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It's an app for people who make wine, mead or cider at home. It keeps a record of each batch, reminds you when something needs doing, and includes calculators and a library of recipes and yeast strains.

iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Your batches sync between them through iCloud.

1. On the Home screen, tap Start a new batch.
2. Pick a recipe from the library, or enter your own name, type and volume.
3. Save it. The batch appears on Home, ready for its first reading.

New to all this? The beginner's guide walks through the whole process.

Yes. Open the More tab and tap Show Welcome Tour.

Tap the greeting on the Home screen. The name is optional and stays on that device.

1. Open the Quick Log tab and choose the batch.
2. Enter the specific gravity. Temperature, pH and notes are optional.
3. Tap Save Reading.

You can also log a reading from Apple Watch: open the batch and tap Log Reading.

Gravity, temperature and pH readings; chemical additions; racking; tasting notes; bottling details; and photos. Each batch also has reminders and a timeline of everything that has happened to it.

On iPhone, readings, additions, racking and photos are logged from the Quick Log tab, and tasting notes and bottling from the Tasting and Bottling tabs inside the batch.

From the drop between your first and your most recent gravity reading. It needs at least two readings, so the figure appears after your second one. For the most accurate result, make sure your first reading is taken before fermentation starts.

Yes. In Quick Log you can choose a photo from your library or take one with the camera, and add a caption. The first time you use the camera, iOS asks for permission.

• To edit the details: open the batch. On iPhone, tap the ••• button at the top left and choose Edit Batch. On iPad, tap the pencil button at the top. You can change the name, wine type, variety, volume, start date and notes.
• To change the stage: open the batch and tap the coloured status badge, such as “Fermenting”, then choose Planning, Fermenting, Secondary, Aging, Bottled or Finished.

On iPhone you can also touch and hold a batch on the Home tab and choose Edit Batch.

Yes. Open the batch and find the reading, under Readings on iPhone or Fermentation on iPad. Touch and hold it and choose Edit Reading to correct it, or Delete Reading to remove it.

Touch and hold the batch, on the Home tab on iPhone or in the batch list on iPad, choose Delete Batch, and confirm. Deleting is permanent and removes the batch, with all its readings and photos, from every device signed in to your iCloud. Any reminder alerts for that batch are cancelled too.

Yes. Open the batch and choose Save as Recipe to keep it as a recipe of your own, or Duplicate to start the same wine again. On iPhone both are under the ••• button at the top left; on iPad they are buttons at the top of the batch.

On the Tools tab: ABV, SO₂, Nutrient and Step Feeding. Each has a guide explaining what the numbers mean.

Yes. The ABV Calculator accepts readings from either, as specific gravity or °Brix. Bear in mind that once fermentation has started, alcohol distorts a refractometer's reading, so a hydrometer is the more reliable tool for a final gravity.

Because the amount of sulphite a wine needs depends heavily on its pH. A wine at pH 3.7 needs roughly three times as much free SO₂ as one at pH 3.2 for the same protection. The SO₂ and pH table shows the figures.

Yes. The SO₂ Calculator gives the dose in grams of potassium metabisulphite or in Campden tablets.

Yes. The calculators accept volumes in litres or gallons.

1. Open the iPhone's Settings app, then Notifications, then Just Good Wine.
2. Turn on Allow Notifications, and make sure at least one alert style is selected.
3. Check that a Focus mode, such as Do Not Disturb, isn't silencing them.

Gravity checks, SO₂ additions, racking, bottling, tasting, and custom reminders of your own. A reminder can repeat every set number of days.

Yes. Touch and hold the notification to mark it done or snooze it for an hour. You can also say “Hey Siri, mark a reminder done in Just Good Wine”.

No. The only notifications are the reminders you create.

Say “Hey Siri” and one of these. Each phrase needs the app's name in it.

• “What's due in Just Good Wine?” Siri reads out the reminders due today and any batch that needs attention.
• “How is my Backyard Merlot in Just Good Wine?” Siri gives the stage, latest gravity, estimated alcohol and next reminder. Use your own batch's name.
• “Log a gravity reading in Just Good Wine.” Siri asks which batch and what the reading was, then saves it.
• “Mark a reminder done in Just Good Wine.” If more than one is due, Siri asks which.

They work on iPhone and on Apple Watch, and appear as actions in the Shortcuts app. Open the app once after installing or updating it so Siri learns your batch names.

Yes. The HomePod passes the request to your iPhone, so the iPhone needs to be nearby on the same Wi-Fi, with Personal Requests turned on for you in the Home app (Home Settings, then your name).

Just Good Wine has three spoken briefings:

• Morning and Afternoon are one-sentence nudges, such as “Two things need attention for your wine today.” They say nothing at all when nothing is due.
• Evening reads out the full list, including anything that came due during the day, then the first task for tomorrow.

The app can't speak on its own schedule, so each one uses an automation in Apple's Shortcuts app. Set up the ones you want; the evening briefing on its own is a good place to start.

1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone and tap Automation, then +.
2. Choose Time of Day, set the time you want, and choose Daily.
3. Select Run Immediately, then tap Next and New Blank Automation.
4. Add the action Get Wine Briefing and set it to Morning.
5. Add the action Set Playback Destination and choose your HomePod.
6. Add the action Speak Text. It picks up the briefing automatically.
7. Tap Done. Repeat with a new time for Afternoon and Evening.

Leave out step 5 to have your iPhone speak the briefing instead.

In the app, open More and switch off Morning briefing, Afternoon briefing or Evening briefing. The automation stays in place and says nothing until you switch it back on. You can also say “Hey Siri, turn off wine briefings in Just Good Wine”.

Your batches are stored in your own private iCloud and kept up to date on every device signed in to the same Apple Account. There is no separate account to create. Changes usually appear within a minute or two.

1. Check both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account, in Settings under your name.
2. On the iPhone, go to Settings, your name, iCloud, and make sure iCloud is turned on for Just Good Wine.
3. Make sure both devices are online. A watch needs Wi-Fi, mobile data, or its iPhone nearby.
4. Open the app on the iPhone and leave it open for a minute, then open it on the other device.
5. In the app, open More, then iCloud Sync Status, to confirm iCloud is available.

The first sync on a new device can take a few minutes, especially with photos. If it still hasn't appeared after that, write to us.

See your batches and their latest readings, log a new gravity and temperature reading, mark reminders done, and receive your reminder alerts. You can also ask Siri on the watch what's due or how a batch is doing, even without your iPhone nearby. Batches are created on iPhone or iPad.

Sign in with the same Apple Account, install Just Good Wine and open it. Your batches download from iCloud by themselves. Tap Restore Purchases if the app asks you to unlock again.

Yes. Everything is stored on the device, so you can log readings with no signal. Changes sync the next time you're online.

Your first batch is free. A one-time purchase unlocks unlimited batches. There is no subscription.

On the unlock screen, tap Restore Purchases. Make sure you're signed in to the App Store with the Apple Account you bought it with. You are never charged twice for the same purchase.

Purchases are handled by Apple. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in, and choose the purchase.

Yes. Open the batch, then on iPhone tap the ••• button at the top left and choose Export, or on iPad tap the share button at the top. You can produce a PDF, CSV or plain-text report containing the fermentation log, additions, rackings, tasting notes and bottling records, then share or print it.

Only you. Your records are stored on your devices and in your private iCloud, which we can't access. See the privacy page for the details.

The copy on that device is removed. Batches that had already synced stay in your iCloud and return when you reinstall. Anything logged while offline that hadn't synced yet is lost, so open the app while online before deleting it.

When the gravity is at or below about 0.998 and stays the same across three readings taken over several days. A quiet airlock isn't proof; only a stable hydrometer reading is.

Not necessarily. Gas often escapes around a lid that isn't perfectly sealed. Take a gravity reading: if it's lower than the last one, fermentation is going well. If nothing has changed in 48 hours after pitching, check the temperature is around 18 to 24 °C.

A kit wine can be drinkable in six to eight weeks. Most fruit and grape wines are noticeably better after three to six months, and reds and meads often need a year. Young wine tasting sharp or rough is normal.

It will ferment, but wine yeast is inexpensive, tolerates more alcohol, settles into a firm sediment and gives cleaner flavours. It's the cheapest upgrade you can make.

No, but without it wine is more likely to oxidise or spoil, and won't keep as long. If you leave it out, be meticulous about sanitising and keeping air away, and plan to drink the wine young.

Usually, with time and a cool spot. Fruit wines often carry a pectin haze that pectic enzyme removes. Don't bottle a cloudy wine: the haze ends up as sediment in the bottle.

Probably not, if you act quickly. The smell comes from stressed yeast. See Troubleshooting for what to do at each stage.