Recent content by Jeff Wilson

Let’s get this part out of the way. I know. I am an irresponsible and wasteful person. I am shamed. But I ask your forgiveness and advice, o great internets. August of 2020, I started a blueberry/ginger wine. Somehow, not sure why, transferring to the secondary got delayed, then delayed more...

@Erik the Awful - did you mix daily? or just let it sit from 2/4 to 2/11?

Hey, that works too! I went through perhaps a 5-year infusion phase years back. Sounds good to me.

I’d second the 1.005-1.010 range to target for all the above reasons. I wouldn’t worry about trying to be too exact, a 1.002 vs a 1.008 won’t make any noticeable difference IMO. Thought I’d expand a little, however, on why not to wait too long to transfer. Oxygen is good/necessary for the...

I’ve used orange juice in my wines several times though typically as a background flavor to some other fruit. I have made straight orange wine a couple of times and as I recall they were decent enough but, for me, they were a little one dimensional. I do very much like using it as a base in...

I agree with the degassing, which could keep the final pesky bits floating about in suspension, but thought I’d throw another thought in if it helps. I came across an issue with a handful of wines staying cloudy - or in some cases getting worse - after racking. I am always careful not to...

I'm with Seamonkey84. Star San is super convenient. I also found I was going through campden tablets quickly which was why I made the switch. You also can't tell how quickly a KMeta solution looses its potency so every time I want to use a spoon or take a reading, I don't want to have to make a...

You can add bentonite before or after fermentation or both. The purpose of adding to the primary is that the fermentation process itself constantly stirs it up when you punch down the cap as well as with the constant production of CO2. Allowing the bentonite to stay suspended ensures more of...

I happen to have lavender in my yard. May try this as well. Curious to see how much you use in the end.

Curious. Never tried myself so nothing to add here... 🙂 but I have done other flower and herb wines. Will be watching this thread so please update! One thought, lavender is pretty strong and if even slightly overdone (I've tried in cooking and ice cream), if can easily taste like shampoo. I...

Cool! Looks pretty healthy. Glad it worked out. While the ultimate goal for having the right amount of acid in wine is the resulting taste, it's more than just a flavor additive. Proper use will help the wine "develop" the taste throughout the wine-making process. This will feel less...

All this looks good process-wise. The only thing I'd have done differently is sneak some pectic enzyme in between the campden tablets and pitching yeast to help clarify but that wouldn't impact the yeast. I suspect the ambient temperature isn't too cold at this time of year which could slow the...

Acid blend is fine. Good luck and post how it goes!

To your 3 gallons of must: ...add campden tablets to kill off any wild yeast, Wait 12 hours as KMeta will interfere with the pectic enzyme ...add pectic enzyme, Wait 12 hours as PE will interfere with the yeast ...and acid blend to help balance out the fruit, and maybe SO2 to help with...

Ah, your approach makes sense. Thinking about the yeast here, and looking a bit closer to your grapes, personally, I might have gone with fermenting separately here. Your Muscat grapes are going to rank higher on the terpenes and your nectarines will bring a bit more of the fruit. I nearly...