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Hopefully this will help explain on the "why's" for the guidelines you mention. Generally true for dry, oaked, red wine styles. Some will partially put a wine through MLF or only do it to a percentage of the barrels. MLF softens the wine by converting malic to lactic acid but also destroys a...

"Super kleer" works well after fermentation. It is a 2-part addition of kieselsol followed later by chitosan. Bentonite is good at removing protein and other positively charged bits in solution. This is best used during fermentation so that the yeast and CO2 activity will churn it around the...

The sulfites are added to prevent bacteria spoilage and protect from oxidation. The oxidation can be a slower process and if you plan to drink the brew soon then you could potentially skip or lower the sulfite addition. However, the bacterial threat can be faster and turn your wine into vinegar...

Since the sorbate only inhibits yeast growth and does not kill yeast, it sounds like there were enough yeast still viable in the wine or strawberry extract when it was back-sweetened and bottled that they were able to work on the added sugar. Also, the conditioner does NOT contain sulfites, so...

bernardsmith: Yes, I typically see some bleaching of the wine but I've attributed this to being a little heavy handed with sulfites. It would be a good experiment to split off some must from a batch and try out a few processes to enhance the color. I've got a spectrophotometer that can compare...

I use frozen berries when I make strawberry wine. They tend to completely disintegrate as they ferment, so you'll want something like a grain bag used for beer making to use as a screen when pressing. Also, as @bernardsmith mentioned, the seeds will add a tannic finish to the wine that can be...

Not sure what you are wanting to filter out. Anything really big and heavy should settle quickly to the bottom of the carboy and be easily left behind during racking. Yeast range 1-3um and will pass through their mesh screens like a fly through a soccer ball net.

That is awesome. A lot has changed since I lived there in Beaverton. Now if only everyone could pump their own gas! Nope, but I try to point out in cases where someone could unknowingly be subject to penalties by breaking the law. I must file monthly alcohol reports with the TTB and am...

The short answer is: yes, exchanging red juice for some or all of the white would give you the color you are looking for. The longer answer involves considering which grape juice to add that would compliment the ginger flavor. I'm not sure the flavor profile of any red grape would pair all that...

Cartridge filtration is common in winemaking. You can buy filters and filter housing at StPats and GWKent. I bought a unit from StPats that I use for sterile membrane filtering of the wine on the way to my bottler. This is the typical use for these type of filters in winemaking. StPats has a...

careful... this is a violation of federal law and your local excise police can confiscate it and cite you. 27CFR24.75: (a) General. Any adult may, without payment of tax, produce wine for personal or family use and not for sale. (f) Removal. Wine produced under this section may be removed from...

That is when it is usually done and as Yooper says, do not add sulfites until the MLF is complete. The package will indicate how large of a batch it treats. You are not going to over do the innoculation, so you can add a 66-gallon dose to a 5 gallon batch without trouble. Also note that it is a...

Next time you can add the bentonite once the fermentation just starts. It will be circulated over and over in your fermentation vessel by the yeast evolving CO2 and do a fantastic job fining out protein. Filtering will not prevent this from happening but it may remove it once it is completely...

Looks like a case of protein coagulation. Bananas seem to have about twice the amount of protein than grapes (according to wikipedia at least). It could also be a nasty pectin haze, but you probably added pectic enzyme with your recipe that should have largely addressed that during fermentation...

Just closing out the thread I'm case someone searches it later. I got some John Guest 3/8" flare fittings (didn't know they made those!) and hooked them up to the input/ouputs to the carbonator. The nickel brazed 316 stainless heat exchanger is hooked up with 1/2" brass hydraulic quick...

Jack Keller's site has a couple recipes for orange wine and mandarin orange wine. Note that Jack's recipes tend to be watery, so you may want to go for more fruit/juice. There is also a thread on making orange wine.

I have heard of PB&J wine.... If you plan on continuing making wine, you would do yourself a favor by finding your local home brew store and exploring their equipment/ingredients. You will definitely make better wine with the right equipment.

The system should be capable of bottling a maximum of 30 gallons of sparkling wine per hour. I'm figuring we'll produce upwards of 1200 bottles this year.

The whole project is to bottle sparkling wine more efficiently. I planning on using the heat exchanger to cool the wine from a room temperature tank to a carbonator on it's way to a counter pressure bottle filler. It needs to be cold to reach the 5+ volumes of CO2 necessary for wine at a...

Thanks for the tips on cleaning it and the nickel brazing option. Once I got into better light, the copper was clearly visible inside the heat exchanger. So, I returned the copper unit and ordered a nickel-brazed 316 stainless one from Duda.