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The stuff is probably nothing much more than yeast settling along with a few bits of the fruit. No worries, it is completely normal. If it's done fermenting you could go ahead and add sulfites now. Minimize headspace to prevent oxidation. As for how long, you're good for weeks or longer if you...

To answer in general terms, the only difference between 10% and 14% abv wine is your initial starting sugar concentration. The rest is the same in terms of additives and process. You'll need a hydrometer if you don't already have one to measure it. You should plan on adding yeast nutrients half...

This is an excellent point that your end stylistic choice for your wine will need to determine the TA. There is no wrong answer for the style you prefer. A drier style would certainly need to be in the 6-7 range for TA, while a sweeter style needs more acid. My preference for the tart fruit...

Calcium carbonate is the way to go. There is no good dosing rule of thumb to raise pH because the juice is strongly buffered, but what you are actually wanting to do is lower the TA while keeping the pH in a good range. You taste the TA, not the pH. Only the yeast, microbes and sulfites really...

Looks great! Cheers

Sounds like it may be oxidized pretty badly. Hopefully will still be drinkable enough though. Cheers

Keep in mind that sorbate only will inhibit yeast growth and not stop yeast activity. So adding sorbate to your actively fermenting wine will only make the yeast angry. You'll have better luck stopping the fermentation by sticking the vessel in the fridge and letting the cold stop & settle the...

Yeast are good at breaking down the pulp and extracting juice, similar to the way pectic enzymes yield more juice when allowed to work on the fruit. So you will get more liquid out the pulp when you ferment with it. Pressing the wine away from the pulp does introduce oxygen, but if you press...

Update: Pressed yesterday and yielded about 2 gallons. Poor yield at 15lbs blueberries/gallon but this was hand pressed and a bench trial. Better pressing tools get me to 10-13lbs/gallon usually. Refractometer read 5.5 brix (alcohol is adding to the measurement) which meant it was basically done...

Buying a glass carboy is your best option. The plastic is permeable to oxygen and will eventually lead to bad things in your wine like @RPh_Guy said. The glass carboys will last forever and can be cleaned very well, unlike plastic which is more difficult to sanitize.

I thought I'd seen and advertisement for a mushroom corker before. :) Apparently, you can buy one of these guys from https://www.spectrellising.com/.

So, I've read a number of posts here where folks report trouble getting blueberry wine to ferment. Given this chatter, I decided it best to run a bench trial before going for a larger batch. I bought 30# of frozen Michigan blueberries and have a small batch going along. I have no idea what...

The sulfites you've added are pretty efficient in knocking back spoilage organisms to allow the yeast to get through its lag stage and get moving along. That said, I usually will pitch the yeast about an hour after mixing in the additives to the must. No need that I've seen to wait 24hrs or...

It is just cellulose and material from the grapefruit suspended at the surface. Give it time and it will drop.

This is one of the reasons you keep your sulfite levels up. The sulfites will handle dissolved oxygen that makes it into your wine during racking/bottling/aging.

This is typical and not an issue of 'not being careful'. Most of the yeast will eventually drop. You can safely let the wine settle for month before racking it off the sediment. Some yeast are really good at compacting the lees (sediment) and you can easily rack the wine off without disturbing...

Yes, you will need a smaller carboy or jug for the wine to get racked into so you don't have headspace. Do not add water unless you have a specific reason to do so, such as to mitigate acid or flavor intensity. Water will dilute your flavors down and lower your acid. For blackberry, I do not...

You'll be able to stabilize and back-sweeten it to your tastes later. It should be essentially dry now. The tannin will add more of a texture to your wine and give you a sand-paper feel on your tongue. The spicy note may be something contributed by the yeast or apple strain. Your added yeast...

And I suggest you use a grain bag that beer brewers use. Just line your bucket with the bag and ferment with it in place. When it's done, pull the bag out and squeeze your wine out of the mush. Strawberries tend to completely disintegrate during fermentation.

With my strawberry wine, I do not add water which only dilutes the flavor. A pure strawberry wine has great flavor and crisp acidity. It really doesn't matter how you plan to thaw the berries. I've thawed them in bags, buckets and tubs and not had trouble. The faster you can get the must up to...