Import Source: Quark
Maceration Tips and Techniques
MEMBERS ONLY“Maceration,” says the Concise Oxford Dictionary, is to “soften by soaking.” In red winemaking it is so much more! Indeed, maceration may be viewed as the very essence of what distinguishes the making of red wine from that of white wine. With very few minor exceptions, all grapes have colorless pulp. To achieve the color,
Winemaking Tips from Virginia Winemakers
MEMBERS ONLYFour centuries after it was first believed wine grapes would be an agricultural staple in Virginia, early prophecies are a reality. Virginia is quickly emerging as an up and coming wine region in America, with wines that have received national and international attention. In 1619, Jamestown settlers saw the potential for winemaking in the colony.
Making Country Wine from Berries
MEMBERS ONLYSummer is the time for berries, and that means berry wines. Loaded with flavor and unique aromas, chilled berry wines on warm summer afternoons lend credence to the lyrics, “It’s summertime, and the living is easy . . .” Here are 15 summer berries suitable for wine that you can ferment as soon as the
Pinot Gris/Grigio The name says it all, or does it?
MEMBERS ONLYUnknown to the science at the time, these genetic mutations were first noticed hundreds of years ago in Burgundy, France, where the mutants grew side by side, and sometimes within the same plant as Pinot Noir.
Perfecting Pyment
MEMBERS ONLYCongrats for breaking out of the mold and taking it upon yourself to adapt a recipe to your own preferences! I always love it when readers, and my own winemaking buddies, take what they know or have done, and give it a good tweak. Pyment, or a fermented beverage made with both grape sugars and
Urban Winemaking: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYMaking wine away from winemaking regions is becoming more popular. As these pros will tell you, urban winemaking comes with unique benefits and challenges. Jared Brandt and his wife, Tracey, are the owners and winemakers of Donkey and Goat in Berkeley, California. The Brandts craft their natural wines from Rhône varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Preparing Country Fruit
FREEHow should fruit be prepared before using it to make country wines? Let’s have a look…
Wine in Cómpeta
MEMBERS ONLYA New World home winemaker retires to Spain and gets in touch with the Old World ways of winemaking.
Bâtonnage Winemaking Techniques
MEMBERS ONLYYou want to add extra body and mouthfeel to your wines, or perhaps enhance those buttery or yeasty aromas and flavors in your barrel-fermented Chardonnay? Or maybe even round out those sharp tannins in young reds? Then you may want to consider lees stirring, or what the French call bâtonnage, the technique of stirring dead
Chambourcin: A vigorous, dark hybrid
MEMBERS ONLY. . . (Chambourcin) does get a little more respect than other hybrids because of its ability to improve color in other wines without taking away from the other grapes’ varietal character . . .
Making Dry Muscat
MEMBERS ONLYSounds tasty to me! I love a dry (or even off-dry, maybe with residual sugar of around 5 g/L), crisp Muscat wine. Historically, Muscats have been used in many wine types, from sweet and desserty to fortified to dry. I’ve made a few myself in my career, starting with the infamous “Vin de Glaciere” dessert
Making Chambourcin Wine: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYDeveloped commercially 50 years ago, Chambourcin is a versatile grape that is most prevalently grown in the Mid-Atlantic. Producing deep red colors and strong aromas, Chambourcin grapes are used either to stand-alone or in blended wines that run the gamut from dinner wines to dessert wines to sparkling wines. Rick Hall joined Chateau Morrisette in
Determining Ripeness
FREEHow do you know when it’s time to pull the trigger on harvest? Here’s an introductory look for your first harvest.
Questions in the Vineyard
MEMBERS ONLYWes Hagen answers your home vineyard questions
The Science of Food and Wine Pairing
MEMBERS ONLY“Carignane and goat cheese,” said Tony Ross, wine educator at Passalacqua Winery near Healdsburg, California. During a judging session for a local home wine competition, Tony and I were on the same panel. Between entries, I mentioned working on this “Techniques” column on pairing and he gave me his favorite recommendation. I went on to
Malolactic Fermentation Timing
MEMBERS ONLYHome Winemakers, Let’s Take a Vote: Those of you who put your wines through malolactic fermentation only after the alcoholic fermentation is complete, raise your hands. Now those of you who do both at the same time, in order to get it all over with, raise your hands. Congratulations: Both teams are right — depending.
Top 100 Wine Kits 2013
MEMBERS ONLYOver 50 experienced judges evaluated a total of 2,725 wine kit entries as part of the 2013 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 2,725 wine kit entries were entered in
Sparkling Techniques
MEMBERS ONLYThere is nothing as refreshing and enjoyable as a chilled bottle of mousseux (foamy), or fine bubbly. No longer are sparkling wines simply uncorked to celebrate a new year or a kid’s college graduation. Consumers are finally discovering this exquisite style of wine with global consumption that is now growing at twice the rate of
Meritage Roundtable: Tips on Making Bordeaux-Style Blends in the New World
MEMBERS ONLYThe name Meritage is a blend of the words merit and heritage (and pronounced to rhyme with the latter). But beyond a commitment to using the same grapes as those used in the great wines of Bordeaux, making a Meritage blend is mostly a matter of a winemaker’s own tastes and preferences. Like most things
Torrontés: An alternative to the common whites
FREEI was particularly drawn to Torrontés because of the Muscat-like flavors, but another reason was because of the challenge it presents from a winemaking perspective . . .
Fun With Wine Filtration
MEMBERS ONLYThe fun of filtration! I’ll deliver the bad news to you and my readers first by telling you that really no matter how tight of a pore size you use to filter your wines, there is always the possibility of sediment developing over time. In fact, with red wines, it’s actually just about guaranteed. You
Making Sparkling Wine: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYThese three pros offer up tips to make your own sparkling wine at home. Steve DiFrancesco is the Winemaker for Glenora Wine Cellars in Dundee, New York. If you’re going for a classic elegance in your sparkling wine you want very delicate flavors from the grapes because the effervescence is going to elevate the aromatics;
What’s that in my Kit?
FREEAn introduction to what you’ll find in your first wine kit.
Wine & Olympics
MEMBERS ONLYWinemaking and the Olympic sport of skeleton racing have more in common than you might think.
Cleaning and Sanitizing Your Way to Better Wine Kits
MEMBERS ONLYI had a very interesting conversation with a couple of veteran winemakers at a guided wine tasting I conducted this fall. Together, they had made dozens of batches of wine, were using advanced techniques and had won medals; most recently two gold, one silver and three bronze medals between them in the WineMaker International Amateur