Article

Wine Filtration

Filtering isn’t glamorous, but it is often a necessary step toward brilliantly clear and microbially stable wine in the bottle. Learn the

Article

Top Me Off, Rules of Fining, and Achieving Cold Stable Wines

Get some pointers and considerations a winemaker needs to keep in mind when topping off your aging wine vessels. The Wizard also answers que

Article

Get Crystal Clear About Filtration

If you want to serve a crystal clear and microbial stable wine, it will require filtration. Explore the “how” and “why” of wine filt

Technique

Wine Filtration 101

Article

Overspiced Situation, Fining Reds, Brown Whites

Spices and other added flavorings in home winemaking are one of the trickiest things to get right.

Technique

Fining Your Way to Clear Wine

Fining of wine is the addition of one substance to remove another. It is a diverse subject with several classes of materials involved in its

Article

A Clearer Understanding of Fining Agents

Gain an understanding of what fining agent are, how they work, and how they make your wine brilliantly clear.

Technique

Using Fining Agents

Article

The Fine Art of Fining

Technique

Shaping Body and Mouthfeel in Wine

Whether the body of your wine is too thin, fallen out of balance during bulk aging, or has stubborn tannins that resist softening, there are

Article

Preparing White Wines for Bottling

A look at the steps required in making white wines through winter and spring and how the timing of each step impacts when the wine is ready

Article

Pressing Rosé, Creamy Chardonnay, & Oak Origins

The Wine Wizard answers a number of reader questions.

Wine-wizard

Press timing for rosé wines

Article

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is the ultimate wine to pair with food due to the variety’s ability to hold its acidity as it ripens and generous amounts of ri

Technique

Turbidity

Clarity, or turbidity, is a key aspect of wine evaluation. Let’s revisit the fundamentals of wine clarity and examine how incorporating tu

Technique

Fine Wine in Less Time

When you want a finished wine quicker, there are techniques and products to help speed along the process of wine from grapes without sacrifi

Technique

Using Gum Arabic

Gum arabic is a natural anti-flocculant with a list of benefits that includes helping prevent tartrate crystals from forming, smoothing out

Article

Performing Winery Lab Tests

Take the guesswork out of winemaking by performing tests on your juice, must, and wine. We run through the most critical tests, as well as h

Article

Setting Up a Home Wine Lab

Learn about the lab equipment you should consider investing in for each stage of the winemaking process.

Article

Explore the World of Perry

Perry, or pear cider as some refer to it, is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world. Facing extinction for periods through histo

Article

St. Croix

St. Croix is a red hybrid grape designed by a private grape breeder to withstand the bitter cold Wisconsin winters. Learn more about this th

Article

A Ghost of Cabernet Past, Swing-Top Bottles & Bottle Shock

A 40-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon that’s now as white as a ghost? Oh no! The Wine Wizard gets to the bottom of this spooky phenomenon and a

Technique

Pectic Enzymes

Pectic enzymes are often used in fruit and other high-pectin wines to aid in clarity, but also serve as a useful tool post-crush to aid in j

Wine-wizard

Dealing With Bottle Shock

Article

Traminette

Traminette is a white hybrid grape grown all over the northern areas of North America that can make extremely aromatic wines. From crisp, dr