Clearing Wine Without Geysers
Last night I made two mistakes, one of which could have had tragic consequences. Last night I racked 2 wines — a Chocolate / Raspberry Port whose SG is 0.998 and appears done, and...
Monthly Archive: March 2022
How to Make a Yeast Starter
Standard instructions for wine yeast say to sprinkle on top of the must, and possibly to stir it in. This works, but the fermentation actively taking off is often 24 to 72 hours. The...
2022 Chocolate/Raspberry Port in Detail
Last updated 12/04/2022 I’m in the mood to make another detailed dive into a wine — this one a port-style dessert wine. The other day I spotted that I was down to fifteen bottles...
2022 Elderberry in Detail
Last updated 07/18/2023 I decided to document this wine in detail as it’s a non-typical, home-developed recipe. This recipe has 2 differences: It’s a fruit concentrate that has been extended with grape concentrate. The...
2022 Chocolate/Raspberry Port
March 2022 Looking at my existing wine stock, I realized I’m down to about 15 bottles each of the Coffee Port and Black Forest Port. These are split bottles (375 ml). Top that with...
2022 Elderberry
March 2022 This wine has been planned since last summer, but I’m just getting around to making it. I have a 25 liter (6.6 US gallon) demijon free, so the plan is to make...
When to do the second racking?
Following “When do I do my first racking?” the next common question is “When do I do my second racking?” Following are my thoughts on the subject. The main purpose of the second racking...
Sanitizing During Winemaking
A conversation with a new comrade on WineMakingTalk prompted me to record what I do for sanitizing during a winemaking session. In this context, a “session” is any time I touch my wines. This...