The rewards and frustrations of home winemaking

Since the batch is a bit bigger this year, I investigated getting a better punching tool.  The “professional” punching tools start at $80, which seems a bit much.  I like my little plastic potato mashers, but they just don’t reach to the bottom of the cans.  So, I dug around online for an industrial sized […]

I checked the brix today – can A is at 11.7 brix, and can B is at 9 brix!  I gave can A 40 grams of fermax yeast nutrient, since it has a slight sulfur smell, and 20 grams to can be.  The temps were up to 88 degrees, too.  Looks like I’ll be pressing […]

Day 2 after inoculation of the primitivo.  I went to punch down this morning, and noticed that the can with BM45 (can B) was exceptionally foamy, whereas can A with ICV-D80 had no noticeable foam.  Can A was at 82 degrees F, and can B was at 85 degrees F. I checked out Lallemand’s wine […]

There are signs of fermentation – little bubbles forming at the top, the cap already forming, and the aromas of fermentation in the air.  Both cans were at about 75 degrees F.  I added 18 grams fermaid-K and 12 grams opti-red to each can, and gave them a good stir.

Time to check out the primitivo must.  Brix are at about 26-26.5;  pH is up at 4, and TA is ~9.5-10 g/L.  Not perfect;  I decided to add a half gallon of water with 14 grams of dissolved tartaric acid to each can, and also added pectinase.  When I retested, the brix were at about […]

I take the weekend punching duty for the wines in the server room.  I tested the syrah, the brix are down to 6 in one can and 2.5 in the other already!  I’m pretty sure I added too much nutrient, so we’re not going to add any more (which is convenient for my home wine […]

My friend Ray emailed me on Tuesday that the Zin at BellaGrace Vineyards slowed down in ripening, and would not be ready for harvest until next week.  This would not normally had been a problem, but Ray was going to South Bend to cheer on the Irish against Michigan State.  The grower told him that […]

Time to get the syrah started.  I met Dave at the office, and he set up the “server room winery” with plastic sheeting while I revved up the yeast.  I heated up some water and dissolved in go-ferm, then added ICV-D254 yeast and let it wake up for about 15 minutes.  Then I added some […]

A group of my friends (some that also blog) agreed to get up and meet at our house at 6 am on Saturday to pick grapes.  Amazingly, they all showed up early, and had some breakfast then headed out to Fallbrook.  Most of the rest of the gang were already there, so we spent a […]

I started on the immense task of actually putting foil capsules and labels on all of the barrel wines I bottled a few weeks ago.  Occasionally some of the bottles I recycle have super-fat necks, and so instead of the heat capsules sliding nicely over the neck, I have to pull them on until they’re […]