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It was February of 2009 when our fascination with winemaking began. My wife Jan and I had planned on making rhubarb as our initial batch. The fruit had been waiting patiently in

Is the salmonella (commonly associated with eggs) a problem to consider when fining with egg whites? Bob McKee Tucker, Georgia Egg whites are an ancient, traditional and natural additive and are sometimes

Dry ice can be a tremendous help for small-lot winemakers in the grape or must stage. Dry ice is really just frozen carbon dioxide gas and will cool the air (or liquid)

First off, one should never burn a sulfur wick in a wet barrel; only do this (which releases the antimicrobial SO2 gas, which we want) when your barrel is well dried-out. This

You have several options when it comes to making a rosé wine. Learn three of the most common techniques here.

Your friends and family think your homemade wines are the best, but are they right? The best way to find out is to enter your wine in a competition. Wine competitions can also be a good way to gain feedback on wines that you may think are flawed, but you’re not sure what went wrong. In this issue, three wine judges share their advice for avoiding common mistakes when entering competitions.

Take part in any home winemaking gathering and you will find that winemakers have a lot to say. When it comes to one subject, however, we all agree on one thing —

(Another) Year in the Vineyard Week #32 (The Last Weekly Blog for 201) October 15-21, 2010 Wrapping it Up and Looking to the Skies For a harvest that began so quickly behind

(Another) Year in the Vineyard, Week #30 The Beginning of the End, and One Hell of a Scare (all photos this week courtesy of www.bottlebranding.com and Jeremy Ball..thanks Jerms! Mouse over photos

(Another) Year in the Vineyard Week #30: October 1-8, 2010 Zen and the Challenging Vintage Harvest is an excellent metaphor for life.  Like any difficult cycle in our lives, harvest usually begins

(Another) Year in the Vineyard Week #29: 9/25-9/30, 2010 From Mellow to Manic in a Single Heat Wave And Why English Majors Make Bad Electricians As you might have guessed, the blogs

 There are three elements that are critical to have balanced in a must: pH/TA, structure and sugar. Each of these elements has a direct influence on the quality of the finished wine

Melissa Burr, Winemaker at Stoller Vineyards in Dayton, Oregon. Melissa was raised in the Willamette Valley and, after completing her BS degree, studied winemaking at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, and

  Wine barrel testing My barrels are American oak, repeatedly used for wine, and about five years old. When empty, I fill them with water containing a strong solution of potassium metabisulfite

I enjoy making many kinds of country wines, but one of my favorites is made from fresh juice pressed from the sugar cane as it is processed into sugar. It is used

(Another) Year in the Vineyard With Wes Hagen, Clos Pepe Vineyard Week #28:  September 17-23, 2010 The Heat Arrives, Harvest Begins with Old Friends, New Friends Well it was bound to happen. 

(Another) Year in the Vineyard Blog With Wes Hagen, VM/WM Clos Pepe Week #27: September 10-16 Loving the Weather, Testing the Grapes, Time for a Cocktail! To be honest, I can’t remember

(Another) Year in the Vineyard, Week #26:  September 3-9, 2010 The Winery is Ready, The Grapes are Not! Welcome, once again to another episode of ‘Year in the Vineyard’.  Well, we’re counting

(Another) Year in the Vineyard with Wes Hagen, Clos Pepe Week #25: August 27th – September 2nd, 2010 “September Morn: We Picked Until the Night Became a Brand New Day” Damn!  September

(Another) Year in the Vineyard Week #24: August 20-26, 2010 With Wes Hagen, Clos Pepe Summer Arrives Before It’s Over:  Sparkling Harvest Soon! A Week in the Winery:  the Crew Comes Together!

Year in the Vineyard With Wes Hagen, Clos Pepe Vineyards and Estate Wines Welcome once again to the Year in the Vineyard Blog.  We continue with our new High Def video blogs,

(Another) Year in the Vineyard, Week #22 August 6-12, 2010 With Wes Hagen, VM/WM Clos Pepe Welcome back to a Year in the Vineyard, Week #22.  Even though the weather has continued

(Another) Year in the Vineyard Week #21, July 30-August 5, 2010 With Wes Hagen, Clos Pepe Welcome to the new generation Year in the Vineyard Blog!  Last week I bought a High

More than 450 hobby winemakers from across North America descended on the Pacific Northwest in May for the sold-out WineMaker Magazine Conference.  This third annual event featured an all-star cast of winemaking

Another Year in the Vineyard, Week #20 July 23-29, 2010 With Wes Hagen, VM/WM Clos Pepe The Vintage Tiptoes Forward: At dinner the other night I ran into my first interns, Ariel