Topic: Winemaking Tips
Medal-Winning Dessert Kit Tips
MEMBERS ONLYFollowing the directions that come with your wine kit will result in very good wine, but sometimes experimenting is part of the fun. Three award-winning winemakers share how they go about making adjustments to dessert wine kits — a category of wine that works well with fortification and other tweaks.
Microbial Stability
MEMBERS ONLYChemical and microbial stability measures must be taken after fermentation but prior to bottle aging to protect the wine from contamination and subsequent off-aroma generation caused by microbial metabolism. Learn the most common methods for achieving
microbial stability, both during aging in the cellar and at packaging.
The Wine Wizard’s “Pearls of Wiz-dom”
FREEThanks for your kind words! I always really enjoy the WineMaker Conferences and connecting with the readership — it helps me put names and faces to the invisible readership out there and
Coping With Grapes Affected By Smoke Taint
MEMBERS ONLYSome characteristics found in smoke-tainted wines are the same that can be found in toasted oak barrels. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com I’ve heard rumor that a couple of smaller wineries that have experienced smoke taint in their grapes are indeed evolving that wine into new styles. Depending on the grape type and level of impact,
White Wine Case Study
MEMBERS ONLYAs an agricultural product, the steps to make that perfect wine may be unique every year due to differences in the fruit. The most challenging growing seasons really force winemakers to test their skill as they face tough, on-the-fly decisions. One winemaker takes us behind the scenes during one such vintage.
Wine from Frozen Must: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYWhen you want to make wines from grapes but it isn’t harvest season, one option home winemakers have is purchasing buckets of frozen must or juice. Three industry experts share their coolest tips.
Finding A Vinegar Storage Space
FREEYou got a chuckle out of me. Indeed, how dare you introduce vinegar to your wines! I’m actually very happy that you’re writing so you can learn how not to introduce vinegar
Advice For A Beginning Winemaker
MEMBERS ONLYWinemaking is always a learning process and even those of us that have been doing this for a long time still learn a lot every harvest and all year-round! However, that being said, I do have some tidbits for new winemakers. In my Winemaker’s Answer Book I spell out what I think are probably the
Maceration Considerations
MEMBERS ONLYAs harvest nears it is time to make a plan of action for how you will proceed with each batch you plan to make this fall. With red wines there are many options. We take a closer look at cold soaking, extended macerations, and carbonic macerations.
Growing Pains: Aging and packaging big batches
FREEAs your winemaking production scales up, so does the space required to store the wine as well as the miscellaneous items that come along with it. Bob Peak guides readers through some of the various bottlenecks that winemakers experience during the aging and bottling processes as their operation grows.
Properly Adding Copper
FREEAh yes, the classic “I sunk a bunch of pennies in my carboy” tale. Forgetting for a moment that modern pennies contain very little copper, there’s a reason that most winemakers I
Protecting Your Wine From Oxygen During Racking
MEMBERS ONLYExcluding oxygen by gassing headspaces and purging containers is one of the most important winemaking jobs we have. Oxygen exposure during aging can create all sorts of problems from premature oxidation and loss of aroma to spoilage microbe growth. The tough part is just what you mention — how do we know, with our own
White Wine Aromatics: Factors to guide your white wines
MEMBERS ONLYIt’s hard not to find appeal in the aromatics of a tropical fruit or floral Sauvignon Blanc or hints of vanilla, citrus, and caramel in a Chardonnay. But the road to get to those aromas takes vastly different paths. Alex Russan helps readers navigate the maze winemakers can take to maximize their white wine aromatics.
The Role Of Nitrogen in Winemaking
FREELearn about the fundamentals of nitrogen levels in your winemaking as well as how, when, and what additions are needed
Malolactic Fermentation After Cold Stabilizing
MEMBERS ONLYI always think it’s wonderful when people can do a “natural” cold stabilization over the winter months. It’s an incredibly intuitive and very old-fashioned, non-interventionist way to accomplish a key winemaking task. It never gets cold enough here in Napa, California during the winter to really knock down any significant amount of our tartrate crystals
The Winemaker’s Pantry: Supplies to keep on hand
MEMBERS ONLYFor those that are regular winemakers, the accoutrements start to add up through the years. Here is a guide for folks to consider what things to keep in their “winemaker’s pantry,” their uses, and their shelf life.
Recording Notes Like a Pro
FREEFor winemakers, harvest time is a period of intense activity, and essential decisions and preparations need to happen well in advance of crushing day for things to go smoothly. These decisions include
Fact Check: Winemaking Edition
FREEThere are so many opinions out there that we can sometimes get bogged down and mistake an opinion for fact. This is true in all aspects of life but especially in home
Volatile Acidity: A little goes a long way
FREEMany wine aficionados view volatile acidity (VA) as a very fine line between a good thing and a bad thing. Find out ways to control VA so that you can walk that line between a wine boost and a wine defect.
Racking Strategies: Why and when to employ
MEMBERS ONLYWhile racking may seem like a tedious task at times, its impact on a wine can be profound. Learn some of the techniques that you can use and the decision-making process winemakers should consider before each racking cycle.
Stabilizing Whites
FREEIndeed, a pH of 2.9 is really low, even for a Sauvignon Blanc, and I think I would definitely de-acidify in that case. With deacidification you’ll always get some kind of precipitation;
5 Do’s and 5 Don’ts: Wine Wizard
MEMBERS ONLYDear Wine Wizard, I’ve been making wine for about a year now and I’m wondering if you’d be willing to help me out with a wrap-up of some of your winemaking wisdom. What are your top five rookie mistakes to avoid in winemaking? Jennifer ScottBrooklyn, New York Wine Wizard replies: That’s a great request. Sometimes
Best of Show Tips
MEMBERS ONLYWhile none of the three panelists for this “Tips from the Pros” column are actually pros, their knowledge is second to none. We’ve accumulated three “Best of Show” winners from the 2019 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition to share their medal-winning advice. Kathleen Ondrus, Winemaker of the Year and Grand Champion Wine at the WineMaker
Blending Fruit Wines
MEMBERS ONLYCountry wines made with multiple fruit varieties can be blended prior to fermentation or after. Learn how two professional winemakers decide when to blend, as well as the other considerations they account for when making these lovely summer sippers.
Dealing With Persistent Sediment
FREEGoodness, you’ve got a persistent sediment source in your wines that’s for sure. You’ve removed the gross particles by racking and filtration.You’ve cleared out proteins by using bentonite. You’ve taken out excess