You’re a reader after my own heart! Yes, the wine industry seems to have made life more difficult for itself by inventing (and continuing to promulgate) a litany of “to dos” and
New to Winemaking
First Time Winemakers
How do you make wine at home? A great way to start and understand the basic process is to read our articles on grape and kit winemaking. We have gathered lots of information at WineMakermag.com for you to navigate the world of hobby winemaking. Check out our online resource guide for definitions and other helpful advice and charts to consult. Explore our extensive archives of over a decade of content covering the full spectrum of this fun and rewarding hobby. If you’re still stumped, ask the expert — troubleshoot with the Wine Wizard.
More New to Wine
Aging bottled wine properly is key to let certain wine styles to fully develop. Make sure the conditions you are providing are right.
Dry, crisp rosé wines hold a special place in a lot of wine lovers’ hearts, as a well-made version can be a thing of beauty. Learn some of the key components to producing one yourself.
Learn about several grape crushing options, the equipment that can be used, and the processes available to fresh grape winemakers.
As the temperatures climb during the summer months, trees, bushes, and other perennials teeming with berries are aplenty. Get some tips on making berry wines.
If you're a beginner planning on making a batch of red wine, here are some keys components to hone in on before you dive in.
Are you or a friend new to the hobby of winemaking? Don’t worry — WineMaker’s Technical Editor Bob Peak is here to explain the basics of making wine from grapes, juices, and kits.
Learn about the lees that we find in wine and how we can use them to our advantage.
It’s a dirty phrase in most winemaking circles, but volatile acidity is found in all wine and having a little can actually add complexity to a wine. Get the scoop on volatile acidity.
Also known as drupes, stone fruits offer some advantages over some other types of fruit for making wine. Learn some basics of making stone fruit wines.
If you’ve got a wine aging in your cellar you would like unbiased, expert opinions on, then entering it in a competition for judging is one of the best options. Get some pointers for getting the best feedback.
pH meters are a crucial piece of testing equipment for winemakers looking to take their hobby to the next level. Learn some basics of why, how, and when.
There are several techniques a home winemaker can create bubbles for their wine. Learn about the methods for crafting a sparkling wine of your own.
Winemaking is always a learning process and even those of us that have been doing this for a long time still learn a lot every harvest and all year-round! However, that being
The earliest known alcoholic beverage uncovered on Earth was a mead from northern China. Get familiarized with the great and storied world of honey-based wines.
Ethanol may be the most prominent and well-known alcohol in wine, but it is not the only one to play a large role in a wine’s character. Learn about the various alcohols in wine.
If you make your own wine, no matter what kind, the concept of malolactic fermentation (MLF) should be well embedded in your mind. Learn some of the basics of MLF.
Learn about the fundamentals of nitrogen levels in your winemaking as well as how, when, and what additions are needed
Review some basic concepts of transferring your wine and ways you can improve your process to better your wine.
Grape skins can be one of the most important components when creating some wines, while being detrimental to others. Scratch the surface of grape skins in this piece.
Adding oak to a wine can add an amazing depth of character or it can detract from the fruit. Learn some keys to managing the oak in your wine.
Not properly controlling the temperature of your grapes, must, juice, or wine can have lasting impacts. Learn when and how to take control.
Learn about the various factors that affect a home winemaker's decision when choosing cork size and corkers.
Learn about your cork and closure options when it comes to bottling
Having trouble trying to commit to starting into the hobby world, or looking for next steps in your journey into winemaker. We've got a few suggestions for those folks.
Not all wines can or should be backsweetened, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn the process. Find out the basics of backsweetening.
Balance is often the key to producing a winning wine. This means knowing how to measure and adjust acidity if needed. Learn the basics of wine acids.
Get some basic pointers for making hard cider or apple wine.
The concept of maceration is a rather simple one: Take crushed grapes (or fruit) and allow the grapes — skins, seeds, and stems — a period to soak with the grape juice.
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.
Learn key tips to avoid common winemaking pitfalls.
A beautifully crafted white wine is a thing of beauty. If done well, a winemaker can be drinking a very nice example 8 months after harvest, plenty enough to be sipping one
Your first fortified wine can be a little intimidating. What method are you going to utilize? Sweet or dry? What type of spirits are you going to use? Then again, maybe you’re
The Pearson Square is a tool to calculate the number of parts of two different solutions with different concentrations that are required to bring one of the solutions to a desired concentration. The Pearson Square can be intimidating to newbies, but when dissecting it piece by piece it is relatively straight-forward, and understanding it will pay dividends.
Fermentation is a chemical reaction that takes place when yeast turns sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol. Obviously, this is a critical part of the entire process. A yeast cell will turn
Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a secondary fermentation occurring when malolactic (ML) bacteria become active in the presence of malic acid. Bacteria may be present naturally in fresh grape juice or wines. It
Country wine is the informal term that has been used for years to define fermented beverages made from ingredients other than grapes. This can include fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs. Wine made
Nothing feels as satisfying and authentic as making your first batch of wine from fresh grapes. And there’s no better time to try it than in early autumn, when grapes all over
If you want your kit wine to turn out great every time, and avoid the pitfalls that crop up time and again, here are the seven highly fermentative habits you need to
Your wine won’t ferment. It ferments too quickly. It ferments too slowly. It won’t quit fermenting at all! The wine won’t clear in the carboy. No, wait: It’s clear in the carboy
Country Wine Case Study: Ingredients 5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) fully ripened or frozen raspberries placed in a fine mesh straining bag 7 pints (3.3 L) water 2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) corn sugar
Positive affects of oxidation? How can that be? Wine-makers know that oxygen negatively affects wine. A little oxygen, however, can actually be beneficial to your homemade wine. Two common winemaking practices that
We often read that air (and especially the oxygen it contains) is a wine’s worst enemy. Oxidized wine becomes devoid of subtle and fruity aromas that make it seem tired, as if
For many wine lovers, the subject of a wine’s aging potential can be intimidating or seem like artful science that is best left to the wine gurus of the world. Some are
White wine Case Study Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular wine grapes, as evidenced by widespread plantings in France, Australia, South Africa, South America and the United States. The grape
RED wine Case Study: There are two important keys to determining the success of any grape varietal. The first key is its adaptability to the local climate where it is planted. We
Maceration is the process in red winemaking of letting the crushed grape solids soak in the juice. It is during maceration that key compounds are extracted from the grape juice and solids,
An introduction to fining wine with egg whites.
What does "topping up" mean and when should it be done?
Buying your first lug of grapes can be intimidating, but it does not need to be. Get some pointers before committing to your first box of grapes.
Learn the basics of what sulfur dioxide is, as well as when and how to use sulfite in your winemaking.
Fill It Up With all the preparatory work — rinsing, sanitizing and more rinsing — bottling can become overwhelming as one’s production increases. That can quickly turn into many hours of bottling
Country wine is the informal term that has been used for years to define fermented beverages made from ingredients other than grapes. This can include fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs. Wine made
Grape Wine Ah yes . . . grapes! Now that we’ve covered the science behind the winemaking process, you are ready to gather some grapes and start making wine from scratch. From
A Brief Glossary of Some Key Terms Brix: A scale of measuring sugar concentration in grapes, juice, must and wine. Instruments such as refractometers and hydrometers are used to measure degrees Brix
Kit Wine by Jeff ChorniakA typical wine kit contains only a few ingredients: A bag of preserved grape concentrate, yeast and the additives you need to make wine. Not all kits include
Welcome winemakers! Although you’ve entered a part of the website labeled our “Beginner’s Guide,” we purposely designed it to incorporate the essential skills and knowledge that successful winemakers of all levels must
Hard cider doesn't have to be made from apples. Try making a pear cider (perry) this summer!
Nothing feels as satisfying and authentic as making your first batch of wine from fresh grapes. And there’s no better time to try it than in early autumn, when grapes all over
A few months ago, I decided to open a bottle from my collection of homemade wines. I selected an Austrian red and pulled the cork. The wine was healthy, almost vibrant. It
In this article, Michael Larner discusses the wines of the Rhône region of France, and one of the most important winemaking parts of Rhône winemaking is blending. Learn about the basics of
For those that would like to start getting a better handle on the fermentation temperature of their wines, you've found the right spot.
Tips for beginners looking to make small batches of wine.
Tips for beginners on how to prepare their first barrel.
Tips for brewing your firs batch of mead.
An introduction into volatile acidity (VA) and how to avoid it.
Explore the options for your first fermentation vessel.
There are lots of ways to help winemakers learn or refine their craft. Most of those involve lists of equipment and supplies, along with step-by-step or time-based instructions for what to do
How should fruit be prepared before using it to make country wines? Let's have a look...
How do you know when it's time to pull the trigger on harvest? Here's an introductory look for your first harvest.
An introduction to what you'll find in your first wine kit.
An introduction to cleaning and sanitation for beginners.
An introduction to preventing oxidation of your wine.
first wine, beginner winemaking
An introduction into bottling your first batch of wine.
A quick explanation of what malolactic fermentation is, and how/when you may want to do it.
Learn how to stop fermentation before reaching dryness, plus when and why a winemaker may wish to do so.
Pectic enzymes are often required when making fruit wines, but also come in handy in certain situations when making wine from grapes. Learn more about the benefits of pectic enzymes.
Want to make wine from fresh grapes but not sure how to go about getting them? Here's an introduction about sourcing grapes.
You are already proud of the wine you made, but when it comes time to share or gift your wine, you want to be proud of the packaging too. Use these tips from label design pros to get you started.
An introduction to sur lie aging and why you may want to consider it for your next batch.
Why it is important for winemakers to take notes, and what information should always be recorded.
A common perception about wine is that red wines should always be aged and white wines are intended to be consumed young. I won’t call this a total misconception — it is
Looking to buy your first wine kit? Here's what you need to know before you start shopping.
Get hot tips for protein stabilization.
Learn the basics of how and when to use a hydrometer in your winemaking process.
Learn the basics of how and where to age your homemade wines.
One of the most important measurements a winemaker must stay on top of from the time grapes begin to mature in the vineyard through the end of fermentation is degrees Brix. Brix,
An introduction into the equipment a new winemaker will need to get started in the hobby.
Learn the ins and outs of fining wine and the options to choose from.
Here's the equipment you'll need to get started at making wine.
The heat of summer can lead to problems when it comes to winemaking. When the temperature of your fermenting wine becomes excessive, your resulting wine could develop off flavors, off aromas or
