Grape Profiles
The world of wine grapes is expansive and continues to grow. Here are a select few profiles of lesser-known wine grape varieties.
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Apr/May 2019
Learn the Italian techniques for adding sparkle to your wine. Plus, learn how to use barrels like a pro, and some pre-bottling tweaks for whites and rosés.
In this issue
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articleComplementing Food: Teaching winemaking to young chefs
The culinary world and hobby winemaking collide in an upstate New York college campus where one man’s mission is to introduce the winemaking hobby to chefs-in-training.
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techniqueItalian Techniques for Bubbles
There are many ways to make sparkling or spritzy wines. An Italian winemaker offers tips for two methods used in regions of Italy — Governo and metodo
ancestrale — and how home winemakers everywhere can use them at home. -
articleOne Grape, Many Styles
There are many reasons that 10 wines made from the same grape may taste completely different, and often it is because the winemaker planned for them to. Learn about how the location a grape is grown, as well as the decisions a winemaker must make, impact the outcome of a wine.
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articleSmall Batch Barrels
Barrels offer a lot more benefits to wine than just oak taste and tannins, but full-size barrels are often out of reach for the home winemaker. Smaller barrels that are more home winemaker-friendly pose some nuances when it comes to wood-to-wine ratio, but they offer the same benefits when you know how to use them.
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articleBeyond the Barrel
If a barrel isn’t in your immediate winemaking plans — or if your barrel has been filled so many times it has become neutral in oak character — there are many other options on the market in the forms of oak alternatives. Get to know the options to see which may be best for your cellar.
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techniqueLees and You: Dead yeast can be your friend
Aging on fine lees has traditionally been reserved for Muscadets, white Burgundy wines, and classic champenoise-style wines, but that doesn’t mean you can’t utilize this with other wines. Learn the hows and whys of aging your wine on lees.
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techniqueFinishing For Whites and Rosés
The time period leading up to bottling day is the time winemakers need to take advantage of last minute adjustments and additions. Bob Peak takes readers on a spin through some techniques that winemakers can use before bottling white and rosé wines.
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articleRiesling Revisited
Riesling is one of the noble grapes of Germany and can produce a wide array of complex white wines. Learn some of the key elements and techniques that winemakers can utilize when crafting wine from these grapes.
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wine-wizardProperly Adding Acid to a Barrel
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articleReconfiguring the Palate & Properly Adding Acid to a Barrel
The Wizard explores the many sensations that tasters experience as a wine goes from grapes, through fermentation, and into the early stages of aging; in order to be a better judge of a wine’s character when finished. Also, a reader has a question about properly adding acid to a barrel.
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wine-wizard
Reconfiguring Your Tasting Palate
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articleOak Barrel Care: Tips From the Pros
Owning your own oak barrel can yield great rewards when handled properly. We asked the advice of two professionals that know what it takes to care for a new barrel and keep them in tip-top shape.
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articleWiden Your Winemaking Spectrum
Many winemakers and wine drinkers can get stuck in the mentality that wine is only made from Vitis vinifera grapes, and any other additions or deviations from this platform is a clear step down. But there is a whole world of wines outside of vinifera grapes.
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articleVacuum Wine Corker
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article2019 Backyard Vine Directory
Grow your own grapes? Thinking of starting a backyard vineyard? Now is the time to plan your spring. Here is a list of suppliers where you can purchase grapevines and/or supplies for your home vineyard…