Techniques
Spring Cleaning for Winemakers: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYSpring is often seen as a time for cleaning, and there’s plenty for the home winemaker to do after a long winter. This includes scrubbing away the grime, dust and cobwebs that have accumulated in your cellar over the last few cold months. But, as our winemaking pros point out in this issue, “spring cleaning”
Choosing a Filtering System
FREEWinemaking is not a science but rather an art. There are many opinions on the pros and cons of the various processes that winemakers use. The subject of filtration is one such
Blue-Ribbon Home Winemaking Tips
MEMBERS ONLYTom Petuskey East Brunswick, New Jersey Tom has been making wine since 1981 and has won more than 100 awards in state and national amateur wine competitions. His most recent awards were achieved from the Corrados Annual Home Wine Competition. He won a gold medal for a “méthode champenoise” apple wine made from New Jersey
Second Press Runs to Get More from Your Grapes
FREEAs home winemakers, there’s nothing like adding a new trick to our repertoire. Anything that makes our wine a little better is definitely a good thing. For those reasons, you should explore
Adjust Wine Flavor in the Fermenter
FREEMaking the perfect wine requires a combination of experience, skill, excellent grapes and good fortune. Skill and experience are things you can acquire over time. But finding the perfect grapes is truly
From Cleaning to Bottling: Tips from Adelsheim
MEMBERS ONLYDid you ever notice that California is hot? You know, that exasperating kind of hot that feels like it might actually singe your lungs? Well, that same heart-stopping heat is the foundation for California’s successful wine industry. Hot days and cool nights provide the perfect climate for most varietals, be it Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay.
Wonderful Wine in a Box
MEMBERS ONLYA few months ago, I decided to open a bottle from my collection of homemade wines. I selected an Austrian red and pulled the cork. The wine was healthy, almost vibrant. It had a soft but distinct Pinot Noir fragrance with a pleasant hint of herbs. The feel was velvety, with a fine thread of
The Art of Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYWhich of these winemakers is you? Or more appropriately, which of these two scenes, in all likelihood, got you interested in making your own wine? As the fading sunlight gilds the haze on the Provencal hillsides, the peasant trudges the last stone steps to the medieval village, bent under the weight of an old wooden
Taking the Fear Out of Must Analysis
MEMBERS ONLYI have something to confess. The most perfect, most exquisite wine passed through my racking cane this fall. I’m not bragging or anything; that’s just the way it is. Now, I should be able to chalk up my success to payback from well-spent tuition and to the glory of science. But I confess that I
Choosing the Right Kit
MEMBERS ONLYWhen it comes to selecting a wine kit, Canada is the place to start. It’s winemakers’ heaven with hundreds of quality wine kits to choose from and just as many home wine retail stores and wine-on-premise shops to help you along. But wait a minute. If you’re in the United States and you think of
Finding the Best Fruit
MEMBERS ONLYFor commercial wineries, winemaking begins long before the grapes are crushed. The quality of the wine reflects the quality of the fruit, and wineries spend lots of time, effort, and money making sure they get just the right grapes. Vineyard managers worry about how much water, how much shade, and how warm or cold the
Great Wines from Kits
MEMBERS ONLYDo you think it’s hard to make wine? Maybe that’s because of your winemaking neighbor — the one who grows his own grapes, built his own oaken press, and gives you tours of his temperature-controlled wine cellar. He speaks knowingly of fungal amylase and malo-lactic fermentation. He won’t tell you this, but you can make