Whats Coming Next....

I have 5 gallons of Strawberry and 6 gallons of kit Pinot Noir in my basement. Ive got to get a 3rd rack on the strawberry and let it settle. I know time is supposed to be my friend, and I have been very patient with these wines. Id like to see if that pays off once I uncork those bottles!

I think I would like to try another kit wine. I think they are great starters for someone like me, who does not have easy access to local grapes. Anyone have any ideas as to my next great kit wine? Suggest one Im down for, and I will send you a bottle of it when its done!!!

How To Top Up That Carboy After Racking Wine

Best piece of advice I got from one of my very good friends, Mike Sears. He suggested using marbles to make up the difference in volume after getting the sediment out of the bottom while racking wine. Says it serves a great dual purpose - it holds the sediment in place while siphoning and also makes for a great inert filler to make up volume, against the dreaded enemy of home winemakers: exposure of too much surface area at the top of the carboy. I will take some pics and upload them!!

Bananas - The Secret to Adding Body to Thinner Fruit Wines?

Recently Ive been reading some wine recipes from Wine Maker Magazine, as one of their new articles is going over making fruit wines. Ive noticed all of the recipes call for 1Lb of banana when making an amount of a gallon or so. I can only assume this purpose is to add some body to the wine? I am going to research this and see if this is indeed the case. I am going to try this in my new batches of blueberry, strawberry and raspberry this summer to see if it does indeed help with overall flavor and body of the wine. I will keep you posted!