Home Winemaking Stories

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An Organic Experience in France

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Lookin’ Back

A longtime home winemaker shares some of his earliest memories of helping his Grampa make wine in the 1950s — which began with a drive to

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Abundance

In recent years there has been quite a bit of news coverage around excess grapes being grown. There is also a high rate of food insecurity i

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School of Wine

We take you behind the scenes of a collegiate wine competition hosted by Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California, with help from a

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From Kitchen to Cellar

Seeing so many brambly hedges of fresh blackberries along a dirt road, a woman with a stubborn curiosity and desire to create something her

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Restarting a Stuck Life

Stuck in a rut and at the cusp of retirement, a couple buys a home with a backyard vineyard in Calaveras County, California. Determined to n

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Friendships Forged by Wine

The annual WineMaker Magazine Conference isn’t just about attending seminars and learning, it’s also about camaraderie. One longtime at

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La Batalla del Vino

Armed with a Super Soaker, WineMaker’s publisher learned quickly not to bring a wine-filled water gun to a Spanish wine fight (where the l

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Wine-Infused Coffee

Wine and coffee have a lot in common. Variety, growing conditions, terroir, and technique in the process of turning the raw material into th

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Grenache Five Ways

A home winemaker sets out to explore just how versatile Grenache can be by making five different wines from it in a single vintage, includin

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It Takes a Village

A New York City gentleman who recently retired found himself the owner of a country home in Italy with hundreds of Moscato grape vines. Havi

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Making Wine with Mahogany

A home winemaker and woodworker got the idea that mahogany may lend itself nicely to wine in place of oak. This simple idea led him on a yea

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Sicilian Traditions That Endure

A winemaker reflects back on the humble beginnings of his winemaking journey, one that started in his father-in-law’s garage and has since

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The Sacramento Home Winemakers turn 50

Fifty years ago, a group of home winemakers in the Sacramento, California, area decided to make an official club dedicated to their hobby. I

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Family Business

When an amateur winemaker notices that his 6-year-old daughter is taking a keen interest in his hobby, he happily opens the door to his wine

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Sweet Finnish

When a home winemaker moves to Finland and finds that the grape winemaking he has come to know and love isn’t feasible there, he turns to

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Story Behind The Label

We saw a lot of cool looking amateur wine labels in our 2023 label contest but nothing quite as unique as these. Check out these labels from

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High Rows, Full Hearts

WineMaker’s Associate Publisher Kiev Rattee traveled to a friend’s vineyard to help with the most recent harvest. There is something mag

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U.S. Tasting Team

October 2022, a team of four super wine-tasting women (who are also amateur winemakers) traveled to Champagne, France, along with their coac

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The Fruit of the Vine: Winemaking in Israel

Considered one of the great wine regions back in the days when Phoenicians ruled the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is seeing a big comeback in r

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A Professional Hobby: Making wine in a dry county

When a young hobby winemaker finds out it is illegal to make wine at home in her city and county, she takes the next obvious step: She gets

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Boysenberry Wine: My “out-of-season” winemaking adventures

A winemaker and his brother team up to create a boysenberry wine. Join along on their adventure to crafting the perfect summer sipper.

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Making Muratina Wine

A group of wine lovers in Kenya turned to traditional winemaking when the world around them slowed to a crawl and imports of wines from Euro

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Gold Anniversary: Celebrating 50 years of fine winemaking

Fifty years ago a hobby winemaker decided to “go pro” by opening his own home winemaking supply shop. To attract customers, he started a

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Spit Or Swallow? Health benefits from spitting wine

One reader who is also a medical doctor discusses the potential health benefits of wine tasters who swish and spit their wines. It may be on