Import Source: Quark
Table Wine Kits
MEMBERS ONLYThis article we’ll be discussing immediate and intermediate strategies for making table wines that can be consumed very young while still delivering the full and delightful wine experience. Strategy one: go cheap — but not too cheap Value-priced wine kits, which are usually smaller-sized (two to three US-gallons/7.5-11-L in the box), are inexpensive because they
Going Pro RoundTable
FREEHow do you break into the wine industry? Do you volunteer to help out at a local vineyard for a vintage? Do you go to winemaking school? Do you start out as
Top 100 Wine Kits 2012
MEMBERS ONLYOver 50 experienced judges evaluated a total of 2,552 wine kit entries as part of the 2012 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition. This large collection of kit entries was sent into the competition from across North America originating from 8 Canadian provinces and all 50 American states. The 2,552 wine kit entries were entered in
How Wine Kits are Made
FREEUnless you work in the industry, you’ll likely never have seen the inside of a wine kit manufacturer’s facility. For liability reasons, they don’t give tours to civilians. There’s something about running
Wine Blending Partners
MEMBERS ONLYBlending accomplishes several goals in winemaking. It can be done to improve flavor, mouthfeel, cover a defect, balance the chemical profile, adjust the alcohol content, emulate a commercial wine you enjoy or simply for product consistency. Blending is both a science and an art. The correct blend to adjust the alcohol content of a wine
Late Malolactic
MEMBERS ONLYTo shed light on your query, the Wine Wiz consulted the Winemaking Magic 8 Ball™ and the answer that floated to the top was, “Outlook not good.” If your 2010 Zinfandel still hasn’t gone through ML fermentation (where malic acid is consumed by lactic acid bacteria, turning it into lactic acid, softening the wine and
Meadmaking: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYMeadmaking — like winemaking — has been around for thousands of years. And if you make wine you can also make mead using much of the same equipment. In this issue, two master meadmakers share some insight for making your own mead at home. Michael Fairbrother, Founder and Meadmaker of Moonlight Meadery in Londonderry, New
Your First Mead
FREETips for brewing your firs batch of mead.
Home Winery Names
MEMBERS ONLYWhat’s in a name? If it’s a homewinery, it could be almost anything. Home winemakers explain their winery’s name.
Rosé Wine Kits
MEMBERS ONLYIn a recent study commissioned in the UK, researchers studied the sociological data of people who expressed a preference for either red or white wine. In addition to mundane facts (red wine drinkers have a slightly higher rate of college degrees, white wine drinkers are content stay-at-homes) a couple of very interesting things emerged: fans
Using Winemaking Enzymes
MEMBERS ONLYMany winemakers shun the use of additives, including enzymes, to respect the wine’s “naturalness.” But juice is laden with natural enzymes, and once inoculated with yeast, fermenting wine is under the control of countless enzymes working hard to help convert odorless compounds into volatile, odiferous ones and create new ones, all of which will define
Red Wine Color Stability
MEMBERS ONLYKeep the color in your reds by learning about color stability and how to achieve it.
Making Port Style Wine from Mustang Grapes
MEMBERS ONLYBy far, the most prolific wild grape in Texas is the widely distributed Vitis mustangensis, or Mustang grape. It was historically the major wine grape of early settlers and remains a dominant choice for home winemakers in its distribution area. As popular as the wine is, there is also a great popularity in Port-style Mustang
Your First Wine Barrel
MEMBERS ONLYAfter 15 years of making wine, I am finally embarking upon the use of barrels and it is very exciting. Just having the barrels in my homewinery creates an ambiance that is softer, more aromatic and a bit primitive. I’m feeling that my homewinery is now more in sync with the Old World milieu of
Making Riesling Roundtable
MEMBERS ONLYAsk any wine expert and they will tell you — Riesling deserves its day in the sun. Long touted as one of the most food-friendly wines available, it’s versatility in the winery also cannot be beat. Riesling can be made into a variety of wine styles, from bone dry to icewine, and can be enjoyed
Small-Space Home Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYThe running gag around our place is that you’ve heard of a microbrewery or microwinery? Well, we have a nanowinery. Our winery is so small (how small is it?) we have to step outside to change our minds. Okay, you’ve heard the jokes, but let’s be real. Not every home winemaker has the luxury of
Cabernet Sauvignon: The king of red wine grapes
MEMBERS ONLYCabernet Sauvignon is known for making some of the world’s most robust red wines.
Overspiced Wine Situation
MEMBERS ONLYThere’s nothing like a wine with what I call “the elbows sticking out” to ruin one’s mood. Especially frustrating is when one has followed a recipe or kit instructions to the letter only to find that the procedure has yielded less than satisfying results. Spices and other added flavorings in home winemaking are one of
Growing Riesling Grapes: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYIf you live in a place with cooler weather and want to grow a versatile vinifera varietal, Riesling might be your best bet. Think Germany and Austria when you think of a climate for Riesling. In this issue, we asked two Riesling experts to discuss how they grow their grapes and how you can use
You, the Connoisseur
MEMBERS ONLYTim Vandergrift on you, the “connoisseur.”
Vigor in the Backyard
MEMBERS ONLYVineyard vigor and how to keep it under control to grow the best grapes possible.
Understanding Oxygen and Oxidation in Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYAs budding winemakers, one important principle we heed is protecting juice (must) and wine from oxygen’s baneful effects. But then we learn that yeast needs a “little” oxygen for a good fermentation, that reds benefit from “some” aeration, and that some white varietals can be subjected to lots of oxygen with no ill-effects while others
Small Scale Vineyard Spraying
MEMBERS ONLYThis article will provide the backyard grape grower with a pragmatic guide to the use of pesticides on a small scale. I will cover an approach to developing a spray program for your vineyard, the spraying equipment, and the calculations determining how much pesticide to apply to your vineyard. Developing Your Program For the purpose
Chardonnay Winemaking Tips from Burgundy
MEMBERS ONLYBeing a lover of Pinot Noir, I am intrigued and mystified by Burgundy. During my visit to Burgundy as part of a film crew working on a television series about wine, I had the chance to visit many world-renowned domaines. I tasted in the cellar from the barrel and of course, I was blown away
Aging Country Fruit Wines
MEMBERS ONLYWine is a dynamic chemical soup, constantly changing, evolving, reducing and oxidizing. From the moment it is made, its fate is sealed. Yes, it will improve, mature, reach a peak, and then it will decline and eventually become undrinkable. The best we can do is make it in such a way that it ages gradually,