Date: Dec 19-Jan 20
High-pH Wine
MEMBERS ONLYQIn the above situation, what do you suggest I do? Do you agree that I should conduct MLF on my wines considering their high-pH characteristics? AFirst off, glad your Viognier got better! That’s awesome you’re doing both reds and whites, it’s fun to try a lot of different kinds of wines. Well, I hear you
Cucumber Wine
MEMBERS ONLYWell, according to specific gravity, your cucumber wine (sounds refreshing) is dry. For RS-dry (residual sugar dry) you want to look for an SG of 0.992 and 0.996 on your hydrometer. If your wine is dry, with no sugar left to ferment, and it’s still actively producing CO2, then the next thing I’d wonder about
Stabilizing Whites
FREEIndeed, a pH of 2.9 is really low, even for a Sauvignon Blanc, and I think I would definitely de-acidify in that case. With deacidification you’ll always get some kind of precipitation;
Live Chat with Bob Peak
MEMBERS ONLYLive Chat with Bob Peak, which took place on January 22, 2020.
Live Chat with Alex Russan
MEMBERS ONLYLive Chat with Alex Russan, which took place on December 19, 2019.
Finishing Wine from Kits
MEMBERS ONLYGet advice on how to “finish” your wine made from a kit — the steps near the end of the process and after the instructions that come with the kit come to an end that you can take to improve on them.
Intro to Wine Kits: Tips from the Pros
FREEWhether you are new to the winemaking hobby or looking to supplement your grape winemaking during the off-season, making wine from a kit results in great tasting wine in less time and
Bench Trials and Tribulations
FREEA home winemaker details the four bench trials he conducted to adjust the acidity of a low-pH Sauvignon Blanc to show how the process is done and share the impact each approach had on the wine.
Top 100 Wine Kits of 2019
MEMBERS ONLYThis past April, experienced judges evaluated a total of 646 wine kit entries as part of the overall 2019 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition featuring 2,305 total entries. This large collection of kit entries was sent into the competition from across North America. The 646 wine kit entries were entered into over 30 different categories
Lower Alcohol Wines
MEMBERS ONLYThe warming climate and the rise of mean temperatures during the growth season of grapes, which has been evident in these two last decades, has caused the rise in sugar content and the decrease in acidity of musts. This has already become an issue winemakers are aware of and some are trying to compensate for,
United We Wine: Generations connect though the grapevine
MEMBERS ONLYWinemaking roots can run deep in some families and those roots can often get intertwined. The Walker family from Connecticut shares their appreciation of how their roots have ties to several other winemakers near and far.
When The Acid Kicks In: Don’t just factualize, conceptualize acid in wine
MEMBERS ONLYGetting a wine’s acid levels right plays a big role in perception and profile, but numbers only tell part of the story. Don’t just use numbers to decide how you treat your wine — use some sense and your senses.
Classes, Clubs, and Consultants: Getting expert help at home
MEMBERS ONLYFeedback is one of the quintessential parts of growing and learning in this hobby. There are many avenues a hobby grape grower and winemaker can take for evaluation and advice, so make sure that you’re looking in the right spots.
Pinot Meunier: The forgotten grape of Champagne
MEMBERS ONLYWhen it comes to the grapes found in Champagne, most casual wine drinkers can point to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but Pinot Meunier is often left off that list. Find out about the forgotten grape of Champagne, its history, and why you may want to give it a try if you can.
Backsweetening
FREENot all wines can or should be backsweetened, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn the process. Find out the basics of backsweetening.
High-pH Wine, Stabilizing Whites and Cucumber Wine
MEMBERS ONLYHigher pH wine can be easily fixed . . . but the question is, should they be? As is often the case, the answer is sometimes. The Wiz digs deep into one reader’s pH dilemma as well as properly stabilizing a white wine and a fermentation question on a cucumber wine.