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Yup. Bad batches, or ones that don't live up to my hopes get made into yummy vinegar. Blueberry Rhubarb is my latest. Bleh wine = good vinegar!! Plus, you won't pay $17 for 1/10 of a liter.

what? No ABV on the label? No label? No log sheet? oh man. wise winemakers would weccomend!

Uncork each bottle, shake it (to extract air) for 5 seconds and pour into a big carboy. Just let it sit for a few mins, and then bottle it back up. All residual fermenting should be done, and shaking will degas it. Add a touch of K-Meta to ensure freshness, and your done! You do lose your...

Can someone help you cork? #8 corks are pretty easy in/out. #9 is where the extra omph is required!

Dude, I'd head back to your homebrew store, and pickup 2 packs of SuperKleer KC. $3 each, and they will clear your wine like none other. Plus, I have never noticed any flavor stripping, off tastes, smells, etc from using it. No extra water really needed (just add directly, or mix with wine...

Nope. Your pitch was multiplied 100x (or more!!) by yeast reproducing. If it was yeasty smelling, maybe you didn't fine it? Try some Super-Kleer.

Best bet is to use a single pack, and make a yeast starter. 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup of sugar, yeast. Let it go crazy for 12 hours, and pitch! Even half this volume/sugar will still be more effective than a double dry pitch.

I know. My bad. I got a little preachy. I like to learn the hardway, and just trying to help others out!

Of course. 95%+ dry pitches probably work out fine! But why risk it? What if it was a batch of hard picked blackberries...that took you 8 hours to pick and 2 hours to clean? Sure would suck for it to oxidize with no fermentation going for 5 days...

I like less additives in my wine, so I use K-Meta directly. No Tablets. Just get a 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 tsp set. Online for like $3. Boom, done.

See? Your batch is probably toast - you know better. This is why you always hydrate your yeast at a minimum, and make a yeast starter for 12 hours as a best practice. While you are letting the sulphite do it's thing, why not have the yeast starter doing it's thing? This way, your batch...

Dude, just spend some time researching. There will be someone nice enough who will spell it out for you, but there is a wealth of resources on the most basic of basic wine making.

I don't think a double freezing is needed - seems kind of silly. Once frozen, water ruptures the cells walls, and that's it. Freezing again? ?? Also, if you ferment on the fruit (I always do) they will breakdown, and the pits and stems will just fall out. Ferment in a paint straining bag...

I'd go a bit more, I'd use all 6 lbs, honestly. I've never used raisins, in any of my 40 batches of fruit wine, and people rave of them. It's up to you. Do you want grape/cherry, or cherry wine? I've made several batches of cherry, and yes, 6 lbs is right on for me. Don't forget to make...

wow. 3 replies in 3 minutes? Coordinated attack!

LOL. I read this title, and immediately thought of something else...

I was in a similar boat to you. I had 50 lbs, and made a 10 gallon batch. I am extremely disappointed at how it turned out. Just "blah". Not bad, but blah. Now, granted, the berries were these commercially grown (looked pretty, hardly any taste) so that is probably the reason. If yours...

Good tips! I hadn't intended to disgorge that batch, so next time, I'll start with that in mind, and add a bit more sugar to account for loss. Plus, syringe is good too. thanks for the tips!

Just wanted to say, great job! I tried my first shot at it, and I did well, expect for adding back sweentened wine - I just used a funnel, and it shot everywhere. The syringe is a great idea! Got a link or a photo of what you use? What other techniques did you use to minimize carbonation...

You'll love it, I promise. Rhubarb is one of my favorite wines! YUMMMMM YUMMY!!!!