Topic: Winemaking from Grapes
Italian Techniques for Bubbles
MEMBERS ONLYThere are many ways to make sparkling or spritzy wines. An Italian winemaker offers tips for two methods used in regions of Italy — Governo and metodo
ancestrale — and how home winemakers everywhere can use them at home.
One Grape, Many Styles
FREEThere are many reasons that 10 wines made from the same grape may taste completely different, and often it is because the winemaker planned for them to. Learn about how the location a grape is grown, as well as the decisions a winemaker must make, impact the outcome of a wine.
Red Hybrid Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYThere are some intricacies when making red table wines from hybrid grapes that vinifera winemakers don’t experience — from growing practices, pre-fermentation techniques, and right on through to post-fermentation adjustments.
Adjust Your Must
MEMBERS ONLYThere are many points throughout the winemaking process where a winemaker must make adjustments
in order to influence the final outcome. When the grapes come into the winery, the very first choices you will make as a winemaker will be done in the unfermented must.
Your First Lug of Grapes
FREEBuying your first lug of grapes can be intimidating, but it does not need to be. Get some pointers before committing to your first box of grapes.
A Walk Alongside Ripeness
MEMBERS ONLYHow ripe your grapes are when picked is one of the most important factors in determining what your wine will taste like. Here is a closer look at how a grape’s development affects the resulting wine.
A Year in a the Life of a Wine: Part II (Grape Processing)
MEMBERS ONLYA look at processing grapes after harvest.
Using South American Grapes for a Second Winemaking Season
MEMBERS ONLYAnd you thought there was only one time each year to make wine from fresh grapes; in the autumn season. But, surprise, there is another whole world south of the Equator. As
Making Wines with Finesse
MEMBERS ONLYThe mantra for the quest for making a big blockbuster type of wine is “more is better” — more sugar in the grapes, more alcohol in the wine, more extraction, more color
Using Winemaking Enzymes
MEMBERS ONLYMany winemakers shun the use of additives, including enzymes, to respect the wine’s “naturalness.” But juice is laden with natural enzymes, and once inoculated with yeast, fermenting wine is under the control
15 Wine Styles You Need to Make
MEMBERS ONLYOne of the things that makes wine irresistible is the endless variety: every grape, every region, every vintage, every bottle tastes a little different from the last. And so while there is
Winemaking by the Numbers
FREEThere are lots of ways to help winemakers learn or refine their craft. Most of those involve lists of equipment and supplies, along with step-by-step or time-based instructions for what to do
White Wine Skin Contact
FREERules are made to be broken, and nowhere is that subversive adage more true than in home winemaking. Today’s proposed violation takes on one of the dominant conventions of modern white winemaking:
Maceration Tips and Techniques
MEMBERS ONLY“Maceration,” says the Concise Oxford Dictionary, is to “soften by soaking.” In red winemaking it is so much more! Indeed, maceration may be viewed as the very essence of what distinguishes the
Blending Fruit and Grape Wines
MEMBERS ONLY“Blending is a natural procedure, honest, necessary, and in accordance with historical events.” With that quote, eminent wine authority Emile Peynaud gives us permission to play with our wines. While he was
Whole Cluster Pressing: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYWhole cluster pressing (foregoing the step of crushing and destemming the grapes) is most often done to make high-end white wines. The technique creates a more delicate and less astringent wine by
Importing Juice vs. Fresh Grapes
MEMBERS ONLYWell, it seems to me that Chile to New Jersey is an awfully long haul. I often, in my blog and in this column, advocate that the distance from vineyard to crushpad
Sourcing Grapes
FREEWant to make wine from fresh grapes but not sure how to go about getting them? Here’s an introduction about sourcing grapes.
Sourcing Grapes from Vineyards for Home Winemakers
MEMBERS ONLYSourcing fresh grapes directly from a grower can be a fun and rewarding experience for home winemakers. Get some tips for making the most of buying grapes straight from the vineyard.
Creating a Balanced Must
FREEThere are three elements that are critical to have balanced in a must: pH/TA, structure and sugar. Each of these elements has a direct influence on the quality of the finished wine
Cold Soaking: Tips from the Pros
FREEMelissa Burr, Winemaker at Stoller Vineyards in Dayton, Oregon. Melissa was raised in the Willamette Valley and, after completing her BS degree, studied winemaking at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, and
Cold Soaking: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYMelissa Burr, Winemaker at Stoller Vineyards in Dayton, Oregon. Melissa was raised in the Willamette Valley and, after completing her BS degree, studied winemaking at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, and
Harvest Planning
MEMBERS ONLYFor winemakers, grape harvest is a period of intense activity. Important decisions and preparations need to happen well in advance of crush day in order for things to go smoothly. These decisions
The Pomace Predicament
FREEWinemaking, like baking bread or beer brewing, is one of humankind’s most ancient food-manufacturing processes. And, just as baking and brewing leave behind cereal stalks and spent grain, winemaking produces one of
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
