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Dec 23/Jan 24

December 2023-January 2024 issue WineMaker magazine. Cover Story: Top 100 Wine Kits. Also: Saignée, Your First Wine Kit, and Stuck Fermentations

In this issue

  • article

    Evaluating Your Finished Wines

     By Dave Green

    Get tips on how to properly taste and evaluate your homemade wines.

  • wine-wizard

    Reducing acid in wine

     By Alison Crowe
  • technique

    To Saignée or Not to Saignée

     By Jenne Baldwin-Eaton

    Bleeding off a percentage of juice early during a red wine’s fermentation both concentrates the remaining juice and offers a chance to make a second wine from the bled portion. Learn when and how to employ this French winemaking technique at home.

  • article

    Port and So Much More!

     By WineMaker Staff

    We recap and share pictures from a recent trip in which WineMaker’s publisher and a group of readers explored Portugal’s diverse wine culture.

  • article

    Top 100 Wine Kits of 2023

     By WineMaker Staff

    We share the 100 best-performing wine kits in the 2023 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition.

  • article

    Balancing Wine Acidity

     By Ken & Leah Stafford

    Acid is a critical building block in a wine’s structure. Learn how to balance acidity by testing, adjusting, and most importantly, tasting.

  • article

    Making Your First Wine Kit

     By Gail Tufford

    A lot of work goes into formulating a wine kit long before it goes to market. Learn how kits are developed, the contents of kits and the role each plays, and what separates one kit from another.

  • article

    Sicilian Traditions That Endure

     By Tom Papa

    A winemaker reflects back on the humble beginnings of his winemaking journey, one that started in his father-in-law’s garage and has since grown into his own backyard vineyard and a passion for making the best wine possible.

  • a red wine getting racked into an oak barrel
    technique

    Handling Stuck Fermentations

     By Kevin Donato

    While a stalled out fermentation can be a hassle, there are plenty of preventative measures we can take to preclude it from happening. Also, we should know the various tactics to treat it when a stuck fermentation does rear its ugly head.

  • two glasses of red wine with various oak products like chips, balls, and staves.
    technique

    Post-Fermentation Adjustments to Taste

     By Bob Peak

    When alcoholic fermentation is all wrapped up, most people assume that the wine is then mostly left alone to age. But winemakers know well that there are a lot of adjustments that can be made throughout the cellaring process.

  • ripe bunches of gewürztraminer grapes hanging in a vineyard
    article

    Groovy Gewürztraminer

     By Chik Brenneman

    While it may not look like a white wine grape, Gewürztraminer is well known to produce world-class white wines. Learn some best practices to work with this grape varietal that can thrive when grown in cooler climates.

  • fining agen bentonite as a dry powder
    article

    Reducing Bitterness, Micro-oxygenation On A Small Scale, and Deacidification Tactics

     By Alison Crowe

    Citrus fruits contain a lot of interesting flavors, but making wine with them can be a challenge. Get advice on removing the bitterness that comes with the rinds as well as micro-oxygenation advice for small-scale winemakers, and how to best deacidify a wine.

  • wine-wizard

    Over-Sulfiting Your Grape Must

     By Alison Crowe
  • wine-wizard

    Micro-Oxygenation on a Small Scale

     By Alison Crowe
  • wine-wizard

    Reducing Bitterness in Citrus Wine

     By Alison Crowe
  • article

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