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Mosti Mondiale

Dec 24/Jan 25

We review the top 100 wine kits of 2024. Plus, game-changing innovations in winemaking, making age-worthy wines, and debunking consumer myths.

In this issue

  • article

    Top 100 Wine Kits of 2024

     By WineMaker Staff

    We reveal the 100 highest scoring kit wines judged in the 2024 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition.

  • article

    Gold Tips for Red Wine Kits

     By Dawson Raspuzzi

    The idea that making a great tasting wine from a kit is simple if you follow the directions isn’t wrong, though there is often a bit more to it in order to make a wine worthy of winning a gold medal. Three acclaimed amateur winemakers share their advice for making a red wine from a kit that will stand out in competition and at the dinner table.

  • article

    Game-Changing Innovations

     By Clark Smith

    A number of innovative products well-suited for the home and small-scale winemaker have come to market in recent years. Explore these options that can help in your winemaking hobby — from ingredients, wood products, and yeasts, to analytical tools and other winemaking equipment.

  • article

    Teroldego

     By Maureen Macdonald

    If you want to make a red wine that can be consumed without years of aging, Teroldego is a great option. This Italian variety features flavors of bold acidic fruits and rich notes of baking spices. It doesn’t require heavy oaking and its silkier tannins negate the need to wait for the sometimes harsh flavors of young red wines to mellow.

  • technique

    Making Age-Worthy Wines

     By Chik Brenneman

    Making a wine that benefits from long-term cellaring — be it red or white — requires high-quality grapes and a meticulous focus on the details. Explore the science and techniques required to craft an age-worthy wine.

  • technique

    Mid-Winter Check-In

     By Bob Peak

    Harvest and the heavy lifting of crushing and fermenting your 2024 vintage are in the rearview mirror at this point. That doesn’t mean the work is over. Let’s check in on your wines and review the steps every winemaker should be taking during the long winter months.

  • wine-wizard

    Wine Consumer Myths

     By Alison Crowe
  • wine-wizard

    Lowering pH

     By Alison Crowe
  • wine-wizard

    Yeast Impact on MLF

     By Alison Crowe
  • article

    Dubunking Consumer Myths, Yeast Impact on MLF & pH Adjustments

     By Alison Crowe

    If you sometimes prefer your red wines served a little on the cool side or are not afraid of buying high-end wines with screw cap closures, you aren’t alone! The Wine Wizard shares her “consumer myths” that need to be debunked. Plus, the role your yeast choice plays on malolactic fermentation, and advice on adjusting a high-pH juice.

  • article

    From Orchard to Glass

     By Samuel Peters

    Making stone fruit mead is a fun alternative to wine. Relying on honey and fruit — from cherries, peaches, and plums, to more exotic pitted fruits — for the fermentable sugars, the flavor combinations are endless.

  • article

    Improving Through Competition

     By Bob Joakimson

    Wine competitions aren’t just for bragging rights. Receiving medals is great, but the notes from the judges are often the most important thing to come from a competition, says one decorated winemaker who has continued to hone his craft through the feedback of experienced wine judges.

  • article

    Tempranillo Time

     By WineMaker Staff

    WineMaker readers recently joined Publisher Brad Ring exploring Spain’s Rioja wine region and either side of the Spain-France border in Basque Country. We share images and an overview from a trip of a lifetime.