Date: Jun-Jul 2014
Hybrid Grapes Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYGood for you for planting a nice selection of grapes! You’re absolutely right, that with Utah’s higher latitude, often-high altitude, and warmer summers, you get a bit more extreme growing season than many of us in the rest of the country. For you, winterkill is a real issue, so frost and cold hardiness is essential.
Over-Sulfited Wine
FREEOh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Sounds like you have a lot of sulfur dioxide in that wine! Assuming standard FSO2 for bottled wine being around 25 ppm, am I correct in
Free SO2 Levels
MEMBERS ONLYIt seems that you and Craig are going through many of the same issues (see this question and answer). Like I mentioned to Craig, it’s really impossible to add enough sulfur dioxide to retard a yeast fermentation because, contrary to popular belief, yeast just aren’t that sensitive to SO2. Unlike bacteria, yeast can still have
“Fruit Floaties”, Sweetening Wine, Free SO2 levels
MEMBERS ONLYBecause sulfur dioxide is so easily-oxidizable, hydrogen peroxide naturally ‘finds’ the easily-oxidized SO2 and the two hopefully cancel each other out.
Metamorphosis
MEMBERS ONLYJohn Bowen incorporated pieces of Atlanta wine history in his wine cellar.
Detecting Vineyard Problems
MEMBERS ONLYKnow what to look for to help identify problems in your home vineyard before they turn catastrophic.
Blending Fruit and Grape Wines
MEMBERS ONLY“Blending is a natural procedure, honest, necessary, and in accordance with historical events.” With that quote, eminent wine authority Emile Peynaud gives us permission to play with our wines. While he was addressing grape wine in his classic Knowing and Making Wine, I think his sentiment applies even more to the wide, wonderful world of
Maximize Wine Aromatics
MEMBERS ONLYGetting and keeping attractive aromatics is a major goal of winemaking, home or commercial, and it isn’t easy. It is a goal and a concern at every step along the way, from harvest to bottle aging; it’s not something you do all at once, like tannin extraction during fermentation. The aromatic calculus for whites differs
Small Batch Winemaking Techniques
MEMBERS ONLYMaking wine in small batches, usually from 3 to 5 liters (3 to 5 quarts), is both easier and at the same time more exacting than making wine in much larger batches. Usually the province of country (non-vinifera) wines, Vitis vinifera grapes may also be made in small batches for the harvest of a single
Big Batch Winemaking Techniques
MEMBERS ONLYAre you ready to move up from small batches of wine? In this article we are going to discuss the specifics of making “big” batches of wine — that is, 10 gallons (38 L) or more. This is a great follow-up to my recent article on setting up your home winery (in the February-March 2014
Top 10 Winemaking Myths
MEMBERS ONLYAs in many fields — health promoting and weight-loss diets come to mind — that have grown from unfounded beliefs and around traditions, with newfound scientific knowledge proving or disproving long-held theories, the field of wine and winemaking has its share of myths, misconceptions and sheer quackery. To the uninitiated, enophiles can seem snobbish, often
Marechal Foch
MEMBERS ONLYMarechal Foch is a cold-climate red grape that has dispersed plantings in the Midwest, Northeast, and Canada.
“Fruit Floaties” — Strawberry Wine
MEMBERS ONLYI just saw your picture and wow, that does indeed look like a floating brain — or two! Luckily, that is a great shot of what I would call typical “fruit floaties” combined with some of the fruit’s natural pectin, and I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. You see, when you make wine
Organic Grape Growing: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYGrowing grapes organically, like any other crop, is often more work than using synthetic fertilizers, solutions and sprays. But in the end, many winemakers who embrace organic growing believe the resulting wines display the purity of the fruit the way that Mother Nature intended. Joy Andersen is a pioneer of the modern-day Washington State wine
Preventing Oxidation
FREEAn introduction to preventing oxidation of your wine.
Yeast Trials With Wine Kits
MEMBERS ONLYJust because your wine kit comes with a certain yeast, that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with other options.
Sweetening Wine Without Refermentation
MEMBERS ONLYUnfortunately, there are only so many options for preventing fermentation in sweet wines and they all involve some degree of sacrifice or difficulty. The list of “cons” is long compared with the one “pro” of an arrested fermentation. First off, you’re correct that adding sorbate can sometimes produce off-flavors over time. Secondly, fortifying with alcohol
Vineyard Trellis and Training
FREEThere are several options available to a backyard grape grower when considering which trellis configuration and which training system to use. How do we focus on what’s important in a trellis and