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Conference

Saturday, June 1, 2024 WineMaker Conference Schedule

9:30 – 10:30 a.m.


Managing Nutrition of Juice and Wine – General Winemaking
Just like people need a well-rounded diet to perform at our best, so do wine yeast. Sometimes Mother Nature cooperates giving your must and juice everything your yeast needs to do its job beautifully. But that isn’t always the case and how do you know if your juice needs a helping hand. Learn all about measuring and managing nutrition levels both before, during, and post-fermentation so your yeast is happy throughout the winemaking process. Because as we all know happy yeast make happy wine.

Chik Brenneman
Winemaker, Baker Family Wines
“Varietal Focus” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine

Methods to Reduce Acidity – Advanced Winemaking
Acid is critical to a wine’s balance and structure, but many home winemakers find it challenging to hit the right acid levels. Cooler-climate grapes in particular often are picked with higher than desired acid levels that require adjustments to achieve balance in the wine glass. Learn the best techniques and timing to reduce those acid levels without compromising other aspects of your wine. Professional winemaker, educator, and author Clark Smith will walk you through the pros and cons of different acid-reducing techniques.

Clark Smith
Author, Postmodern Winemaking
Winemaker, WineSmith Wines

Award-Winning Hybrid Grape Winemaking Panel – General Winemaking
A panel of award-winning hobby winemakers using French-American hybrid grapes from the WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition will share their advice and tips for success when making wines from hybrid grapes. Find out from your fellow home winemakers about their techniques to help you create your own award-winning wines from hybrid grapes.

Moderator: Dawson Raspuzzi
Editor, WineMaker Magazine

10:30 – 11 AM

WINEMAKER EXHIBITS – Check out the latest in winemaking equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies from dozens of the hobby’s top vendors.

11 AM – 12 PM

Keys to Making Fruit Forward Wines – General Winemaking
Fruit forward wines are primarily about the expression of a grape varietal over the terrior or winemaking practices such as the use of oak, lees contact or managed oxidation. The use of very-ripe grapes, stainless steel fermentation vats, cooler fermentation temperatures, aromatic yeast strains, protective handling and winemaking as well as early bottling all contribute to enhancing the fruit-forwardness of a wine that has become over the years the hallmark of many New World wines. Learn how to use a variety of different winemaking techniques to result in more fruit forward wines with the winemaker of Blenhein Vineyards, Kirsty Harmon.
Kirsty Harmon
General Manager and Winemaker, Blenheim Vineyards

A One-Man Band Guide to Growing Grapes – Grape Growing
Growing great wine grapes is never easy. Growing those grapes all by yourself is even tougher, but not impossible. Robert Ramsey single-handedly works his 2.5-acre vineyard yielding ten tons of grapes annually at his small commercial winery and vineyard in Virginia’s Monticello AVA. Along the way he’s learned ways to work smarter not harder as a one-person operation. As backyard grape growers you’ll be able to use many of his tips and techniques to make your own vineyard work more efficient and easier.


Robert Ramsey
President, Caihailian Vineyard

Award-Winning Dessert Kit Winemaking Panel – General Winemaking
A panel of award-winning hobby winemakers of kit dessert wines from the WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition will share their advice and tips for sweet success when making dessert-style wines from kits. Find out from your fellow kit winemakers about their techniques to help you create your own award-winning port-style, late harvest, and other dessert wines from kits.

Moderator: Dawson Raspuzzi
Editor, WineMaker Magazine

12 – 1:30 PM

Lunch & Keynote: WineMaker Columnists on 15 Winemaking Keys to Success

To mark our 15th WineMaker Conference we’re going to have two of our longtime magazine columnists share their top 15 winemaking tips with you to make better wine. Sit back and get ready to learn their keys to winemaking success.

Chik Brenneman
Winemaker and Partner, Baker Family Wines
“Varietal Focus” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine

Bob Peak
Technical Editor and “Techniques” Columnist, WineMaker Magazine       

1:30 – 2 PM

WINEMAKER EXHIBITS – Check out the latest in winemaking equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies from dozens of the hobby’s top vendors.

2 – 3 PM

Keys to Making Award-Winning Wines – General Winemaking
Winning a Best of Show award in the world’s largest amateur wine competition from among the thousands of entries is a great accomplishment. But when the same winemaker wins both the top award for red wines and then also the top award for white wines, it is time to set up a seminar to learn their tips for success. Ken Stafford and his wife Leah have been making their own wine since 2011 and growing their own grapes since 2015. Along the way they have shown they really know how to make excellent wines – both red and white – that stand above all others in a blind tasting. Learn Ken’s personal winemaking tips for creating excellent homemade wines.

Ken Stafford
Best of Show White Winner & Best of Show Red Winner, WineMaker Competition

What I Learned Opening a Winery – Advanced Winemaking
Quite a few WineMaker readers dream one day of opening their own small winery. So we’ve invited someone who actually took the big step of launching a winery to share his personal experiences and advice from his journey from hobbyist to pro winemaker. Rich Sportsman decided to turn his love for winemaking into Little Oaks Winery in Southern California. Along the way he learned lessons on both the winemaking and business side of running a small winery. If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of opening your own small winery, don’t miss this opportunity to hear from a fellow home winemaker who took the leap over ten years ago.

Richard Sportsman, Ph.D
President, Vinmetrica

President and Winemaker, Little Oaks Winery

Grape Growing Q & A – Grape Growing
Bring your best backyard grape growing questions to this session featuring viticulture experts Peter Brehm and Robert Ramsey. They will field your questions for one hour and help you troubleshoot your home vineyard problems as you learn from their decades of hands-on grape growing knowledge.

Moderator: Dawson Raspuzzi
Editor, WineMaker Magazine

                     
Peter Brehm                                          Robert Ramsey
President, Brehm Vineyards            President, Caihailian Vineyard

3 – 3:30 PM

WINEMAKER EXHIBITS – Check out the latest in winemaking equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies from dozens of the hobby’s top vendors.

3:30 – 4:30 PM

WineMaker Table Topics & Regional Breakouts
Learn from each other in two different ways! First, you’ll pick a winemaking topic of interest to you and then spend 30 minutes with other home winemakers who share that same interest to facilitate discussions. Then for the last 30 minutes you’ll sit with other winemakers living near you to share more localized tips and make connections you can use after the conference when you return home.

6:30 – 9:30 PM

2024 WineMaker Competition Awards Dinner

Find out first who is a medalist in the world’s largest competition for hobby winemakers. What wines will be judged the best for 2024? The official results will be revealed for the very first time and any winners in attendance will be recognized and come up to receive their medals in person. Click here for more information and to register!

Please note: You will need to register for this separate ticketed event if you want to attend this Saturday night dinner since it is not included in the general conference. Space is limited and this dinner has regularly sold out in the past.