Technique

Chaptalization — How Far Can You Go?

Adding sugar to bring up the Brix is necessary in parts of the world, especially during vintages with heavy rain. A Virginia winery did a st

Technique

Balancing Wine’s Structure: Techniques to add and remove tannins

Tannins are a big piece of the large puzzle when balancing many styles of wine. It’s important to understand ways to increase or decrease

Technique

Classes, Clubs, and Consultants: Getting expert help at home

Feedback is one of the quintessential parts of growing and learning in this hobby. There are many avenues a hobby grape grower and winemaker

Technique

Monitoring Your Wine: What to test for and when

There are some winemakers who practice the age-old philosophy that the wine will take care of itself . . . but for those who want to produce

Technique

Detecting, Measuring, and Preventing Volatile Acidity

Technique

Troubleshooting Guide for Home Winemaking

This troubleshooting guide lists the most common types of problems, faults and spoilages you may encounter, how to fix them, and how to prev

Technique

Understanding Oxygen and Oxidation in Winemaking

Technique

Choosing Corks and Wine Closures

We review the different types of closures available to home winemakers with a view to understanding oxygen permeability and the impact on wi

Technique

Higher Alcohol Off-Odors in Wine

Technique

Top 10 Winemaking Myths

As in many practices with a longstanding tradition before the scientific knowledge caught up, the field of wine and winemaking has its share

Technique

Fermentation Troubleshooting with Wine Kits

Technique

Gum Arabic: Winemaking’s Secret Weapon

Gum arabic can do so many great things for your wines, from improving mouthfeel, making a thin wine taste fuller bodied, rounding out rough

Technique

Make Your Own Red Wine Aroma Sensory Kit

An aroma kit will help improve your ability to pick out aromas in a glass of wine. You can buy a kit for over $100, or make your own for a f

Technique

Using Outside Labs to Run Analysis Tests on your Wine

Here is some advice on when, why, or even whether you might want to take advantage of having a lab test your wine.

Technique

Tannin Additions in Wine Kits

Making kit wines doesn’t have to be only about following directions. Improve your wines by using tannin additions at various stages.

Technique

Oxidation in Winemaking

Technique

Oxygen Reduction in Winemaking

Technique

Restart Stuck Fermentations

Technique

Controlling Brettanomyces: Tips from the Pros

Technique

Volatile Sulfur Compounds and Hydrogen Sulfide in Wine

If you have ever encountered volatile sulfur compounds in wine, of which hydrogen sulfide is the most common, you know how repulsive the sme

Technique

Home Winemaking Quality Control

Technique

20 Home Winemaking Troubleshooting Tips

Technique

Impact of Oxygen on Winemaking

Oxygen’s presence or absence at the various stages of winemaking can have extraordinarily important and lasting effects on what our wines

Technique

Troubleshooting Wine Kit Aroma

Technique

Negative Impacts of Oxygen