Topic: Equipment-and-Gear

Learn about the lab equipment you should consider investing in for each stage of the winemaking process.

A number of innovative products well-suited for the home and small-scale winemaker have come to market in recent years. Explore these options that can help in your winemaking hobby — from ingredients, wood products, and yeasts, to analytical tools and other winemaking equipment.

A brewer’s O2 wand is an interesting tool and one I’m not familiar with personally, though I think I understand the concept. There isn’t much of a description of the item on

In 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.

Vineyard netting is often critical to protect your grapes from birds and other predators; however, applying and removing it can be a real pain. Here is a solution for home winemakers with a utility vehicle that allows netting to mostly be installed by just one person without the net ever touching the ground.

There are four gases often used in winemaking, each with its own unique advantages. Learn what sets carbon dioxide, argon, nitrogen, and beer gas apart, and which is best for each chore where gas can be of assistance in the home winery.

What 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.

pH meters are a crucial piece of testing equipment for winemakers looking to take their hobby to the next level. Learn some basics of why, how, and when.

After dedicating as much time as we do making a batch of wine, the final step of putting a closure on the bottle can’t be overlooked. There are many options from natural, agglomerated, colmated, and synthetic corks, to screw caps, to name a few. Learn the pros of each option to ensure you find the right closure to fit your next batch of bottles.

Firstly let me define what I mean by “big batch” for this discussion. Let’s say a big batch is anything larger than a 6-gallon (23-L) carboy of wine. Many home winemakers begin

Small-scale glycol cooling systems have become popular in recent years thanks to the homebrewing community. However, their benefits translate seamlessly for home winemakers. Learn more about when and how a glycol system can help in your home winery.

AYou might be encouraged to know that brass fittings have a long and storied history in winemaking. In fact, if you travel the back roads of Europe and poke your head into

Whether it is just the basics (Brix, pH, etc.) or more advanced (free SO2, yeast assimilable nitrogen, etc.) all home winemakers should perform some tests to monitor their wines.

There are some winemakers who practice the age-old philosophy that the wine will take care of itself . . . but for those who want to produce the best wines possible, monitoring is key. Bob Peak takes readers through the what, why, and when for testing your wines.

A home winemaker from California’s Sierra Foothills shares his design for an air-conditioned wine storage room he built for his garage.

Build this basket press using HDPE plastic.

If you have a free wall in your garage, you can have your entire winery organized there. See the plans by Steve Hughes.

Over the years I have accumulated lots of pieces of fairly delicate labware to perform a number of winemaking tests. After recently remodeling my garage winery with some cast off kitchen cabinets

This cooling setup keeps wine must within just a few degrees of target temperatures.

Wow, can I fly to the Philippines for a little research and equipment-scouting trip? We can sample some of your wine, do a little research into tropical fruit winemaking, go see what

When done using your winemaking equipment, make sure it is properly cleaned and stored so it will be ready to use next harvest season.

Those are all great questions, let me see which order I’ll tackle them in. Firstly, we discuss corks for the most part on the pages of WineMaker Magazine not because they’re the

Welcome winemakers! Although you’ve entered a part of the website labeled our “Beginner’s Guide,” we purposely designed it to incorporate the essential skills and knowledge that successful winemakers of all levels must

Fermentation and aging vessels winemakers have to decide between include oak, glass, plastic, and stainless steel. Each has its own pros and cons to be weighed.

When setting out to make wine from grapes, one of the first major decisions is what you will use as a fermentation container. For most winemaking, you will need a primary fermenter