Winemaking from Grapes

Article

Preparing White Wines for Bottling

A look at the steps required in making white wines through winter and spring and how the timing of each step impacts when the wine is ready

Article

An Organic Experience in France

A home winemaker interested in expanding her viticulture and winemaking knowledge interned for a week at an organic winery in France through

Wine-wizard

Press timing for rosé wines

Article

Creating a Field Blend

Explore the history, benefits, and drawbacks of field blends — where varieties are traditionally grown, harvested, crushed, and fermented

Technique

Fine Wine in Less Time

When you want a finished wine quicker, there are techniques and products to help speed along the process of wine from grapes without sacrifi

Technique

Chaptalization — How Far Can You Go?

Adding sugar to bring up the Brix is necessary in parts of the world, especially during vintages with heavy rain. A Virginia winery did a st

Technique

Skin-Contact White Wines

Orange wine is made by treating white grapes in a similar manner to red wine production, with fermentation conducted on the skins. Even if o

Technique

Chemistry of Must Correction

Clark Smith offers ways to extract the most from your grapes by digging into the chemistry of must correction — including methods to boost

Wine-wizard

Why does my wine require long decanting times?

I make dry red from my estate Petite Pearl. Why does 3-year-old wine take so long to “open up”?

Article

White Wines From Hybrid Grapes

Hybrid grapes are bred to combat growing conditions vinifera grapes have trouble with, including cold temperatures, diseases, and more. Hybr

Article

Experimenting With Ways to Craft Rosé

A pair of home winemakers share the results from trials they conducted this past harvest in techniques for making rosé. The results offer i

Wine-wizard

Racking by the Light of the Moon

Article

Sourcing Grapes from Grape Suppliers

Buying grapes from a supplier allows access to varieties from regions of the world that would otherwise be inaccessible to home winemakers.

Article

Sourcing Grapes Directly from Vineyards

Going directly to the source to buy your grapes from local vineyards allows home winemakers to work with grapes harvested the same day, thou

Article

Pinot Grigio: The Underrated Superstar

Pinot Grigio is often an introductory white wine for consumers — light, refreshing, though unremarkable. That doesn’t have to be the cas

Article

Apples, Meet Grape Pomace

After pressing grapes for wine, a home winemaker decided seven years ago to add the pomace to their fresh-pressed apple juice to learn the i

Wine-wizard

Adding Skins to a Red Ferment

Q: How many grape skins would be too many to add to a Syrah must?

Technique

Whole Cluster Fermentation

Whole cluster fermentation — fermenting grapes without crushing and destemming them first — is a technique that has been around for ages

Technique

Whole Cluster Fermentation Tips

Two pros share why they prefer whole cluster fermentations for certain varieties, the impact it has, and considerations home winemakers shou

Article

It’s Always a Good Time to Assess Your Wine

Making small adjustments to a wine the moment they are needed, as opposed to one large adjustment prior to bottling, will result in a more c

Wine-wizard

Thoughts for Underripe Red Grapes

I assume it’s possible to make a rosé from Syrah, right? How long on the skins should I leave it to get a good pink color?

Technique

Expressing Terroir in Red Wine

Over the last decade or so, the word “terroir” has become the buzz word not just among wine lovers, but the greater agricultural world.

Technique

To Saignée or Not to Saignée

Bleeding off a percentage of juice early during a red wine’s fermentation both concentrates the remaining juice and offers a chance to mak

Technique

Bringing Out the Fruit

Most red winemakers will begin alcoholic fermentation shortly after the grape clusters are pressed. But there are some alternative technique

Technique

Pick of the Litter

Finding high-quality grapes, even in wine country, can be a challenge for new winemakers. Get some advice for sourcing fresh grapes, no matt