Date: Aug-Sep 2021
Live Chat with Hugo Picard and Anne Flesch
MEMBERS ONLYLive Chat with Hugo Picard and Anne Flesch, which took place on September 27, 2021.
Live Chat Roundtable with Christina and Frank Musto and Frank Renaldi
MEMBERS ONLYLive Chat Roundtable with Christina and Frank Musto and Frank Renaldi, which took place on August 26, 2021.
Save The Wine! An endurance challenge
FREEWinemakers are known to sacrifice a lot in their pursuit to craft a quality wine. One winemaker found herself faced with an endurance challenge worthy of the show “Survivor” in order to save her babies (wines).
Cooking with Wine
MEMBERS ONLYWine isn’t just the best beverage to pair with food, it’s also great to use as an ingredient in meals. With that in mind, we asked some experts in the kitchen for their advice when it comes to cooking with wine. White, red, or other, wines always have a place in the kitchen.
Maceration Considerations
MEMBERS ONLYAs harvest nears it is time to make a plan of action for how you will proceed with each batch you plan to make this fall. With red wines there are many options. We take a closer look at cold soaking, extended macerations, and carbonic macerations.
Making Sausage at Home
MEMBERS ONLYLooking for another hobby that can enhance your passion for winemaking? Try making your own sausage! Not only does sausage pair well with your wines, but you can even use your wine in the recipes.
The Alcohols
FREEEthanol 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.
Maceration Enzymes: Making the most of these additions
MEMBERS ONLYThere are a lot of enzyme products available to winemakers, but in general they can be broken into just a few classes. Learn when and why a winemaker might use some of these various enzymes, especially during maceration.
The Illustrious Chardonnay: Fine-tuning the classic
MEMBERS ONLYThe king of the white wines, Chardonnay can be expressed in a wide array of styles. Chik Brenneman takes readers on a journey through this grape’s story and tips to creating his favorite version of wine from Chardonnay grapes.
Flex Your Terroir: Expressing your white wines
MEMBERS ONLYTerroir has been a bit of an esoteric topic for a long time in winemaking. But as we come to learn more about it we are figuring out ways to use it to our advantage. Learn techniques to express terroir in your white wines.
Achieving Cold Stable Wines
MEMBERS ONLYFor those readers who are not familiar with the article referenced, I talk about how it was likely a reader’s malolactic fermentation would pick back up again when the weather warmed up again in the spring (he wanted to over-winter his wine undergoing MLF outside in order to help it get cold stable). It sounds
Rules Of Fining
MEMBERS ONLYIndeed, after using most fining agents there will be a layer of sediment generated and you’ll need to rack the wine off of it accordingly. Fining agents, by definition, are introduced into a wine to interact with whichever of the wine compounds you are trying to mitigate or reduce. For instance, bentonite is a natural
Topping My Wines Off
MEMBERS ONLYAs I explain in my book, The Winemaker’s Answer Book, oxygen can be a friend of wine (especially during active primary fermentation) but is more often its enemy. One of the biggest jobs of being a winemaker entails minimizing oxygen (air) contact in our aging wines by keeping our containers 100% full, or “topped up.”
Top Me Off, Rules of Fining, and Achieving Cold Stable Wines
MEMBERS ONLYGet some pointers and considerations a winemaker needs to keep in mind when topping off your aging wine vessels. The Wizard also answers questions on fining agents and malolactic fermentation after cold stabilizing a wine.
DIY Bird Net Applicator
FREEBird netting is essential to protect your precious grapes form birds after veraison. However, anyone with their own backyard vineyard knows how difficult it can be to apply the netting and also role it up compactly for storage after harvest. With that in mind, a home winemaker came up with two DIYs to make the tasks easier.