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Click here to view the playback of the WineMaker+ Live Video Chat with “Varietal Focus” columnist Maureen Macdonald from May 2025.

From April 11-13, 2025, a total of 1,382 different wines were judged at the Mount Snow Grand Summit Lodge in West Dover, Vermont. This year marks the 22st year of the event.

Blending is often associated with red wines, but blending white wines can also be advantageous to create a balanced wine in certain situations or to complement grapes that need amplification in areas.

Hybrid grapes are bred to combat growing conditions vinifera grapes have trouble with, including cold temperatures, diseases, and more. Hybrids also have their own nuances when it comes to turning them into wine. Learn how to get the most from white hybrid grapes.

Filtering isn’t glamorous, but it is often a necessary step toward brilliantly clear and microbially stable wine in the bottle. Learn the options home winemakers have when it comes to filtration, from plate to cartridge filters and various size pads, each has its own purpose.

A perrymaker in Oregon shares advice for making perry, which he does most commonly from dessert pears.

Perry, or pear cider as some refer to it, is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world. Facing extinction for periods through history, perry is on the upswing and it’s a great time to learn to make your own at home. Whether it’s bubbly or still, sweet or dry, there is likely a perry for everybody’s taste.

St. Croix is a red hybrid grape designed by a private grape breeder to withstand the bitter cold Wisconsin winters. Learn more about this thin-skinned red variety that thrives where others can’t survive.

A 40-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon that’s now as white as a ghost? Oh no! The Wine Wizard gets to the bottom of this spooky phenomenon and also discusses the pros and cons of bottling wine in swing-top bottles and how to combat bottle shock.

We share images and recap a trip Publisher Brad Ring recently led WineMaker readers on across South Australia’s different wine regions.

Summer in the vineyard means it is time to manage your vines’ canopy. Spraying, suckering, leaf removal, adjusting lateral shoots, and eventually fruit sampling and netting your vines all need to be done long before you start picking grapes. Keep up with your vineyard work throughout summer to make harvest easy.

Stuck in a rut and at the cusp of retirement, a couple buys a home with a backyard vineyard in Calaveras County, California. Determined to not let the grapes go to waste, the vineyard sprouts more than just grapes for them — a new hobby and joy to life.

Looking to advance your winemaking knowledge? Check out these wine education programs to start your journey down the path to a higher education in winemaking and the business of wine. Finger Lakes

Click here to watch the video playback of our Live Chat with home winemakers and authors Ken and Leah Stafford from

Click here to watch a replay of our Live Video Chat with WineMaker author Chik Brenneman from March 2025.

Lodi, California, is known for its production of Zinfandel wines that run the spectrum of wine styles. Three Lodi winemakers share their approaches to crafting wines from the quintessential American grape.

Looking at Brix (or specific gravity) alone isn’t a great indicator whether a wine is microbially stable, and therefore determining if there is risk of refermentation. Even home winemaking tools that measure residual sugar lump fermentable and non-fermentable sugars together. After years of performing tests, Daniel Pambianchi explains how winemakers can predict with confidence whether their wines are safe to bottle.

A pair of home winemakers share the results from trials they conducted this past harvest in techniques for making rosé. The results offer insight into what works, what doesn’t, and why rosés shouldn’t be judged by their color.

If you’ve made cheese, then you’ll be left with a considerable amount of whey as a byproduct. Why not use it to start a new fermentation project, such as whey wine, mead, or even liquor?

Wine and cheese go hand-in-hand in the WineMaker office. While making cheese may seem complicated, making wine probably did before you started too. Follow this advice and you’ll be on your way to making cheese, including recipes for cheese curds, Asiago, and Caerphilly.

The dark-skinned Tempranillo grape is most associated with the red wines of Spain and being the most prominent grape in the famed Rioja blends. Learn to craft your own Tempranillo at home.

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 its benefits go well beyond that. Newer chitosan-based products are also beneficial for microbial stability as well as malolactic and acetic bacteria suppression.

The Wine Wiz offers her wizdom to bring a tart wine into balance, as well as ways to add body to a wine and why non-alcoholic wine production should be left to the pros.

Click here to watch a replay of our live video chat with “Backyard Vines” columnist Wes Hagen from February, 2025.

Click here to watch a replay of our Live Video Chat with Technical Editor and “Techniques” columnist Bob Peak from January 2025.