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Sourcing Grapes from Vineyards for Home Winemakers

Sourcing fresh grapes directly from a grower can be a fun and rewarding experience for home winemakers. Get some tips for making the most of

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Using a Hydrometer

Learn the basics of how and when to use a hydrometer in your winemaking process.

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Pinotage in the Spring

Spring is here, and that means a new winemaking season is upon us! A couple of experienced winemakers share the joys that come with making w

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Moving Wine with Pumps

Wine is frequently transferred or “racked” into another vessel to leave the byproducts of the process (known as lees) behind. If you mak

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Balance in the Vineyard

Balance in a vineyard is defined as a vine that has enough leaves to ripen a small to moderate crop load. To achieve that goal, a good viney

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Creating Balanced Wine

There are many components in wine that all need to work together to create balance. Find out how to juggle acidity, alcohol, residual sugar,

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Year in the Life of a Wine: Part IV (Good Fermentations)

In the fourth installment of our year-long series about how homemade wine is made using home-grown grapes in Upstate New York, it’s time t

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Cellaring Wines

Learn the basics of how and where to age your homemade wines.

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Wine is a Wonder

As a veteran winemaker, some of the initial joys of winemaking begin to fade, however as the winemaker understands more about the process an

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Your Best Crush and Press

You can never be too prepared in your winery when the grapes come in from harvest. Follow our guidelines for crush and press success.

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Ruby Cabernet

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Year in a Life of a Wine Part VI (Bulk Aging and Bottling)

In the final installment of our year-long series, the wines are bulk aged, oaked, and bottled.

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Homemade Wine Press

A reader shares plans for his homemade wine press.

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Birthday Planning for a Winemaker

A Texas winemaker wanted to indulge a friend who has always wanted to make his own wine by buying a wine kit as a birthday gift. But little

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Orange is the New White

You may have noticed the “orange wines” that have been popping up on trendy wine lists lately. These are white wines that are purposely

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Skin Contact Decisions

Winemakers have to decide how long to macerate their grapes to make the best wine. But how? Too little skin contact and the wines can lack c

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Essential Winemaking Advice: Tips from Kenwood Vineyards’ Chief Winemaker

Pat Henderson, Chief Winemaker at Sonoma County, California’s famed Kenwood Vineyards, shares some universal winemaking advice that he has

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Traminette: Little Gewürztraminer grows up

Gewürztraminer is a white grape with origins in the Alsace-Lorraine departments of France recognized for its prominent terpenic aromatic ch

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Understanding Brix Readings

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Sacramental Wine

A reader shares his journey to produce a sacramental wine for his church. The lessons he learned during the process are of interest to all w

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Wine Flirtation Gets Serious

Most winemakers can trace their roots of making wine to either wine appreciation or their family. When the Milam family purchased a house wi

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Fires in California’s Wine Country

For one week in October, portions of California’s wine country were up in flames in what has been deemed the state’s most destructive an

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The Retirement Plan

All good things must come to an end . . . and that includes your winemaking equipment. Let’s run through the signs of when it’s time to

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A Quicker Route to Ice Cider

Who says you need fresh apples to make ice cider? With a few adjustments, you can make this dessert-style cider from frozen apple juice conc

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Vine Clones

Produced from just a mother vine, grapevine clones are intended to assure growers the grapes produced will have a predictable characteristic