Topic: Wine-Wizard

Dear Wine Wizard, Though most of us think “grapes” when we think wine, I live in Michigan and can’t help but notice that wineries out here make wine out of a lot

Hmm . . . this is a good question and one that more people should ask when getting into a hobby. It also serves as a natural follow-up to my previous mistakes

That’s a great request. Sometimes I forget to really distill what I believe when it comes to fine winemaking. Just like anything in life, having a concentrated, bullet-pointed list of the essence

The Acid Test I crushed and sulfited my Cab grapes. In doing the initial tests I got the following readings. Brix was 23.5 (+.22 temp correction) = 23.7, S.G. 1.099 (+.013 temp

Bringing up tannins I have been making wine kits for three years and want to boost complexity and tannin levels. I have added some complexity by blending different kits and using French

Nip in the bud? I purchased and planted a few Nero d’Avola vines last December and have been carefully taking care of them ever since. I read that in order for the

Yeast-free wine? I am a wine lover, but unfortunately I have an intolerance to yeast. Is there a yeast-free or low-yeast wine? John via email Though I’m no medical doctor (I limit

MLF malfunction As the weather warmed in May 2007, several of the wines in my basement started working again, similar in appearance to a MLF fermentation. I also noticed renewed fermentation in

What’s with the fizz? I bottled an Amarone from juice about six months ago. I have been trying it every couple of months to see how it is coming along. I opened

What you describe, reusing commercial screwcap wine bottles for subsequent bottlings, is something no commercial winery would ever do. Once the cap is twisted off and the threads detach (the “clicking” sound

Great question. MLF (malolactic fermentation) can be a bit confusing for some because it’s called a “fermentation” but it’s certainly not as active, visible, smell-able and in your face as your primary

Bottle quest I have a few batches of wine under my belt. I have been plagued with either cheap, flat bottom bottles or stuck collecting and cleaning out empties. Where do wineries

High pH and Low TA in a Chardonnay I have a batch of 2006 Chardonnay that has completed primary and secondary fermentation. It tasted flabby so I had it tested for pH

Grape varieties for dry climates I live in an area that gets about 10” of rain a year. I have read that Grenache and Mourvèdre do well in hot and dry climates

Shellfish and chitosan We’ve all heard of comments about sulfites or phenolic compounds causing headaches, but I use chitosan and kielsosol for clarifying agents. Chitosan is made from shellfish byproducts — could

Ethanol exclusion I’m interested in cold filtering to obtain alcohol-free wine. How is this done and what equipment is needed?  Lloyd Duncan via email Alcohol removal remains a relatively infrequent process in

Sparkling to still? Some of our wine turned from still to sparkling. Can we change it back to still at this point? Will nitrogen sparging take care of it or do we

Many of our readers may not be aware that, indeed, for some wine styles and types, we winemakers actually add residual carbon dioxide gas (CO2) before bottling. A tiny bit of sub-threshold

Choosing yeast I am new to the art of winemaking and have come to realize that there are many varieties of yeast available. I make mostly sweet fruit wines such as strawberry,

Barrel tests Can you tell me what I really need to handle one to one and a half barrels of juice annually? The TA and pH kits that I have seen are

Reusing corks? Will I ruin my wine by reusing corks removed from other wine bottles with a corkscrew? Jim Small Sultan, Washington There’s a simple answer to this question — you just

Raising pH the natural way I am seeking an organic means to raise pH. Any suggestions? Jim Romano Carrollton, Texas The most “organic,” natural way to raise the pH of your wine

Compromised kits? A friend of mine gave me quite a few wine kits. All of the white wines have come out very good, but the reds are a different story. The reds

Clarifying elderflower wine I made some elderflower wine last year and have now decanted it into bottles. It is very cloudy. What would you recommend to make it clear, please? Huw M.

Empty airlock I am new to making homemade wine and I recently started my own batch of Pinot Grigio. A week in I realized that I forgot to put water in my