Well I'm here to tell you there is more then one way to skin a cat. Not that I would skin one because I like cats.Well that's just gross anyway, so on with the information at hand.

There is always a question on what to do with your wine once it is racked into the carboy the first time. At that stage it is not finished fermenting and still has a little way to go for the yeast to eat the rest of the sugar. This is where you get your potential alcohol. Some people expect the airlock to bubble alot more, but it may only bubble occasionally. It will work in it's own time, so be patient. Every wine is different and every yeast will work differently.

The first rack you don't need to add anything although some people add 1/2 teaspoon of sulfites per 5 gallons. There are several options of sulfites. Campdon tablets contain sulfites, but are designed to accomodate 1 pill per gallon. So you would want to add enough to what you are racking. There is also Sodium Metabisulfites and Potassium Metabisulfites. Yes these also double as a cleaner in stronger concentrations.

I think this is what causes confusion. To me as well.These Sulfites are used to eliminate wild yeast and bacteria in the first stages of fermentation. They are use again upon 2nd rackings in small doses as mentioned above, but only after fermentation is done. At that stage you are aging and cleaning your wine by racking it.

Potasium Metabisulfites are prefered over Sodium because it seems to taste better.This is added upon rackings to help clear the wine and stablize it.Myself, I have never added sulfites between rackings, but I also rack more then most people to clear up my wines. Some people are sensitive to sulfites and get migraines from consumption of wine. All commercial wines have sulfites and clarifyers added to them.

I know your thinking pumpkins are only used for carving and pies. But it makes a wonderful wine! You know I had to try it since my brother-in law had left over pumpkins. I hate to see things go to waste. I of course pureed some for pies, but we still had a lot left over. I searched the internet until I found a recipe that was interesting enough to try. I did as I always do, I changed it up some. All I can say is if you love pumpkin pie, then you will love the wine it makes. We started with 15 gallons and eventually into 2- 7 gallon carboys. We were supposed to add sugar every 6 weeks to make a sweet wine. That was way to much, so we did it as often as we remembered. The first time we added brown sugar mixed in the wine as we racked it. the next few times we used white sugar. It of course refermented everytime and we did not add potassium sorbate because we wanted it to keep working. This recipe took a year. It was a little work and we even missed some times but it still worked out great. The 2 carboys were treated the same but somehow one was sweet and the other was dry. We had no idea what the alcohol content was when the wine was finished so we checked the dry with a vinometer. It came out to be 24%. This was not intentional but that is what happened. The sweet is somewhere around 20%. Both are unique and was well worth the time. It makes a great fall drink, but sip it slow cause it is powerful! The sweet is like drinking a pumpkin pie. You can taste all the spices and even smell them. The dry is quite different without all the spice, but it is a unlike anything I have ever tried. It compares to any dry wine out there, for the flavor can't be beat. It would also be great mixed with some apple cider and served warm, with a cinnamon stick added. You can't get that anywhere that I know of. This year I tried a different pumkin and cooked them down with the spices. I will see the difference soon. So don't think there isn't wine to make in the fall.

Well our fields are done for the year,but you can still get strawberries elsewhere. So I said I would send you a recipe for strawberry wine, and here it is.

4 to 5 pounds of fresh strawberries per pound ( I freeze them and make it later,the berries break down better)

7 pints of water

2 lbs of sugar-at least

1t. acid blend

1/4t. tannin

1/2t. pectic enzyme

1t. yeast nutrient

1 campden tablet

1 pkg wine yeast

Pick ripe berries. Remove stems and leaves. Wash and drain. Use straining bag and mash berries to squeeze out juice. Add water to obtain 1 gallon. Tie off bag. Place in bucket. Stir all ingredients in except yeast. Cover 24 hours, then add yeast. We experimented by using Cote Blanc Yeast. It did a fabulous job in giving us a crystal clear wine and actually changed the outcome of the wine. I liked it well enough to do it again. So change up the yeast every now and then. You will be surprised at the difference. Make a yeast starter by adding yeast to warm water and let it set a few minutes. Add to wine and stir.

Stir daily until S.G. is 1.030(5 to 7 days) Then rack into carboy. Attach airlock and let sit for about 2 months. Rack again to clean the wine. And again if needed.After the first racking,add potassium Sorbate every time you rack your wine to prevent refermentation. Wine should age about 6 months or longer before bottling.

To sweeten wine before bottling, make a simple syrup. 2c. sugar to 1 c. water.Mix and heat til sugar is dissolved. Let cool.I make a triple batch.Sart slow woith a 1/4c. per gallon and taste. You can always add more but you can't take it away.Don't forget to add potassium sorbate again at bottling. When your taste buds are happy, then bottle and enjoy!

I have made dandelion wine in the past and I assure you I thought I made a big mistake.When I first made it the fermenting stage was interesting to say the least. It of course smelled bad and looked worse. I wasn't sure what I had created. I just kept racking it over and over. It took about 1 year before it cleared up. We sweetend it up at the end and bottled it. It was a beautiful golden color. The taste however was not very good.I was not happy with it at all. Alot of effort for nothing,I thought. Oh well, I just put part of a bottle in the refrigerator, and forgot about it. I had a friend come by during berry season ( We have a U-pick strawberry farm), asking to try some. I told her it wasn't very good. She tried it and looked at me and said that it was the best wine she had ever drank. I of course thought she was nuts.I was wondering if I gave her the right bottle.So I tried some for myself. I could not believe how it had changed. I told her that it was not what we had bottled for sure. It just got better and better with time. I never age fruit wines very long because they tend to turn to vinager or just get an off taste over a years time. There is something different about flower wines. I think they need to find themselves. They have no sugars or starches of their own and need to be supplimented with other things to make a good wine. So I would like to share the recipe with you that I used. If you have some patients and time. We have 1 more bottle from 2004. It is amazing how good it is! Now I know what all the old timers were talking about. So thanks for the idea Dad. I'm sure he is up in heaven smiling,saying"I told you so!"

Makes 1 gallon of wine

7 cups Dandelion petals-cut off all green on bottom

1 pd white raisins-cook in small amt. of water,then smash to get optimum flavor

1 gallon hot water

2 lbs sugar

3t. acid blend

1/4 t. Tannin