Feb-Mar 2021
Live Chat With Four Award-Winning Amateur Winemakers
Video Live Chat roundtable with four award-winning amateur winemakers, which took place on March 24, 2021.
Live Chat With Jason Phelps
Video Live Chat with Jason Phelps, which took place on February 17, 2021.
The Cozzarelli Legacy: A family steeped in winemaking
Twenty years ago his dad was featured here in the pages of WineMaker magazine. But now that he has joined the ranks of home winemakers it’s his turn to talk about his drive to make his own wine.
Best Practices: Mythic vines make for mythic wines
Have you ever visited a vineyard and wondered, “How did they do that?!” You know the place, where all the vines seem to be in sync and healthy. Wes found such a hobby vineyard and decided to interview the green thumb.
One-Stall Winery
After years of making wine in various locations throughout my house out of necessity and lack of a dedicated space, I recently had to evaluate my process. For years I fermented grapes
2021 Label Contest Winners
It’s been said for ages — making wine is a balance of science and art. Today, however, we’re going to focus on art. That is, the art that wraps our precious bottles
Go Big at Home
Firstly let me define what I mean by “big batch” for this discussion. Let’s say a big batch is anything larger than a 6-gallon (23-L) carboy of wine. Many home winemakers begin
A Harmony of Fruit and Honey
Making mead with fruit is a creative journey. What fruits and combinations you use, where and when you use them in the process, and what attributes of the fruit you work to express are all creative choices. Unlocking the secrets of all these different choices is the key to being able to mix them up to create your own hits.
Scaling Up Grapes
There is a certain set of hobby winemakers that are happy with their current winery set up and volume. But for those that are looking to grow their hobby, here are some finer points to expanding your volume with fresh grapes.
Colorful Carménère
Similar to a varietal like Malbec, Carménère has come to be identified with the wine growing regions of South America, but this grape actually was one of the classics of Bordeaux. Chik Brenneman explains the history of this varietal and how to tame this grape when it gets temperamental.
Malolactic Fermentation After Cold Stabilizing
I always think it’s wonderful when people can do a “natural” cold stabilization over the winter months. It’s an incredibly intuitive and very old-fashioned, non-interventionist way to accomplish a key winemaking task.
Adding Sorbate After MLF
Winemakers typically add sorbate (aka sorbic acid, often purchased as potassium sorbate) when they want to bottle a wine with a little residual sugar. It is often added right before backsweetening and
Volatile Acidity Fixes
A Sadly, blending VA levels downward remains the only option available for reducing VA content in small lots. Larger commercial wineries, with big lots and bigger pocketbooks, can afford the expense of
Oxygen Ingression
Don’t worry, it’s happened to the best of us! If you can, check your pH and your VA (volatile acidity) to try to get a handle on whether or not this air
Oxygen Ingression, Volatile Acidity Interventions, Sorbate Question, and Malolactic Timing
Sometimes we get several questions that revolve around a similar theme. The Wine Wizard had several questions this go-round on volatile acidity and malolactic fermentation. She provides some specifics for winemakers who have bigger picture problems on their hands.
The Basics Of Racking Wine
Review some basic concepts of transferring your wine and ways you can improve your process to better your wine.
Traditional Meadmaking: Tips from the Pros
Want to try something new between grape harvest seasons? How about trying your hand at making mead, a wine made from honey. Meads come in many different forms — from dry to
