Articles

Sulfites get a bad rap in the world outside of true wine aficionados. Alex Russan takes readers on a journey through the world of sulfites and describes a couple schools of thought regarding its use throughout the winemaking process.

Grape descriptors and the region of origin were often used in the Old World in the naming of a grape. In the case of the Trebbiano family of grapes, this was indeed the case. Unfortunately what they didn’t quite know is the family is much more diverse than just a few varietals.

A concerned reader asks the Wizard why commercially-purchased wines might have their corks raised. She also answers questions on metabisulfite use before malolactic fermentation, when to re-test for pH, and dealing with Acetobacter issues.

A beautifully crafted white wine is a thing of beauty. If done well, a winemaker can be drinking a very nice example 8 months after harvest, plenty enough to be sipping one

I recently combined my winemaking hobby with the reverence I have for my ancestors who served in the military. Specifically, I made a batch of wine as a tribute to my three

Are you ready for some viticultural self-reflection? When harvest is wrapping up, there is no better time to reflect on what you have done right in your vineyard and factors you could improve upon for next year.

Explore the grape varietal made famous by the Italian wineries producing Barolo and Barbaresco wines in the Piemonte region of northern Italy. Learn about Nebbiolo’s history, viticulture, enology, and future.

Q I have a Merlot to which I added SO2 thirteen days ago and it smelled ok. but last night I pulled a sample and it had a bruised apple smell and

Finesse the legendary grape from Burgundy.

Your first fortified wine can be a little intimidating. What method are you going to utilize? Sweet or dry? What type of spirits are you going to use? Then again, maybe you’re

Thinking about taking your winemaking hobby commercial? There’s a lot of planning that must go into the endeavor, as Jason Phelps (a longtime home winemaker who opened a commercial meadery earlier this year) explains. Here’s what you need to consider before the actual process of making wine begins.

Careful attention must be paid to fermentation to achieve great wine. We gathered experts from four different yeast laboratories to glean advice on selecting yeast strains, co-inoculation, optimal fermentation conditions, and more.

If you’ve ever opened multiple bottles of wine made from the same batch and noticed they don’t taste identical, then you, too, have experienced bottle variability. Learn the potential causes and ways to alleviate variability among your bottles.

As autumn rolls into winter, the average person’s appetite for a chilled white wine, ice-cold beer or slushy blender drink wanes. A hearty red wine with deep fruit and nice tannins can

There are many wines in Greece, but only one way to drink it. That, in any event, is what I was told on my first visit. Athens was chaotic and noisy, but

I need help to prevent oxidation. I make about 40 gallons (151 L) from California grapes each year, usually finishing quite nice, but last year’s Sangiovese suffers from oxidation. After fermentation and

Harvest/Post Harvest Quiz: With Pro-Inspired Conceptual Cheat-Sheets Mark your answers and keep a running score in the margins. There will be a discussion of point totals at the end of the article.

The Pearson Square is a tool to calculate the number of parts of two different solutions with different concentrations that are required to bring one of the solutions to a desired concentration. The Pearson Square can be intimidating to newbies, but when dissecting it piece by piece it is relatively straight-forward, and understanding it will pay dividends.

Dear Wine Wizard, I am in the process of vinting a Champagne, and after having read of a couple of different ways to create the “sparkling” effect, I am now thoroughly confused.

Q & A Q Post Harvest Well, the growing season down here was hot and furious and I can’t believe it, but all of my backyard Zinfandel vines survived all the bugs

Ripeness & Wine Style As harvest nears and the grapes are getting ripe, we growers need to start making some decisions concerning the style of wine we want to create. The wine

Pruning Your Backyard Vineyard Pruning grape vines during dormancy is a vital practice for keeping your vines in balance. Grape growers discovered thousands of years ago that cutting off up to 90

Choosing A Rootstock There was a time when grapevine vineyards were planted with only 18” (46-cm) cuttings from existing grapevines. A few buds went under the ground and few buds were left

I have to confess, I love glossaries. They’re the second section I check when I pick up a text or non-fiction book (the first is always the author’s picture: would I listen

Once you’ve mastered the art and craft of making kit wines, what do you do with them? Drink them, of course! We don’t need to teach you how to drink and appreciate