Technique

Fin(d)ing Clarity in the Five S’s

When it comes to clarifying your wine kit, there are five “S’s” that will guide your way: Start, stir, smash, sweep, and suppress.

Technique

Adjust Your Must

There are many points throughout the winemaking process where a winemaker must make adjustments in order to influence the final outcome. W

Technique

Blending Bench Trials

Get the basics of what goes into doing wine blending bench trials at home.

Technique

Field Blending

Blends are most often made from varietal wines prior to bottling, but field blending, where all of the varieties are harvested and fermented

Technique

Fermentation and Aging Containers

Fermentation and aging vessels winemakers have to decide between include oak, glass, plastic, and stainless steel. Each has its own pros and

Technique

Six Essential Winemaking Techniques

Technique

Cold Climate Grape Growing

Growing grapes in cold climates has its challenges — from finding varieties that will work to keeping vines alive over harsh winters — 

Technique

Making Sherry-Style Wines

Sherry is the fortified wine from Jerez, Spain, made in soleras and conditioned with flor yeast.

Technique

Big Reds: How To Make A Blockbuster Wine

. . .lurking inside the heads of many home winemakers is the urge to make an absolute blockbuster, a jaw-dropping, mind-bending, 800-pound g

Technique

Yeast Nutrient Strategies

Technique

Making Wines with Finesse

Making lighter wines with finesse is a way of approaching your winemaking, a methodology, a subtle series of tactical maneuvers.

Technique

Techniques to Reduce Sulfite Additions

In spite of their long history as wine preservatives dating to the days of the Romans, sulfites can receive a bad rap. Many suspect that sul

Technique

Pinot Noir Winemaking Techniques from Burgundy

Technique

Fermenter Options for any Size Home Winery

Technique

Wild Yeast Fermentations: Tips from the Pros

Lots of commercial winemakers let their wines ferment with wild yeast from the grapes and in the winery. Here we have two California winemak

Technique

Reducing Use of Winemaking Sulfites

Many factors from grape quality to winemaking care and technique impact the amount of sulfite needed to protect wine from spoilage.

Technique

Wine Blending Partners

Blending accomplishes several goals in winemaking. It can be done to improve flavor, mouthfeel, cover a defect, balance the chemical profile

Technique

Red Wine Color Stability

Keep the color in your reds by learning about color stability and how to achieve it.

Technique

Making Port Style Wine from Mustang Grapes

Technique

Small-Space Home Winemaking

You can make wine even if you live in a small space. Here are some winemakers who do just that.

Technique

Chardonnay Winemaking Tips from Burgundy

Technique

Aging Country Fruit Wines

Technique

15 Facts About Wine Yeast

Yeast is an amazing organism. Here are 15 facts on WineMaker’s 15th anniversary that you may not know about yeast.

Technique

15 Keys to Winemaking Success

15 important steps, axioms, tips, and recommendations to (consistent) winemaking success.

Technique

Choosing Corks and Wine Closures

We review the different types of closures available to home winemakers with a view to understanding oxygen permeability and the impact on wi