"Weez" > wrote in message >...

> It's not hard at all, I used to do it in my first days (back when I knew
> nothing) of wine making all the time. I used plain old Lalvin 1118 champagne
> yeast and it went to 18% in no time at all. Tasted horrible but it packed a
> punch! It was raspberry mead, blueberry mead, and strawberry mead.

> I know better now so I keep it under 13%, test PH and all that other stuff
> and mostly my wines are great! Unless I make mock ice wines and mock ice
> ciders, then I bring it up to 15% and you can hardly notice the higher
> alcohol.


hmm. i'm using cote-de-blanc on my first batch, and i think i'm using
1118 on my second and third. i _don't_ test for Ph (though once i realize
that it's important i'm sure i will =) but i was simply curious to see
what kind of potential there was for making a higher percentage wine.

normally, 12-15% is more than i need, unless it tastes great, which is
usually the most important thing. =)

but i've been tinkering with the idea of doing a batch meant spec. for
the still, on the sly.

the idea came from chatting with my buddy about my failed batch of coffee
wine, and saying that even after tasting the wine twice, it was "still
fodder". i realized i had a double meaning on my hands, and now am thinking
about the distilling process. but that's OT, and for elsewhere and later...


Saul Sabia