Date: Oct-Nov 2015
Cheesemaking: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYYou make your own wine, but have you tried making cheese to go with it?
Fin(d)ing Clarity in the Five S’s
FREEWhen it comes to clarifying your wine kit, there are five “S’s” that will guide your way: Start, stir, smash, sweep, and suppress.
Unconventional Additives
MEMBERS ONLYThere are lots of possibilities for adding extracts, flavorings, herbs, and spice when you are making wine at home. We explore a variety of options.
Montepulciano
MEMBERS ONLYTo understand Montepulciano the grape, you also have to understand the difference with Montepulciano the place. Chik Brenneman takes you on a tour of eastern Tuscany, Italy in this issue.
Build a Temperature-Controlled Wine Storage Box
MEMBERS ONLYA home winemaker from California’s Sierra Foothills shares his design for an air-conditioned wine storage room he built for his garage.
Controlling Fermentation Temperature
MEMBERS ONLYMany hobby winemakers believe that fermentation temperature control is beyond their reach — but this isn’t so! Discover how to keep temperatures in the proper range.
The Essential Ins and Outs of Oak Barrels
MEMBERS ONLYAging your wine in an oak barrel can do wonders for your wine. It can also ruin it. Before you dive in head first, learn all there is to know about aging in oak. Plus: Using oak alternatives.
Adding Campden Tablets to Wine
MEMBERS ONLYThe great thing about Campden tablets (a convenient form of dosing in sulfur dioxide for home winemakers) is that they will inhibit the yeast and bacteria you do not want (which are sensitive to sulfur dioxide) while allowing the yeast you do want to continue to power through the fermentation. The little packet of yeast
Adding Sambuca to Wine
MEMBERS ONLYWell I like your moxie. Sometimes it takes a little thinking outside the box to really make our beverages sing, and in your case (though it would be anathema to a commercial winery, for which this kind of thing is prohibited by law) you just might want to give it a try. That’s perhaps the
Putting A Value On A Vineyard
MEMBERS ONLYI’m very sorry about your vine loss. I do agree with Dr. Lockwood that you will probably lose the vines that were knocked down. You might want to really work closely with your insurance company because they might compensate you on different metrics, like replacement cost, market value or just on the current year’s crop.
When Life Gives You Limes Make Wine, Re-Fermentation, and The Value Of A Vineyard
MEMBERS ONLYYou could also try to take your lime wine and see what other kind of fun beverages you could make with it as a mixer . . .
Harvesting in the Moonlight
MEMBERS ONLYThe heat of the day is not necessarily the time to harvest your ripe grapes. A night harvest allows you to bring the fruit in when it’s cool, which will lower your VA, plus other benefits.
When Life Gives You Limes Make Wine
MEMBERS ONLYVery, very interesting. I have to say that the zest of 21 limes for three gallons (11 L) of liquid seems like a lot of lime-y-ness to me! I can only imagine that indeed, it did have a very strong lime peel taste. My suggestion for “taming” this would be a dilution strategy. The aroma
Sourcing Grapes
FREEWant to make wine from fresh grapes but not sure how to go about getting them? Here’s an introduction about sourcing grapes.
Make Hard Cider & Apple Wine
FREEGet tips to make your own hard cider or apple wine this fall.
Re-Fermentation Issues
MEMBERS ONLYLet me put on my thinking cap. Indeed I think you are facing a re-fermentation and I’d bet that it is due to your 1% residual sugar, but perhaps secondarily to a re-fermentation of residual malic acid in the wine. Free sulfur dioxide concentration diminishes in the bottle over time and after a year levels
Grand Champion: Dry Finish
FREEMichael Rinker’s 100% Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon was named Grand Champion at the 2015 WineMaker Magazine Amateur Wine Competition. The grapes were sourced less than 15 miles (24 km) from his home