Last year, I made my first two batches of wine. One gallon from frozen
blackberries, and one gallon from fresh figs. I didn't really expect
miracles, but I was disapointed in both.

I used recipes from Jack Keller's web site and I thought things went very
well during fermentation. At the end, rather than bottling, I just decided
to age them in one-gallon jugs. After about nine months, I tried both and
was very disappointed by both. The alcohol taste in both was overpowering.

In the end, the alcohol level tested out to about 15%. Should I have tested
the alcohol level sooner and stopped fermentation when it reached 10% to
12%? The recipe did not say to do this, but looking back on it now, it
seems like this would be a prudent thing to do.

I did test the pre-fermentation SG and followed the recipe closely, so I
wonder how I ended up with so much alcohol.

BTW, I did not let my lack of success stop me. My wife and kids got me a
Cabernet Sauvignon kit for Christmas, and I just started that batch 2 days
ago. I am looking forward to my first drinkable batch!