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Feb/Mar 2024

February-March 2024 issue WineMaker magazine. Cover Story: Design Your Dream Winery, non-oak woods for aging wine, Pinot Noir, and expressing terroir.

In this issue

  • article

    Home Winery Design

    A lot of thought and planning should be done before you begin designing a home winery. Whether building a new space or refurbishing an existing area, you want to make the winery as conducive to your needs as possible. From accessibility to temperature control, we lay out what you need to know.

  • wine-wizard

    Tips For a Successful Malolactic Fermentation

  • wine-wizard

    Thoughts for Underripe Red Grapes

  • wine-wizard

    Tips For a Complete Fermentation

  • a cluster of near fully ripe Pinot Noir grapes still hanging in the vineyard
    article

    Paths to Pinot Noir

    It’s a legendary grape with a storied history and one of the most revered in the wine world. But it is also a cantankerous grape to grow and make wine with. Chik Brenneman shares some best practices for handling Pinot Noir in the winery.

  • a bottle of rose wine on a table with two full wine glasses
    article

    Underripe Red Grapes, Malolactic Tips, and General Fermentation Guidelines

    In the face of a cool growing season, contending with underripe grapes can be a challenge. The Wiz has some ideas for one grape grower who just couldn’t get their Syrah to full maturity. Also, get some pointers for a healthy malolactic fermentation and alcoholic fermentation.

  • a grape vine hit hard by cold weather in spring with sucker shoots seemingly the only healthy growth
    article

    Winter Chills

    When a harsh cold snap occurs in the middle of winter, there is little a grape grower can do in the moment . . . it’s all about being prepared ahead of time. Make sure you are making smart decisions before and after the chill.

  • A basement wine storage room with several different storage compartments for different wines
    article

    Cellaring Bottled Wine for Beginners

    Aging bottled wine properly is key to let certain wine styles to fully develop. Make sure the conditions you are providing are right.

  • crushing the harvest of Moscato wine wine grapes
    article

    It Takes a Village

    A New York City gentleman who recently retired found himself the owner of a country home in Italy with hundreds of Moscato grape vines. Having never made wine before, the learning curve was steep. But after several harvests and tons of research, he’s making a splash in the local scene.

  • article

    2024 WineMaker Label Contest Winners

    We share our favorite labels from the hundreds of entries submitted in the annual WineMaker Label Contest.

  • article

    Making Wine with Mahogany

    A home winemaker and woodworker got the idea that mahogany may lend itself nicely to wine in place of oak. This simple idea led him on a years-long string of experiments. Now, he’s ready to share the results, which may surprise you.

  • article

    Maximizing Cellar Space

    Get the most from your wine cellar by maximizing the space you have. Two keys to this are leveraging vertical space and mobility.

  • sorting grapes at harvest in large bins
    technique

    Expressing Terroir in Red Wine

    Over the last decade or so, the word “terroir” has become the buzz word not just among wine lovers, but the greater agricultural world. Bob Peak walks us through several real-world examples of expressing terroir when making a red wine.