Date: Oct-Nov 2013
Finding Ideal SO2 Levels
MEMBERS ONLYYou do an excellent job of outlining one of the major conundrums we all experience in the winemaking world. How much SO2 do we need to add to our wines to keep them safe? How much is too much? To be very honest, it’s something even commercial winemakers do “by feel.” While I wish we
What Kind Of Water To Use In My Wine Kit
FREETo address your first question: A chemistry teacher in high school once mentioned that since distilled water was free of minerals and many dissolved gasses, it behaved differently in osmotic equilibrium situations
Making Muscat, Battling VA, Finding Ideal SO2 Levels
MEMBERS ONLYNo matter which strain you use, be sure that you read up on all the specifications from the manufacturer around ideal performance conditions.
Joining a grape growing community
MEMBERS ONLYSpending time with fellow amateur grape growers can improve your own vineyard.
Home Vineyard Experiments
MEMBERS ONLYBibliographies are traditionally presented at the end of an article, but there is a book that proved so central to the production of this article that it must be given a leading role, a beauty shot and a recommendation for purchase. This seminal work of viticultural research is called Sunlight Into Wine by Dr. Richard
Performing Bench Trials
FREEAt first glance, bench trials for home winemaking may seem like more trouble than they’re worth. Variously called bench trials, bench tests, or even kitchen table trials, they are focused experiments targeted
Small Batch Wine Experiments
MEMBERS ONLYMaking small batches of wine at home can be a real labor of love. If you primarily make wine by the barrel it might be easy to take this idea for granted, but making really small batches (less than six gallons let’s say) can take a lot of effort for little gain. For the many
Winemaking Tips from Virginia Winemakers
MEMBERS ONLYFour centuries after it was first believed wine grapes would be an agricultural staple in Virginia, early prophecies are a reality. Virginia is quickly emerging as an up and coming wine region in America, with wines that have received national and international attention. In 1619, Jamestown settlers saw the potential for winemaking in the colony.
Wine in Cómpeta
MEMBERS ONLYA New World home winemaker retires to Spain and gets in touch with the Old World ways of winemaking.
Bâtonnage Winemaking Techniques
MEMBERS ONLYYou want to add extra body and mouthfeel to your wines, or perhaps enhance those buttery or yeasty aromas and flavors in your barrel-fermented Chardonnay? Or maybe even round out those sharp tannins in young reds? Then you may want to consider lees stirring, or what the French call bâtonnage, the technique of stirring dead
Chambourcin: A vigorous, dark hybrid
MEMBERS ONLY. . . (Chambourcin) does get a little more respect than other hybrids because of its ability to improve color in other wines without taking away from the other grapes’ varietal character . . .
Making Dry Muscat
MEMBERS ONLYSounds tasty to me! I love a dry (or even off-dry, maybe with residual sugar of around 5 g/L), crisp Muscat wine. Historically, Muscats have been used in many wine types, from sweet and desserty to fortified to dry. I’ve made a few myself in my career, starting with the infamous “Vin de Glaciere” dessert
Making Chambourcin Wine: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYDeveloped commercially 50 years ago, Chambourcin is a versatile grape that is most prevalently grown in the Mid-Atlantic. Producing deep red colors and strong aromas, Chambourcin grapes are used either to stand-alone or in blended wines that run the gamut from dinner wines to dessert wines to sparkling wines. Rick Hall joined Chateau Morrisette in
Determining Ripeness
FREEHow do you know when it’s time to pull the trigger on harvest? Here’s an introductory look for your first harvest.
Battling VA
MEMBERS ONLYIt sounds like you took the right approach. A VA (volatile acidity) of 0.70 is not “out of this world” high, though it is a little elevated. Especially if this was a wine over a year old, a VA like this wouldn’t necessarily alarm me unless it made a big jump (say from 0.50 to
Using Inert Gases in Winemaking
FREEBlanket, flush, sparge, transfer, dispense. To exclude air while doing any of these things to your wine, your best bet is the use of an inert gas. Learn some your options and tricks.
Viognier
FREEIn the 1960s, Viognier seemed to be an endangered grape, planted only in dwindling numbers in a pair of obscure redoubts in France, the shrinking Condrieu region and the one-winery Château-Grillet AOC.