Date: Feb-Mar 2013
Brown Colored White Wine
FREESorry to say, but it sounds like you’ve got a no-bueno situation. White grapes should always be pressed as soon as possible after picking in order to reduce juice (and subsequent wine)
Fining Red Wines
MEMBERS ONLYRed wines are typically not fined as often as white wines, to which we often add bentonite in order to remove potentially haze-causing proteins. The tannin from the skins of red wines tends to bind with excess protein, the agglomeration of which will precipitate out during the fermentation process. Nor do we usually cold-stabilize red
Overspiced Situation, Fining Reds, Brown Whites
MEMBERS ONLYSpices and other added flavorings in home winemaking are one of the trickiest things to get right.
Home Winery Names
MEMBERS ONLYWhat’s in a name? If it’s a homewinery, it could be almost anything. Home winemakers explain their winery’s name.
Rosé Wine Kits
MEMBERS ONLYIn a recent study commissioned in the UK, researchers studied the sociological data of people who expressed a preference for either red or white wine. In addition to mundane facts (red wine drinkers have a slightly higher rate of college degrees, white wine drinkers are content stay-at-homes) a couple of very interesting things emerged: fans
Using Winemaking Enzymes
MEMBERS ONLYMany winemakers shun the use of additives, including enzymes, to respect the wine’s “naturalness.” But juice is laden with natural enzymes, and once inoculated with yeast, fermenting wine is under the control of countless enzymes working hard to help convert odorless compounds into volatile, odiferous ones and create new ones, all of which will define
Red Wine Color Stability
MEMBERS ONLYKeep the color in your reds by learning about color stability and how to achieve it.
Making Port Style Wine from Mustang Grapes
MEMBERS ONLYBy far, the most prolific wild grape in Texas is the widely distributed Vitis mustangensis, or Mustang grape. It was historically the major wine grape of early settlers and remains a dominant choice for home winemakers in its distribution area. As popular as the wine is, there is also a great popularity in Port-style Mustang
Your First Wine Barrel
MEMBERS ONLYAfter 15 years of making wine, I am finally embarking upon the use of barrels and it is very exciting. Just having the barrels in my homewinery creates an ambiance that is softer, more aromatic and a bit primitive. I’m feeling that my homewinery is now more in sync with the Old World milieu of
Making Riesling Roundtable
MEMBERS ONLYAsk any wine expert and they will tell you — Riesling deserves its day in the sun. Long touted as one of the most food-friendly wines available, it’s versatility in the winery also cannot be beat. Riesling can be made into a variety of wine styles, from bone dry to icewine, and can be enjoyed
Small-Space Home Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYThe running gag around our place is that you’ve heard of a microbrewery or microwinery? Well, we have a nanowinery. Our winery is so small (how small is it?) we have to step outside to change our minds. Okay, you’ve heard the jokes, but let’s be real. Not every home winemaker has the luxury of
Cabernet Sauvignon: The king of red wine grapes
MEMBERS ONLYCabernet Sauvignon is known for making some of the world’s most robust red wines.
Overspiced Wine Situation
MEMBERS ONLYThere’s nothing like a wine with what I call “the elbows sticking out” to ruin one’s mood. Especially frustrating is when one has followed a recipe or kit instructions to the letter only to find that the procedure has yielded less than satisfying results. Spices and other added flavorings in home winemaking are one of
Growing Riesling Grapes: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYIf you live in a place with cooler weather and want to grow a versatile vinifera varietal, Riesling might be your best bet. Think Germany and Austria when you think of a climate for Riesling. In this issue, we asked two Riesling experts to discuss how they grow their grapes and how you can use
Making Wine In A Limited Space
FREEFor many home winemakers, space — or the lack of it — is the final frontier, the one thing holding their winemaking aspirations back. See how some home winemakers have dealt with this problem.