Winemaking Techniques

Technique

Managing Acidity Through MLF

Professional winemaker Chik Brenneman shares how malolactic fermentation (MLF) impacts wines, when it may be necessary, and why winemakers s

Technique

Turbidity

Clarity, or turbidity, is a key aspect of wine evaluation. Let’s revisit the fundamentals of wine clarity and examine how incorporating tu

Technique

Racking Wine

Racking — the action of transferring wine off the lees to another vessel — is an important technique that is required to produce clear f

Wine-wizard

Unwanted secondary fermentation

There’s nothing quite like popping open a bottle you meant to be still and finding it has turned into a sparkling version of itself.

Wine-wizard

“Natural” fermentations

Wine-wizard

Cold stabilization

Article

Lees: The Good, The Bad, & The Smelly

The benefits of aging white wine on the lees includes a softer mouthfeel, added weight and texture, added complexity, and a smoothing of the

Technique

MLF: Tips from the Pros

Two pro winemakers share their approach to conducting malolactic fermentation — one prefers to begin it a couple days after primary fermen

Wine-wizard

Choosing Yeasts

Wine-wizard

Dealing With Hard Water

Wine-wizard

Stuck Syrah Fermentation

Wine-wizard

Maximizing Color Extraction

Wine-wizard

What temperature is too cold to age wine?

Wine-wizard

Do tannins soften over time?

Wine-wizard

Why does my wine require long decanting times?

I make dry red from my estate Petite Pearl. Why does 3-year-old wine take so long to “open up”?

Article

Blending White Wines

Blending is often associated with red wines, but blending white wines can also be advantageous to create a balanced wine in certain situatio

Article

Wine Filtration

Filtering isn’t glamorous, but it is often a necessary step toward brilliantly clear and microbially stable wine in the bottle. Learn the

Technique

Pectic Enzymes

Pectic enzymes are often used in fruit and other high-pectin wines to aid in clarity, but also serve as a useful tool post-crush to aid in j

Wine-wizard

Red Wine Lost Its Color

I have an Australian Cabernet that is now clear (see photos)! All the color deposited on the bottom of the bottle.

Wine-wizard

Using Swing-Top Bottles

Wine-wizard

Dealing With Bottle Shock

Article

Experimenting With Ways to Craft Rosé

A pair of home winemakers share the results from trials they conducted this past harvest in techniques for making rosé. The results offer i

Technique

Vegan Winemaking Products

Manufacturers have recently released many plant-based or microbial-sourced products. Learn about these products, even if vegan isn’t your pr

Article

Chitosan: For more than just fining

Chitosan is a product every home winemaker should be familiar with, and likely has around their cellar. It is used to help clarify wine, but

Article

Racking in Moonlight, Acetobacter, Fermenting “dry,” and White Winemaking

While there are a lot of urban myths surrounding winemaking, the one about racking under a full moon isn’t totally hogwash. Plus, what to