1. Moving from carboys to stainless kegs and now to full-size oak
barrels allows for purchase of better quality grapes (grower minimums),
more flexibility with blending, and more/better wine
2. The slow but steady acquistion of test equipment now allows to me
accurately assess acids, SO2, RS, etc ..
3. The effective use of DAP and nutrients for fermentation, along with
a 1 week settling then racking after pressing, has eliminated H2S
problems

But most importantly ... patience. My first few years I was in too much
of a hurry to take action. Too often I adjusted or manipulated simply
because that's what some books suggested needed to be done. Now, I am
far more reliant on my nose and palate first, my test info second, and
am reluctant to manipulate wines except as deemed truly necessary.




On 2008-01-10 06:49:10 -0800, said:

>
>
> Since starting your first batch of wine, what have you changed in the
> way you make wine?
>
> Here are a few of the things I'm doing differently.
>
> - No longer using wine conditioner (sugar/sorbate syrup). I found that
> too often fermentation started up again after adding it.
> - No longer sterilizing oak chips. It was an extra step that didn't
> appear to be necessary. I do, however, make sure to adjust sulfite
> levels with the addition of the oak chips.
> - No longer boiling the honey/water for my meads. They seem to turn
> out just fine without this extra step.
>
> What are you doing differently?
>
> Greg