Tag Archives: wine making

Cru Specialty Dessert Wine with Toasted Caramel (it’s Yummy!)

Reviews
Cru Specialty Dessert Wine with Toasted Caramel

The best way I can describe this wine is the word ‘yummy’! I will often serve Cru Specialty Dessert Wine with Toasted Caramel with chocolate’s or other desserts at the end of a meal when we have guests over. It has never failed to be a hit and I often find myself sending our friends home with a bottle to enjoy. This wine is intensely creamy and is pleasantly sweet but not overpoweringly sweet. It is a full-bodied dessert wine and there is no mistaking the rich […]

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FastRack for Drying & Storing Wine Bottles – More Convenient than Bottle Trees

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Fastrack Wine Bottle Drying and Storage

I’ve tried bottle trees and I’ve tried FastRack and I have to say FastRack is the winner when it comes to drying wine bottles. It’s compact, easy to store and made of food grade HDPE. These racks and trays take up minimal space and can be stacked up to 10-high for compact storage. I find best to just have a couple on hand for washing & sanitizing bottles. I use cardboard wine boxes to store the clean bottles. The FastRack is perferred as the inside of bottles […]

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Vinator Bottle Cleaner & Rinser Review

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Vinator Bottle Washer

Clean, sanitized bottles are a must to produce healthy wine.  If you take shortcuts in this area it can result in bacteria present which will in turn spoil your wine. The Vinator Bottle Washer  ensures your bottles are clean and sanitary before accepting the wine you have worked so long to craft. Regardless if your bottles are new or used, it’s necessary take the steps to first clean your bottles and then sanitize before bottling.  In recycling bottles, I always make an effort to rinse the bottle with warm […]

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Ditch the Brush – The Original Carboy Cleaner Makes Quick Work of a Dirty Carboy

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The original carboy cleaner

The Original Carboy Cleaner is my ‘go to’ tool for keeping my carboy’s sparkling clean. Before discovering this product I was using the brush but found it a challenge to get the inside of my carboys clean … not so with the carboy cleaner. Fill the carboy about a quarter full with water, add a little PBW and attach the carboy cleaner to my drill and in seconds its all clean. My only critical comment is that sometimes its a little tight getting the pads through the […]

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The Wine Making Journal, an Essential Tool for Winemakers

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Wine Making Journal

If you are a serious winemaker, you need a way to keep track of your batches. The Wine Making Journal is the notebook that I use to keep track of my wine making.  It has sections for recording the primary fermentation, secondary fermentation, bottling and tasting. You record your dates, measurements, ABV and any tweaks you may have made during the wine making process. There is also a space to attach your label for posterity, a feature I really like. The Wine Making Journal has handy reference charts […]

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Soligt Glass Hydrometer Set

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Soligt Hydrometer Set

A good hydrometer is a must! I like this one for a couple of reasons … first the crystal clear glass makes for easy reading with no graduated markings to get in the way. Without the markings, it makes it very easy to see your hydrometer and get an accurate reading. Plastic test tubes are hard to see through – not so with this one. Second, the triple scale hydrometer has an easy-to-read color coding scale with readings from 0.99 – 1.17 (0%-20% ABV). This is a […]

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Inkbird ITC-380 Dual Stage Temperature Controller

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Inkbird ITC-380 Temperature Controller

Temperature control is key during fermentation and storage of your wine.  For the best results you want to control the temperature, if you can.  The Inkbird ITC-308 will keep the temperature within a closely defined range that you set; both the warm side & cool side. There are a number of possible applications in wine-making, but where my Inkbird has been put into service is my ‘fermentation chamber’. During primary fermentation, I take care to closely control the temperature of the juice to ensure the yeast are […]

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SensorPush Temperature Monitor Review

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sensorpush

When it comes to wine making, temperature fluctuation can greatly impact the quality of the finished product. If your wine making environment or wine storage is temperature controlled, SensorPush is an inexpensive way to monitor your temperature from your smart device. The Swiss-made sensing component provides highly accurate, repeatable measurements that you can trust. Data is collected at one minute intervals and is stored on the sensor for over two weeks. It is automatically pushed to mobile applications when they are in range or across the web […]

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Winexpert Kit – Eclipse Napa Valley Stag’s Leap District Merlot

General, Reviews
Winexpert Eclipse Napa Stags Leap Merlot

I have made this kit a couple of times and it does not disappoint! Eclipse Wine Making Kits have the highest single strength juice and varietal content of any Winexpert wine kit, past or present. I added the grape skins and oak that was included in the kit and pitched the yeast.  I stuck to the instructions included in the kit and didn’t deviate from the process.  The only exception was aging as I keep the wine in the carboy for bulk aging, racking every few months […]

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Fermentation Bucket Cover Review

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fermentation bucket cover

I like to ferment my juice in an open container giving the yeast plenty of oxygen during the first few days of fermentation.  The issue is that while I want oxygen, I want to keep all foreign objects out, including the fruit flies!  Here is a solution that I found that works great. Designed as a feed bucket cover, this inexpensive cover works great allowing the bucket to remain open during primary fermentation, yet it keeps the little critters out. Yeast enjoys a rich oxygen environment so […]

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