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Jun-Jul 2017

Wine Wizard
Wine Wizard

Chlorine In My Wine

Oh dear. I fear that your wine has been contaminated not just with chlorine, but with the dreaded TCA, or tri-chloroanisole aroma defect. Also known as the “corked” aroma, TCA is the

Article
Article

Malolactic Problems and Cleaning with Chlorine

Some of the SO2 gas created by the sulfur wick certainly will transfer into the wine as sulfur dioxide.

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Article

Pirate Wines in Colorado

Robert Archibald was asked to make the wines for his daughter’s wedding. But there was a catch — the wines had to pair with the pirate theme of the happy couple’s big day. Ahoy matey, that sounds like a challenge!

Technique
Technique

Making White Wines from Red Grapes

As I started working on this story, a surprising question occurred to me: “What makes wine white?” “The color” seems obvious when you look at a restaurant wine list or walk up

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white wine glasses being reflected by in mirrors
Article

Better White Blends

There are lots of reasons to try blending white wines, such as adding complexity, correcting a deficiency, or simply making something fun and new. Find out more about which white grapes work well together, and how to plan the perfect blend.

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Article

Year in a Life of a Wine Part V (Cellar Work)

In the fifth installment of our year-long series about how homemade wine is made using home-grown grapes in Upstate New York, the wines are put through malolactic fermentation and cold stabilized.

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Article

Sourcing Grapes from Vineyards for Home Winemakers

Sourcing fresh grapes directly from a grower can be a fun and rewarding experience for home winemakers. Get some tips for making the most of buying grapes straight from the vineyard.

Wine Wizard
Wine Wizard

Malolactic Problems

The bad news in all of the above is that malolactic bacteria are extremely sensitive to sulfur dioxide. For that reason, it’s critical to not add any SO2 to wine, in any

Technique
Technique

Making Wine from Stone Fruit: Tips from the Pros

Stone fruits (those with pits like cherries, peaches, plums, etc.) are generally off-dry to sweet wines that are easy to enjoy on a warm summer evening. Two pros share advice on making

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Article

Using a Hydrometer

Learn the basics of how and when to use a hydrometer in your winemaking process.

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Article

Black Spanish

Will the real Black Spanish stand up? I have to admit, when we first decided on this variety as a topic, I had never thought I had made wine from it. However,

Wine Wizard
Wine Wizard

One Step Cleaning

One Step is a proprietary cleaning (and somewhat sanitizing) solution that is a secret formula; even the Wine Wizard will never know exactly what it’s made out of. From what I can

Article
Article

Propagating Grapevines

Whether you want to grow grapevines for winemaking, fresh eating, or just decoration, they can be propagated at home simply by taking a few cuttings and rooting them. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, you can create a micro-vineyard of your own.