Techniques
Co-Fermentation: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYWine blends are most often created after fermenting each variety
separately. However, that isn’t the only way to do it. Some wine-makers choose to co-ferment certain varieties together, believing this approach adds to the complexity of the resulting wine. Get tips on co-fermentation from three pros who endorse the benefits.
Kegging Wine
MEMBERS ONLYIn contemporary times beer and soft drinks have become the standard beverages to find on draft at bars and restaurants, but that is changing as wine-on-draft is a growing trend. Learn how you too can enjoy having both still and sparkling wines at home served on your own draft system.
Red Hybrid Grape Winemaking
FREEMaking red wine from hybrid grapes can sometimes be a challenge, but the rewards are also tremendous. The first steps? Forget what you know about making wine from vinifera grapes and embrace the unique characteristics hybrids often have.
Keys to Making Red Wine
FREEIf you’re a beginner planning on making a batch of red wine, here are some keys components to hone in on before you dive in.
Just the pHacts
MEMBERS ONLYIf you are a winemaker looking to boost your wine’s quality, then tracking pH is a must. Bob Peak introduces the chemistry behind the numbers we obtain and how to use them to our advantage.
Chaptalization
FREEChaptalization is the act of adding sugar to juice or must in order to increase alcohol content post-fermentation. Learn the basics of this technique.
Dealing With Haze
MEMBERS ONLYWhile haze can sometimes just be aesthetically off-putting and not a true flaw, it’s something many winemakers like to avoid. Get the scoop on reducing haze and other benefits, as well as drawbacks, that come with the use of fining agents.
Intoxicating Stuff: Crafting ice wine and ice cider
MEMBERS ONLYCommercial producers of ice wines and ice ciders are highly regulated in their production, but hobby wine and cidermakers don’t need to abide by those rules. Learn some creative ways to produce these coveted, sweet sippers.
Hard Cider Variations: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYFall is here and there is an abundance of apples available and ready to be fermented. Three experts share advice for three different types of hard ciders (fruited, spiced, and hopped) so that you can try something different this year.
Balancing Wine’s Structure: Techniques to add and remove tannins
MEMBERS ONLYTannins are a big piece of the large puzzle when balancing many styles of wine. It’s important to understand ways to increase or decrease their presence when that balance leans too heavily in one direction or the other.
Lees, Sur Lie Aging, and Bâttonage
FREELearn about the lees that we find in wine and how we can use them
to our advantage.
Pressing Like the Pros: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYDo you whole-cluster press? Separate free-run juice and press fractions? Maximize juice collection through high pressure? There are a lot of decisions to make while pressing that will have a big impact on the final outcome of your wine. We put the squeeze on three pro winemakers to share their pressing tips.
A Nitro Boost: Nitrogen’s role in primary fermentation
MEMBERS ONLYWine was made for millennia with little intervention from humans. But let’s be honest, we have no idea how those wines tasted. Today we know that yeast create the wine and keeping them happy is crucial for producing good wine. Learn how nitrogen plays a pivotal role.
Harvest Checklist: Pre-planning for success
MEMBERS ONLYWhy make harvest/crush day more stressful than it needs to be? With a solid game plan things should run smoothly. One of the best ways to get all your ducks in a row is to create a checklist so that no small details are overlooked.
Hyperoxidation
FREEAs a home winemaker, you’ve likely spent years taking every precaution at your disposal to assure that your juice does not oxidize prior to fermentation. However, there are a small-yet-growing number of winemakers out there who intentionally oxidize their juice with an aim to reduce phenol content. The technique is called hyperoxidation, and it is only for the brave.
Site Planning and Prep: Designing a modern backyard vineyard
MEMBERS ONLYFor anyone who plans on creating a small-to-moderate-sized backyard vineyard, this column should be mandatory reading. Because the best advice one can receive is to spend a lot of extra time in the planning stage, which will save an exponential amount of time later.
Using Oak Alternatives: Cutting into the granular details
MEMBERS ONLYThere is no denying that oak alternatives are a lot gentler on the wallet and on the environment. Bob Peak takes a spin through oak chemistry, available options, and techniques to incorporate them to elevate your wines.
Delicious Endeavors: The science of food-wine pairings
MEMBERS ONLYApproaching food-wine pairings can be complex given the nearly endless options available . . . but there is a science to it. Learn the basics to matching a wine with a food course to impress even the sticklers in the group.
Wine from Frozen Must: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYWhen you want to make wines from grapes but it isn’t harvest season, one option home winemakers have is purchasing buckets of frozen must or juice. Three industry experts share their coolest tips.
Prepping Wine For Competition
FREEIf you’ve got a wine aging in your cellar you would like unbiased, expert opinions on, then entering it in a competition for judging is one of the best options. Get some pointers for getting the best feedback.
Dear Wes: A new vintage of backyard Q&As
MEMBERS ONLYThe reader letters have been piling up, so Wes decides it’s come that time again to pick up the pen and share some of the most useful questions (and his answers) that readers have sent to him over the past year regarding backyard viticulture.
Tune Up: Calibrating your wine equipment
MEMBERS ONLYWhat good is having a thermometer or titration kit if the numbers you are getting from them are off? Make sure you are properly calibrating all your wine testing equipment.
Finding Balance with Hybrids
MEMBERS ONLYHybrid grapes pose certain challenges to winemakers including higher acidity and lower tannins. Three cool-climate winemakers share their advice to create a balanced wine from these grapes.
Versatile Vino: Using wine in other hobbies
FREEThere is so much more you can do with wine than simply drinking it. Bob Peak walks readers through several side projects winemakers can perform starting with their homemade wines to create other items of interest.
Put Some Sparkle In Your Wines
FREEThere are several techniques a home winemaker can create bubbles for their wine. Learn about the methods for crafting a sparkling wine of your own.