Join WineMaker for live and interactive winemaking online workshops.
Each Online Boot Camp is recorded so attendees can watch and learn again and again from video playback.
Friday, February 21, 2025 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern)
WineMaker GaragisteCon Online, $74
Full Day of Online Seminars and Q&A Panels
Access to Video Recordings of All Sessions
3 Learning Tracks: Business/Sales, Winery Operations, and Start-Ups
Questions Answered Live by Industry Experts
Small Wineries and Wineries in Planning
Q&A Sessions with Leading Small Winery Industry Suppliers
Your GaragisteCon Online Registration includes:
• Full access to 10 seminars on business & sales, winery operations, and start-ups
• Full access to recordings of all GaragisteCon Online sessions
• Full access to links to pdfs of GaragisteCon Online Session Presentations
• Questions answered by wine industry experts and fellow attendees
• Q&A sessions with leading winemaker industry suppliers
Click here to register for WineMaker GaragisteCon Online for $74
Video replays of past Boot Camps
The live event may be over but you can still watch full video replays of past workshops and learn from expert speakers. Check out the following video replays available. Register to gain access today.
Starting Up a Backyard Vineyard: From Planning Through Year One with Wes Hagen
Friday, August 9, 1 to 3 pm (Eastern)
REPLAY: Starting Up a Backyard Vineyard: From Planning Through Year One with Wes Hagen, $49
Nothing puts more “home” into your home winemaking like growing your own wine grapes. Let WineMaker Magazine’s longtime “Backyard Vines” Columnist Wes Hagen walk you through all the steps you’ll need to take when planning and then planting a small-scale home vineyard. Learn the keys to site selection, understanding your soil, vine choice, planting, and trellising decisions. He will then go over how to take special care of your new vineyard in its first year of growth as you set it up for future successful vintages. Get your questions answered live online by an expert and then also have access to a video recording of this workshop.
Advanced Strategies to Grow Better Grapes in Established Home Vineyards with Wes Hagen
Friday, August 9, 2024, 4 to 6 pm (Eastern)
REPLAY: Advanced Strategies to Grow Better Grapes in Established Home Vineyards with Wes Hagen, $49
Don’t miss this two-hour online workshop focused on ways to grow better grapes in your existing small-scale home vineyard. WineMaker Magazine’s longtime viticulture guru Wes Hagen will lead this live seminar covering pruning, watering, pest control, troubleshooting, harvest decisions, and other keys you need to know to be more successful with your established vineyard. Learn from his decades of professional vineyard management and get your questions answered live online. This workshop will be recorded and you’ll have access to a video of this workshop once it is completed.
Replay: Harvest Skills: Home Wine Lab Testing: with Bob Peak
Friday, August 2, 2024 2 pm to 5:30 pm (Eastern) $74
It’s very difficult to make great wine if you don’t know how to properly and accurately test your wine. WineMaker’s Technical Editor Bob Peak will take you step-by-step online live over three hours teaching you how to properly test your wine for sulfites, malolactic, acidity, sugar, and pH. You’ll have the chance to learn visually how to run these tests on your own wines at home. This workshop will be recorded and as an attendee you will have access to video replays to practice your new skills.
Click to Register for the Harvest Skills: Home Wine Lab Testing Online Boot Camp for $75
Wine Evaluation & Judging Online Boot Camp with Bob Peak
Friday, February 23, 2024, 2 pm to 5 pm (Eastern)
Learn how to evaluate your own wines and other bottles in the same way as a trained wine judge during this live, online, three-hour workshop with WineMaker’s Technical Editor and experienced wine judge Bob Peak. He’ll walk through how to use sensory skills to improve your winemaking. You will be given a wine shopping list ahead of time so you can taste and evaluate the same exact wines with Bob live and in real time as you learn how to use the UC-Davis scoring sheet WineMaker judges use in our annual competition. Bob will go over evaluation techniques including the identification of common faults.
Click to Register for the Wine Evaluation & Judging Online Boot Camp: $75
Friday, February 17, 2023 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern)
Click here for more details
Full Day of Online Seminars and Q&A Panels
Access to Video Recordings of All Sessions
3 Learning Tracks: Business/Sales, Winery Operations, and Start-Ups
Questions Answered Live by Industry Experts
Small Wineries and Wineries in Planning
Q&A Sessions with Leading Small Winery Industry Suppliers
Your GaragisteCon Online Registration includes:
• Full access to 10 seminars on business & sales, winery operations, and start-ups
• Full access to recordings of all GaragisteCon Online sessions
• Full access to links to pdfs of GaragisteCon Online Session Presentations
• Questions answered by wine industry experts and fellow attendees
• Q&A sessions with leading winemaker industry suppliers
• One-year print subscription or renewal to WineMaker Magazine (If a renewal, it will begin after your current subscription at that time ends)
GaragisteCon Schedule (All Times are Eastern):
11 am – Noon
Lessons I Learned Opening My Winery – Mike Gamble, Blue Mule Wines
Improving Winery SOPs – Jenne Baldwin-Eaton
12:10 – 1: 10 pm
Winery Financials 101 – Geni Whitehouse, CPA.CITP, CSPM
Turning Social Media Posts into Wine Sales – Julie Rhodes, Not Your Hobby Marketing
1:20 – 1:50 pm
GaragisteCon Sponsor Q&A with Vinmetrica
2 – 3 pm
Your Small Winery Lab – Chik Brenneman, Baker Family Wines
Renting Winery Equipment to Fit your Scale Goals – Lisa and Brad Warner, Rutherford Equipment Rental
3:10 – 4:10 pm
New Yeast Technologies – Phil Plummer, Montezuma Winery
Determining New Winery Equipment Needs – David Wonder, MoreFlavor!
4:20 – 5:20 pm
Moving the Needle on Winery Profits – Geni Whitehouse, CPA.CITP, CSPM
Mitigating Smoke Taint – Clark Smith, WineSmith
Backyard Grape Growing Online Camp with Wes Hagen
Friday, January 20, 2023, 1 to 5 pm (Eastern)
Former professional vineyard manager and WineMaker’s longtime “Backyard Vines” columnist Wes Hagen will lead you online for four hours through all the steps a small-scale grape grower needs to know: Site selection, vine choice, planting, trellising, pruning, watering, pest control, harvest decisions, plus more strategies to successfully grow your own great wine grapes. All attendees will also receive a free download of Wes’ Guide to Growing Grapes, an 80-page special issue, as part of your registration.
Click to Register for Backyard Grape Growing Online Boot Camp replay for $99
Home Wine Lab Skills Online Boot Camp with Bob Peak
Friday, July 15, 2022, 1 pm to 5 pm (Eastern)
It’s very difficult to make great wine if you don’t know how to properly and accurately test your wine. WineMaker’s “Techniques” columnist and Technical Editor Bob Peak will take you step-by-step online over four hours teaching you live how to properly test your wine for sulfites, malolactic, acidity, sugar, and pH. You’ll have the chance to learn visually how to run these tests on your own wines at home.
Click to Register for the Home Wine Lab Skills Online Boot Camp Replay: $99
2022 WineMaker GaragisteCon Online REPLAY
February 18, 2022 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern)
Full Day of Live Online Seminars and Q&A Panels
Access to Video Recordings of All Sessions Replay
3 Learning Tracks: Business/Sales, Winery Operations, and Start-Ups
Questions Answered by Industry Experts
Q&A Sessions with Leading Small Winery Industry Suppliers
Your GaragisteCon Online Registration includes:
• Full access to over a dozen live seminars on business & sales, winery operations, and start-ups
• Full access to recordings of all GaragisteCon Online sessions
• Full access to links to pdfs of GaragisteCon Online Session Presentations
• Recorded Q&A sessions with leading winemaker industry suppliers
• One-year print subscription or renewal to WineMaker Magazine (If a renewal, it will begin after your current subscription at that time ends)
Click to Register for WineMaker Online GaragisteCon Replay for $199
February 4, 2022
2 to 6:30 pm (Eastern)
How to Distill book author Aaron Hyde will walk you through the small-scale distilling process over four hours. You’ll watch a live spirit distillation with cuts for whiskey, and Aaron will also discuss the distillation of most major spirits including moonshine, brandy, rum, whiskey, and gin. He’ll be answering your questions throughout the process as you learn the art of distillation using a small still.
Click to Register for Distilling Online Boot Camp Replay: $99
Small Winery Start-Up Online Boot Camp with Genevieve Rodgers
Friday, June 11, 2021, 1 to 6 pm (Eastern) Ever think about taking your home winemaking hobby pro and opening your own small-scale winery? Lots of WineMaker readers say they’ve dreamed about opening a small winery. Join Genevieve Rodgers, a successful winery start-up consultant, for a 5-hour workshop. She’ll lead you through the steps, planning decisions, and key financial numbers you need to know if you want to open a smaller-scale commercial winery. Learn from her years of expertise and wide experience to help you better achieve your dream of running your own small winery.
Click to Register for Small Winery Start-Up Online Post-Boot Camp Replay for $99