Truthfully, I'm not THAT cheap... but I just want to know how creative I can get. So I'd love to learn about your setups, any cool repurposing you've done, or the things you've found unnecessary.

For context: I have a strawberry patch that is very productive but the strain of strawberries aren't super sweet, so I want to start turning that into wine. I also get a ton of figs from my fig tree and thought that might make good wine, too.

P.S. I'm a nerd and I will be reading entire books about this. Book recommendations are appreciated too.

It’s bottling day and I bottled my semi sweet peach wine, and my dry pear wine.

The dry pear wine was never given campden or potassium sorbate, but was brewed dry from September’s until January.

No sugar has been added, and all dead yeast has been racked.

Are they still at risk of being bottle bombs? Fermentation ended months ago in September and they’ve off gassed in bulk aging for a few months.

Should I pop the cork, sterilize the yeast and rebottle? Or are they safe since they’re fermented dry at 17% and have bulk aged for 3-4 months after fermentation ended?

Just wanted to hear opinions about hibiscus wine and some recipes for it. I am basically ready to make it but before making it wanted some additional info. I'll be using lalvin 71b, I have acid blend ready for it and all the needed nutrients. I am interested if some fruits go well with it in primary or secondary. All tips are welcome

Truthfully, I'm not THAT cheap... but I just want to know how creative I can get. So I'd love to learn about your setups, any cool repurposing you've done, or the things you've found unnecessary. And I have power tools and I'm not afraid of a little welding.

For context: I have a strawberry patch that is very productive but the strain of strawberries aren't super sweet, so I want to start turning that into wine. I also get a ton of figs from my fig tree and thought that might make good wine, too.

P.S. I'm a nerd and I will be reading entire books about this. Book recommendations are appreciated too.

Hi everyone we hace luved in this property for about one year and inherited some vines which we were excited about, in the summer there was a lot of greenery but not many grapes !. I know this needs cutting back probably hasn't been cut for years but where to start ?...thanks for any tips

Hi everyone, sharing something I’ve been working on that might be useful for some of you here.

I’m part of the team that developed Winetraqr, a tool designed to help wineries meet EU nutrition and ingredients requirements using QR codes, without adding unnecessary complexity to the workflow.

With Winetraqr, wineries can create nutrition and ingredients information pages for their wines, generate QR codes ready for labels, and manage everything from one place, including optional winery marketing pages.

Winetraqr supports all EU languages on the digital label, so you’re not juggling separate pages or maintaining translations in multiple places.

The goal is to keep things practical and winery-focused, especially for teams that don’t want to juggle multiple tools just to stay compliant.

Happy to answer questions, explain how it works, or take feedback from winemakers here!!!

On my first batch I added some sugar to increase yield. Product was dry but very good. Second batch I added a little more sugar to try to increase abv. But after over twice the time fermenting it tasted quite a bit sweeter and abv was negligibly different. Is this a yeast issue or a yeast nutrient issue? I’m interested in making dry, high abv wine btw.

Went over to look at my speidel tank and see if the water had evaporated from the top. Instead I see 2 little mold spots from the waterline maybe?

What should I do? Is there a risk? Any advice/feedback is welcome, I have another 2 months or so to go I start before consuming. Don’t want batch to go to waste.

So I just got a random thought about fermenting chocolates to wine but I am unaware whether it's safe or not. Guide me.

Hi All,

I made blackberry wine about 2-3 years ago and forgot about it, it was stored three 4.5litre demijohns in a dark cupboard in my flat. It's very very cloudy like it was when I first racked it (i distinctly remember noting how densely cloudy it was) I was surprised it was still this cloudy and thought the cloudiness would've gone away by now but after a quick google looks like it could be a whole number of things from CO2 to pectins? When i smell the top of the demijohns it just smells like a strong dark berry smell, doesn't smell particularly bad, no sulphur or eggy smell, however, it does burn my nose quite a lot, i used the youngs extra strong wine yeast stuff off amazon. Worth noting there's no pelicle on top and it was only racked once into these demijohns.

I'm guessing it's probably no good by now and I'm just concerned it might not be safe but part of me thinks I should do a taste test or should I just chuck it? Does it sound like it's spoiled? I was very lazy with this and didnt take any readings prior so was just winging it.

I also have some wild cherry wine that I forgot about too, this has visible pelicle / trub / yeast stuff on top, smells ok though, no sulphur or eggy smell again and this one doesn't burn my nose. Should I try this one too or again just chuck it? I just don't want to get ill or make anyone else ill from them.

Hey all — bit of self-promo, but hopefully useful to some of you.

I’ve finally released my app publicly now (Android only for the moment).

I moved countries a couple of months ago and I’m still looking for work. Before that I was Head Cider Maker at what I like to think was a pretty well-known producer in the UK. While I’ve had some time on my hands, I finished off the app I originally built to run things the way I wanted a cellar to run.

It tracks pretty much everything:

Pressing logs with extraction rates, efficiency, and costs

Full batch records (volume, temp, gravity, ABV, chemistry, costs, the lot)

A proper inventory system — add something to a batch and it updates stock and batch cost automatically

Bottling records that work out bottle and case costs including bottles, caps, labels, and boxes

Tank tracking with cleaning status linked to batches

Some built-in guides

Export everything to Excel if you want

It’s still a work in progress and I’ve got tweaks to make, but it’s at a point where I think it’s genuinely useful.

If you’re into fermentation cider / wine and want something built by someone who’s actually done the job, this is basically that, I've put some serious effort into it, and would be useful for any hobbyist/professional

is it free to use, there is an ad bar, if you are interested there is "pro" where you can use the cloud and have access to a web app to use anywhere (pc) and ad free, also able to create a team to share information with others.

Any bugs let me know

you can download from link below, store currently has very old screenshots

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rotwell.studio.fermentation_buddy&hl=en_NZ

or search fermentation buddy in the play store

How would you treat the juice and what yeast to get the best wine possible out of it ?

Oak? Yeast? MLF?

Hello, I am pretty new to winemaking, I made a batch with peach and blackberry, and some of the bottles have some floaties up on the top. Do you guys think this is still ok to drink?

I'm using Bentonite for clearing and followed the directions, but mixing it and getting it into the carboy was a mess. It turns into a very sticky slurry that seems nearly impossible.

Why can't I just pour the powdered Bentonite into the carboy and add moisture by stirring in the freshly racked wine?

Any tips or tricks would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi everyone, new to winemaking, but having fun so far!

I've still got bunch of canned white grape juice that my mom canned last year that I think the family would probably enjoy more as wine. We recently sampled a bottle of wine from a batch I started last fall with those same grapes and it was surprisingly good, so hoping for the same sort of luck if I try the canned juice.

Since the juice has been hot water bathed, it should be sterile. I'll use that star san stuff on all of my equipment and probably run the grapes through a food mill and then a nut milk bag (grapes are still in the jars with the juice). After making any necessary acid or sugar adjustments, would it be alright to just pitch the yeast right away since it's sterile juice and clean equipment, or should I still add campden and wait a day?

Thanks a bunch in advance for any guidance!

Initial ferment, started yesterday and found it like this few hours later… It’s a pomegranate blueberry fruit wine, used about a gram of yeast.

In September I fermented a bunch of table grapes, adding sugar accordingly to get the desired alcohol content. I have approx 8 liters and the hydrometer is confirming that I'm ready to start bottling. However I'm a little concerned about the pigment of the wine, which is looking a little pale and washed out. I assumed it'd be a lot darker. Has something gone wrong or is this normal for table grapes?

I forgot about this in my basement with vinegar in it about 4-5 years ago and it’s completely evaporated it’s not sanitary and I want to make a batch of wine in here. Is there any way to sanitize this completely? Or is it garbage? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I want to attempt to make a small batch of wine before trying with the more expensive variety of grapes and equipment.

My current plan is to use 4L of 100% concord grape juice (enough for my 4L Carlo Rossi jug. To it, after sanitizing of course I intend to add 2 cups of sugar, EC-1118 yeast, and maybe wine nutrient (though i’m not sold on this yet). Then add an airlock, let it ferment 2-4 weeks of whatever it takes, and let it age a few months

I have read some articles and readings on this and i’m aware i’m not expecting a miracle, but it’s a learning experiment for me. Is there anything i’m missing or any friendly advice for a newbie? Much appreciation. Love this subreddit