Date: Jun-Jul 2016
Bottle Sediments
MEMBERS ONLYIt can be wrenching for a winemaker to look at his or her bottles developing a sediment over time. Many fruits, especially those high in pectin, proteins, or phenols are especially prone to sedimentation during aging. It’s often just too hard to wait long enough for everything to precipitate out of solution (months, sometimes years)
Adding Sparkle To Your Wines, Bottle Sediments, and Reducing Acidity
MEMBERS ONLYTo maximize your chances of a successful in-the-bottle fermentation you need to prepare a starter culture.
Pruning the Avila Adobe Vine
MEMBERS ONLYIn January, Wes Hagen joined Los Angeles archivist Michael Holland to prune the historic 200-year-old Avila Adobe vine and explore the history of the city’s winemaking. The vine is located inside the courtyard of the oldest building in Los Angeles.
The Legacy of Ravenswood
MEMBERS ONLYOnce upon a time Joel Peterson was a hobby winemaker with dreams of going pro. Today, Ravenswood is one of the most recognizable labels in the world. Find out how he did it, as well as his winemaking philosophy and techniques.
Bottle Shock
MEMBERS ONLYIf you’ve done everything right in the winery and your wine tastes great going into the bottle, you might scratch your head when you open that first bottle to find your wine muted and disjointed. Fear not — your wine is likely experiencing bottle shock.
Symphony: 40 Years in the Making
MEMBERS ONLYSymphony is a white grape bred from Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris by Dr. Harold Olmo. Grown in California, Symphony grapes are found in many wine kits.
Adding Some Sparkle To Your Wines
MEMBERS ONLYFermentation by itself is tricky but secondary fermentations for sparkling wines are especially so because your new yeast must fight against existing alcohol (which is toxic to yeast), depleted nutrition, and potentially toxic (to the yeast) compounds left behind as the primary yeast died out. To maximize your chances of a successful in-the-bottle fermentation you
Pesticides in the Vineyard: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYGrowing grapes is a lot of work. In addition to wildlife, many varieties are susceptible to disease that, if unprotected against, can claim your vines very quickly. Two pros from different regions detail how they protect their vines from disease. Winemaker: Bernie Parker, Oliver Winery, Bloomington, Indiana For south-central Indiana where we usually have cool,
Keeping Notes in the Winery
FREEWhy it is important for winemakers to take notes, and what information should always be recorded.
Growing Trees for Fruit Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYThere is nowhere in North America or Europe below the Arctic Circle where suitable fruit trees cannot be grown — which means you can grow your own trees for making fruit wines!
Amateur to Pro Winemaking Glory
MEMBERS ONLYRaymond Meyer was the first person to win the three most competitive amateur winemaking competitions in North America, and now he can add a professional “Wine Person of the Year” to his resumé.
Reducing Acidity of Wine
MEMBERS ONLYThat’s great that you are already planning ahead for this upcoming harvest. Indeed, a TA of 10.0 g/L is very high and I would certainly plan on de-acidifying for style as well as to facilitate fermentation. As with just about any major adjustment you’ll make to a wine, the earlier you do it the better.
Cleaning & Sanitizing Techniques
FREE“They can make the difference between sound wine and spoiled wine.” Daniel Pambianchi Daniel Pambianchi was talking about cleaning and sanitizing when he put that maxim in Techniques in Home Winemaking. Home