Posts

• Technique

  Shaping Body and Mouthfeel in Wine

  Whether the body of your wine is too thin, fallen out of balance during bulk aging, or has stubborn tannins that resist softening, there are

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Technique

  It’s All Fine and Good

  There are many different types of fining agents available to home winemakers that fall into these four groupings: Mineral, polysaccharide, s

• Technique

  Making Age-Worthy Wines

  Making a wine that benefits from long-term cellaring — be it red or white — requires high-quality grapes and a meticulous focus on the d

• Technique

  Fermentation on the Mind

  While the yeast technically does all the work, a winemaker has a lot of influence in the success of their fermentations. Understanding best

• Technique

  Special Purpose Wine Yeasts

  Sometimes we want a wine yeast that will strictly ferment a wine dry in the conditions available to it, but other instances require special

• Technique

  Bottling Basics

  Familiarize yourself with the critical steps and equipment required to bottle your wine.

• Technique

  Whole Cluster Fermentation

  Whole cluster fermentation — fermenting grapes without crushing and destemming them first — is a technique that has been around for ages

• Technique

  Barrel Fermentations

  Barrel aging typically begins after alcoholic fermentation is complete, however, you don’t have to wait until your wine is dry to start ge

• Technique

  Boost Your Wines With Raisins

  Raisins can be used to add body, flavor, sugar, and complexity to grape wines. They can add a wine-like character to fruit wines. And they c

• Technique

  Whole Cluster Fermentation Tips

  Two pros share why they prefer whole cluster fermentations for certain varieties, the impact it has, and considerations home winemakers shou

• Technique

  Handling Stuck Fermentations

  While a stalled out fermentation can be a hassle, there are plenty of preventative measures we can take to preclude it from happening. Also,

• Technique

  Post-Fermentation Adjustments to Taste

  When alcoholic fermentation is all wrapped up, most people assume that the wine is then mostly left alone to age. But winemakers know well t

• Technique

  Tasting Critically

  Feedback is critical for winemakers who are looking to advance their hobby and no one should be more critical than you. Learn some of the ma

• Technique

  Enological Oxygen Principles and Practices

  While it sometimes gets a bad rap because too much oxygen can destroy a wine, oxygen is also very important to the winemaking process. Learn

• Technique

  The Charmat Process to Sparkling Wine

  Many homebrewers of beer are unknowingly very familiar with the Charmat method to carbonate wine. If you are unfamiliar with this easy, albe

• Technique

  Co-Fermentation: Tips From the Pros

  Wine blends are most often created after fermenting each variety separately. However, that isn’t the only way to do it. Some winemakers ch

• Technique

  Kegging Wine

  In contemporary times beer and soft drinks have become the standard beverages to find on draft at bars and restaurants, but that is changin

• Technique

  Dealing With Haze

  While haze can sometimes just be aesthetically off-putting and not a true flaw, it’s something many winemakers like to avoid. Get the scoo

• Technique

  Lees, Sur Lie Aging, and Bâttonage

  Learn about the lees that we find in wine and how we can use them to our advantage.