Date: Jun-Jul 2013
15 Upcoming Wine Regions
MEMBERS ONLYPeople tend to stick to the familiar and pleasurable in life, and while there’s nothing wrong with enjoying your favorite Chardonnay or Zinfandel on a regular basis, remember the last time you tried a new varietal and were pleased by new and delicious flavors and aromas? It was probably an immediate addition to your favorites
Use Of Bleach In A Winery
FREEMy rule is no chlorine bleach in my wineries, never, nohow. Anything containing chlorine might contribute to the dreaded “corked wine aroma,” 2-4-6 trichloroanisole (TCA), in your finished wines. It can be
Questionable ‘Premium’ Grapes
MEMBERS ONLYThat’s an interesting data set you present there. What I’m about to tell you, please take with many grains of salt because I am not privy to the growing locations of your California Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes and, for instance, would expect very different quality numbers from a Zinfandel grown in Dry Creek
Fining Fruit Wines, Sourcing Grapes, and Cleaning Agents
MEMBERS ONLYWine clarifiers, or ‘fining agents’ as they (and a whole host of other wine-finishing additives) are called, are creatures of degrees.
WineMaker Turns 15
MEMBERS ONLYA look at the numbers from 15 years of WineMaker magazine.
15 Grapevines to Try in Your Vineyard
MEMBERS ONLYCelebrating 15 years, here’s 15 grapes you should consider growing!
15 Facts About Wine Yeast
MEMBERS ONLYFor more than 10 years I have been a home winemaker and for almost that long I have also brewed beer. Before that, I was general manager at a company that sells wine production products — including yeast — to commercial wineries. Through all that time, two facts about yeast most impressed me. First, what
15 Wine Kits to Try
MEMBERS ONLYMost home winemakers have limits on their winemaking space, equipment, cellar capacity or the ability of their liver to keep up. If you are one of those who has to pick and choose, this article could be a sort of personal bucket list, especially if like a lot of folks you’ve found a “house” wine
15 Home Vineyard Tips
MEMBERS ONLYOne truism in almost everything I do is this: By the end of any project, I am competent to start it properly. Nowhere is this more evident than in viticulture, and backyard vineyards are often a source of great disappointment because we knew so little when we first planted the vines. In the olden days
15 Keys to Winemaking Success
MEMBERS ONLYAs we look back at the many wines we made, we cherish the memories of those winners that amazed our friends and family. But there have been failures too and perhaps some disappointments when we expected that “great” wine to fetch gold at competitions but failed to earn any medals. Have we learned anything from
15 Wine Styles You Need to Make
MEMBERS ONLYOne of the things that makes wine irresistible is the endless variety: every grape, every region, every vintage, every bottle tastes a little different from the last. And so while there is no crime in getting better and better at making one wine or one style, there is much to be learned — and much
Cabernet Franc: The “other” Cabernet king
MEMBERS ONLYCabernet Franc is thought to have originated in Southwest France, specifically in Libournais.
Fining Fruit Wines
MEMBERS ONLYThe short answer is that yes, I would absolutely cut down on the amount of clarifying agent you use if you don’t have enough wine volume for the recommended 5 gallon (19 L) batch listed on the packet. Because I don’t know what is in your “pre-measured packet,” it’s hard for me to get into
Making Cabernet Franc: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYCabernet Franc can be a very versatile grape to grow in your backyard vineyard — and more forgiving in some ways than Cabernet Sauvignon. But what does it take to make good Cab Franc at home? In this issue, three experts discuss techniques for making Cabernet Franc in the vineyard and in the winery. Terry
Choosing Your First Fermenter
FREEExplore the options for your first fermentation vessel.
