Don’t Miss Live Online Workshop on Mastering Hybrid Grape Winemaking February 20. Three hours of tips and techniques. Also available later as video replay. Click here for event and registration details.

Feb/Mar 2018

Check out our backyard vineyard special and learn how to plant a micro vineyard, get tips on field blending, and gain an understanding of clones.

In this issue

  • article

    Recipes of Burgundy

    If you’ve ever visited Burgundy, France, then you likely know all about how important pairing the right wine and food dish are. Here, we share recipes for a three-course meal as well as their perfect pairings for your Burgundian-style wines.

  • technique

    Field Blending

    Blends are most often made from varietal wines prior to bottling, but field blending, where all of the varieties are harvested and fermented together, has its own benefits.

  • article

    Submerge Those Oak Chips, Wine Yields and a Copper Problem

    I actually prefer using a sock or some kind of bag rather than just having chips float loose on the surface.

  • WIne glass as a question mark.
    wine-wizard

    Dealing With A Copper Problem

  • article

    Wine Flirtation Gets Serious

    Most winemakers can trace their roots of making wine to either wine appreciation or their family. When the Milam family purchased a house with an established vineyard, the two themes combined, pushing the family from enophiles to dedicated vineyard managers and winemakers.

  • technique

    Winemaking Outside of Harvest

    Lots of home winemakers concentrate their efforts in the harvest months using seasonally available just-picked wine grapes. But sometimes a home winemaker wants to do something else. Maybe you didn’t make enough wine in harvest season. Or maybe you just want an adult beverage that doesn’t line up with the local seasons. Whatever the motivation, there are several techniques for out-of-season wine.

  • article

    Fires in California’s Wine Country

    For one week in October, portions of California’s wine country were up in flames in what has been deemed the state’s most destructive and costly fire. Beyond the toll it took on countless families whose homes were destroyed and lives uprooted, questions also arose regarding the fire’s impact on the 2017 vintage.

  • article

    Vine Clones

    Produced from just a mother vine, grapevine clones are intended to assure growers the grapes produced will have a predictable characteristic. But is it really that simple? Wes Hagen weighs in on why clone selection may not be as important as varietal selection.

  • article

    Small Space Viticulture

    You don’t need an acre to grow enough grapes for home winemaking. A spot to grow a couple of vines may suit your needs for your next batch.

  • article

    2018 Label Contest Winners

  • article

    Carignane/Mazuelo: A Spanish grape with many names

    Many wine grapes have different names when grown in various parts of the world. That is especially true for Carignane, which is officially called Mazuelo in its homeland of Spain. Find out how both viticulturalists and enologists handle this unique grape.

  • WIne glass as a question mark.
    wine-wizard

    Submerge Those Oak Chips

  • article

    Fining for Beginners

    Learn the ins and outs of fining wine and the options to choose from.

  • technique

    Home Wine Lab Testing: Tips from the Pros

    Laboratory equipment for winemakers can be fiscally daunting, especially for beginning winemakers. That doesn’t mean that vital testing should be avoided. We asked two experts about ways to optimize your experience with submitting samples for analysis.

  • WIne glass as a question mark.
    wine-wizard

    Wine Yields From a Vineyard