Making Apple Wine: Tips from the Pros

When life gives you apples … Get tips on making various apple wine styles from the winemakers at Door Peninsula Winery (who makes sweet and a dry, barrel-aged version), Brookview Station Winery (semi-dry) and Domaine Pinnacle (apple icewine). Paul Santoriello has been involved in all facets of the wine industry including vineyard work, research, sensory analysis, and wine analysis. He earned a degree in plant biology with an emphasis on viticulture from UC-Davis and has held positions at The Wine Lab in Napa and E.J. Gallo before leaving California for Wisconsin to become the Head Winemaker at Door Peninsula Winery in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Our original fruit wines are all generally made into a sweet wine style including our Sweet Apple wine. On the opposite end of the spectrum I released an apple wine that was fermented dry and barrel aged to show that not all fruit wines need residual sugar, and they can work with food just as well as grape wines. I want to make a wine that will complement the juice character. For some wines like apple,