Recent content by MarmotMead

Very timely thread for me. Just racked my first batch of cider for the second time. Went from a 6 to a 5 G carboy. The balance went into (1) me and (2) champagne bottles. I carbed them mildly (not to champagne levels) and stuck 'em in a plastic bin in my basement about 1.5 wks ago. No explosions...

I like my wines dry, so backsweetening is heresy to me. YMMV, but I propose an alternative: time. I just last week opened a red raspberry I made last summer. I loved it, but there's room for improvement. My wife? Not so much. Mine sounds very similar to yours -- awesome color, clarity, strong...

It seems that the more time I allow my wines to condition, the better the end product. Generally, I rack 2-3 times and age about 6 months before bottling. After bottling, I typically let it sit for another 3-6 months. Having lurked here for some time, I sense that much of what is made is...

I'd consider adding maybe 1/2 teaspoon of tannin to a batch that size. Maybe just a hair more pectic enzyme, too, although some folks can be sensitive to off flavors from it. It's never bugged me though. Since it doesn't bug me, I'd add a bit more to help on clarity, since murky wine *would* bug...

I've been storing wine on its side in plastic tubs in my basement. I get the flatter ones so that the bottles don't get layered more than 2-3 deep. No problems or accidents so far. I think the tubs (with lids) also tend to help create more thermal mass and keep the wine a more uniform...

Yes, I have used them with success. The vessel is a (1) glass (2) bottle. I'm baffled why it should be different if it is threaded on the outside. A cork of a proper size would function inside the neck of the bottle just as it would with a traditional wine bottle. It's not as if you're talking...

FWIW, when using a "plastic bucket", I think it goes without saying that we are all referring to a "clean, food-grade plastic primary fermenter that has not been used to store paint or kitty litter". It should have a rubber gasket seal around the top and a pre-cut hole with a rubber O-ring seal...

15951. I made 7 gallons of substantially similar stuff, with 5 aging in a carboy right now. The original 2 were cyser, but the last was more faithful to the EW recipe.

I have re-used screw top bottles with corks. I'm fairly sure I have never used anything but #8s, but take an example bottle to the shop and compare. My corker has not failed me in the case of bottles/corks, although I can recall some that were less than elegant with corks that were probably too...