Techniques

So you truly enjoy making your own wine. You’ve been making wine for years, or maybe have just made a couple of wine kits. What’s next? Where might you learn more or

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

Bob Peak digs into how much sugar is needed to get the desired alcohol level, and how much fruit is needed to offer a pleasing profile and aroma, flavor, and appearance when making country wines.

To make the best wine, you need the best grapes. And that requires a lot of work in your hobby vineyard. Get tips on what to look for and when to look

Many a home winery gets by just fine with no pump at all. If your hobby grows, though, you may find that many routine tasks are made simpler with the help of

There are many views on how to properly pair your wine and food for the most enjoyable dining experience. Three experts illustrate this while offering advice. Chef: Mark Molinaro, Northern Arizona University

When we tackle a big project it isn’t the immediate effort that pays off, but all of our work combined into one glorious enterprise. It’s the same with winemaking: A single effort

Oxidation gets a lot of attention in winemaking — and it should! WineMaker magazine has covered oxidation issues from several different angles over the past few years. While some presence of oxygen

Varietal wines are great, but there is only so much that can be done when working with a single grape variety. To create a truly complex wine, try blending multiple varieties that

Here are some of the best wine kit-related questions we’ve received from readers. Now, on to the questions! QUESTION: A kit I received as a gift instructs me to start fermentation at

In large wineries, functional spaces are usually separated. There may be a crush pad, one or more fermentation rooms, and a cellar or cave for barrel aging. Most of us at home

Growing grapes is a lot of work. In addition to wildlife, many varieties are susceptible to disease that, if unprotected against, can claim your vines very quickly. Two pros from different regions

There are many different techniques and styles to choose from when it comes to Chardonnay. Do you want a buttery, barrel-aged Chardonnay or a crisp, acidic one? When weighing your options, use

All home winemakers wish — and strive — for fermentations that go smoothly and completely to the desired finish, usually dry wine. When things go wrong, a frequent problem is a stuck

Port is a fortified wine made in Portugal, but many North American winemakers are making their own versions. Use their advice to try your own Port-style wine! Winemaker: Matt Meyer, Meyer Family

Our job isn’t finished when fermentation is over. With many wines, especially reds, you may want to go ahead and do a malolactic (ML) fermentation as well. And during cellaring you need

Brettanomyces has been known to take hold of wines —and entire wineries — destroying countless hours of hard work that was put into creating these wines. However, there are also regions in

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

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

If you have ever encountered volatile sulfur compounds in wine, of which hydrogen sulfide is the most common, you know how repulsive the smell can be. Learn the causes and solutions.

Sure, some wines are supposed to be carbonated, but most aren’t. To avoid unwanted bubbles in your table wines, you need to degas your wine. Learn how, and when, to do it so you never pour an unexpected bottle of fizzy wine again.

There is a lot more to off-dry wines than what you may perceive from mass-produced discount bottles from the supermarket. A little sweetness with balanced acidity can add complexity and create a

We’d all love to make wine from the perfect grapes picked with ideal sugars, acidity, and pH. Unfortunately, often due to reasons beyond our control, that is not always how grapes arrive at the home winery. In that case, the winemaker has a number of decisions that must be made.

Even the most ideal climates for growing grapes face certain hardships, but growing vines in colder climates definitely have more than their share. Get tips on what to grow and what precautions

When the editors at WineMaker suggested quality control (QC) for a story, I was delighted to take it on. I have a long personal and professional history with QC and it infuses