Article

Alternative Sweeteners, Pomace Compost, and Stuck Fermentations

If you add some kind of sweetener that is fermentable (table sugar, grape concentrate, maple syrup, honey, etc.) you risk an uncontrolled re

Article

Empty Airlocks, Calculating ABV, and Transplanting Vines

Most top-scoring red wines made in the U.S. are bottled after 18–24 months in barrel.

Article

Softened Water, High Alcohol Wine, and Tiny Bubbles

Water softeners add another wrinkle, namely because they tend to add a lot of sodium.

Article

Japanese Beetles, Freezing Grapes, and Adjusting Aged Wine

A really innovative and completely natural way to control Japanese beetles is to implement a longer-term biological control program utilizin

Article

Fermentation Troubles, Natural Fining, and Get Your Swirl On

Some home winemakers cool down must ferments by freezing gallon water jugs and tossing them (closed tightly) into fermenting totes, bins or

Article

Understanding “Degree Days”, White Film on Wine, and Glass vs. Wood

Article

Topping Up Your Wine

What does “topping up” mean and when should it be done?

Article

Importing Juice vs. Fresh Grapes, Wild Fermentations, Sediment In The Bottle

I prefer to have as much information as I can about where my raw material is coming from, and being able to handle the actual grapes is one

Article

Your First Lug of Grapes

Buying your first lug of grapes can be intimidating, but it does not need to be. Get some pointers before committing to your first box of gr

Article

Versatile Viognier

It was not long ago that Viognier was almost an extinct grape varietal. Luckily for wine fans, both grape growers and winemakers have learne

Article

Meet the Blue Bulls Wine Co.

Meet the Blue Bulls Wine Company, a group of New Jersey-based career first responders who also like to dabble in the art of winemaking. If y

Article

Cherry Picking Grapes

A good grape sorter is fast, efficient, and always with a keen eye towards prioritizing what grapes to use and what grapes to discard. Alex

Article

Crushing Grapes

Supposedly there are many ways to skin a cat, but we’re not familiar with any of them. Luckily for winemakers, Bob Peak knows many ways to

Article

Cabernet Sauvignon: Master Class

Grab a seat, take out your pencil, and get ready for an introduction into the master class on the world’s most popular grape. Guest lectur

Article

Making the Cut

Press cuts give the winemaker more blending options to create a wine precisely as it was envisioned. Learn if, and when, press cuts may bene

Article

When Life Gives You Limes Make Wine, Re-Fermentation, and The Value Of A Vineyard

You could also try to take your lime wine and see what other kind of fun beverages you could make with it as a mixer . . .

Article

2018 WineMaker Magazine International Amateur Wine Competition Recap

An overview of this year’s competition, which included 2,299 entries from winemakers in six countries, 48 American states, and 5 Canadian

Article

A Walk Alongside Ripeness

How ripe your grapes are when picked is one of the most important factors in determining what your wine will taste like. Here is a closer lo

Article

Color Loss in Candy Cane Wine, 23-year-old Concord, Deprived Vines, and Maple Wine

Because of their chemical composition under wine pH (acidity) and fermentation conditions it’s quite possible these color compounds won’

Article

Moldy Odor In My Wines, Calculating Molecular SO₂, Brown (Red) Wine

TCA, or the “corked” off-aroma, is caused by ambient molds interacting with a chlorine molecule of some kind, usually from domestic wate

Article

Proper Equipment Storage

When done using your winemaking equipment, make sure it is properly cleaned and stored so it will be ready to use next harvest season.

Article

Chocolate Infused Wine

Wine and chocolate are a match made in heaven. But it doesn’t have to be two separate delicacies. Home winemakers can actually combine the t

Article

Exploring The Corking Options and Making Acidity Adjustments

Most closures are packaged pre-sanitized, usually with sulfur dioxide in the sealed bags that come from the manufacturer.

Article

Fermentation Dynamics

There are temperature ranges advisable for fermenting all wine styles, but how does each end of that range affect the aroma, taste, and body

Article

Top 100 Wine Kits for 2017

Here are the top 100 wine kits from the 2017 WineMaker Magazine International Amateur Wine Competition.