a more accurate set of hydrometers, from what ive read there is a set of hydrometers that have a larger scale face. And one hydrometer does. (This is a guess) 1.3-1.080 the next does 1.080-1.030 and the last does 1.030-0.980, ive read about these but have been unable to locate a set anywhere.

 

[Ajmassa]

I just meant reading from the bottom of the meniscus, not the top. But as long as you recorded your readings the same way every time then it really doesn't matter.
That set of 3 hydrometer for more accurate readings is probably way overkill for basement dwellers like us. I can't imagine needing to be that crazy accurate for anything. I have "ish" next to MANY different readings in my notes. Need a smaller syringe for my TA readings. Need to handle my ph meter with more tlc. Need better eyesight for my hydrometer (and less bubbles and skins and seeds in my tube during primary)

 

[Smok1]

I just meant reading from the bottom of the meniscus, not the top. But as long as you recorded your readings the same way every time then it really doesn't matter.
That set of 3 hydrometer for more accurate readings is probably way overkill for basement dwellers like us. I can't imagine needing to be that crazy accurate for anything. I have "ish" next to MANY different readings in my notes. Need a smaller syringe for my TA readings. Need to handle my ph meter with more tlc. Need better eyesight for my hydrometer (and less bubbles and skins and seeds in my tube during primary)

Haha, "ish" works for me. Although you dont strike me as the average basement dweller with you family traditional grape supplier so close that you get grapes from every year. Ill show you a picture of a real basement dweller

That stereo in the back plays Elvis all day, i figure my wine turns out better that way.

Edit: the carboy thats not topped up is only because im in the middle of vaccum racking and filtering it to be bottled.

 

[Ajmassa]

Haha, "ish" works for me. Although you dont strike me as the average basement dweller with you family traditional grape supplier so close that you get grapes from every year. Ill show you a picture of a real basement dweller
.

lol. close access to a quality established grape supplier does not make me and less "average". Trust me.
All the old timers in the fam who made wine are gone now. My father scaled down years ago and gave away the big equipment as it wasn't being used anymore; about 10 years before I got into making wine on my own, not just helping them. He was content in making x1 15 gal demijohn a year from fresh juice pales. And now he only does 5 gal.
I was still lucky enough to inherit some things though. (None of which was proper knowledge. They all used "old style" winemaking techniques Which actually was very helpful. And taught me not to get too hung up on details. You'd be surprised how resilient your wine can be in regards to sanitation, topping up, lack of k-meta etc...)
2 demijohns , multiple carboys and tubing and such. Sadly the press, crusher, ferment tubs and barrels are now just memories from my childhood. It took up a heck of a lot of space.
Basement looks great btw. This thing is so addicting and I love it.

 

[Smok1]

lol. close access to a quality established grape supplier does not make me and less "average". Trust me.
All the old timers in the fam who made wine are gone now. My father scaled down years ago and gave away the big equipment as it wasn't being used anymore; about 10 years before I got into making wine on my own, not just helping them. He was content in making x1 15 gal demijohn a year from fresh juice pales. And now he only does 5 gal.
I was still lucky enough to inherit some things though. (None of which was proper knowledge. They all used "old style" winemaking techniques Which actually was very helpful. And taught me not to get too hung up on details. You'd be surprised how resilient your wine can be in regards to sanitation, topping up, lack of k-meta etc...)
2 demijohns , multiple carboys and tubing and such. Sadly the press, crusher, ferment tubs and barrels are now just memories from my childhood. It took up a heck of a lot of space.
Basement looks great btw. This thing is so addicting and I love it.

Oh i know the old techniques a little myself, both my father and my wifes father both make there own wine and when they seen my setup ( vaccums, lol sanitizing with anything other than a hose, filters, wine kits) there were like " wtf is this?" Having said that i dont think ive ever experienced a bad wine of either my dads or my wifes dad. They have there ways, thats like i said earlier, to each his own, wine is what you make of it. My wife works in a lab sonwe tend to take notes and land of the science side of wine making sometimes, keeps her interested, where her dad throws fruit in a barrel and comes back in a year and wine haha

 

[Ajmassa]

The one constant from the old timers then to us now is that:
Wine is Family. And that's never gonna change.

 

[Smok1]

The one constant from the old timers then to us now is that:
Wine is Family. And that's never gonna change.

Second that

 

[Scooter68]

Fulll up Kit Wines are pretty well controlled materials that, unless contaminated by outside things, are designed to yield a specific result.

Yes, the one thing about wine making is that there are not a lot of hard fast 'rules'. As soon as you think you know a cardinal rule..... someone else has made a great wine breaking that rule. Generally speaking most 'rules' exist because they provide a safety net to avoid common problems encountered when that rule is not followed.

I find the labels and advertising of "Ready to drink in 28 days" fine for someone who has no patience and is not that critical about their wines. Truth is that so many people ignore parts of those instructions and still age the wine to achieve a better result. Sort of like those who ask if they can make wine out "radishes"- Sure you can but should you and why would you? (Never actually heard of someone asking that question but I've seen some that seemed just as strange.)