On July 17 learn late season grape growing and harvest techniques for your small-scale vineyard with “Backyard Vines” Columnist Wes Hagen. Register now to grow and harvest the best wine grapes this year!
Cover Story: Big Batch Winemaking Also Building a garage winery, fruit meads, 2021 Label Contest winners, and crafting Carménère wines.
Video Live Chat roundtable with four award-winning amateur winemakers, which took place on March 24, 2021.
Video Live Chat with Jason Phelps, which took place on February 17, 2021.
Twenty years ago his dad was featured here in the pages of WineMaker magazine. But now that he has joined the ranks of home winemakers it’s his turn to talk about his drive to make his own wine.
Have you ever visited a vineyard and wondered, “How did they do that?!” You know the place, where all the vines seem to be in sync and healthy. Wes found such a hobby vineyard and decided to interview the green thumb.
Making mead with fruit is a creative journey. What fruits and combinations you use, where and when you use them in the process, and what attributes of the fruit you work to express are all creative choices. Unlocking the secrets of all these different choices is the key to being able to mix them up to create your own hits.
There is a certain set of hobby winemakers that are happy with their current winery set up and volume. But for those that are looking to grow their hobby, here are some finer points to expanding your volume with fresh grapes.
Similar to a varietal like Malbec, Carménère has come to be identified with the wine growing regions of South America, but this grape actually was one of the classics of Bordeaux. Chik Brenneman explains the history of this varietal and how to tame this grape when it gets temperamental.
I plan to cold stabilize over the winter months in my winery. Will malolactic fermentation under these circumstances naturally kick back in when temperatures rise in the winery in the spring?
Sometimes we get several questions that revolve around a similar theme. The Wine Wizard had several questions this go-round on volatile acidity and malolactic fermentation. She provides some specifics for winemakers who have bigger picture problems on their hands.
Review some basic concepts of transferring your wine and ways you can improve your process to better your wine.
