Varietal: Port-Style
Stabilizing A Fruit Port
MEMBERS ONLYWell, in the olden days of fortified winemaking, potassium sorbate (a potassium salt of sorbic acid) wasn’t even a thing. While sorbic acid does occur naturally in some plants (rowan berries and hippophae berries, to be exact), almost all of the world’s potassium sorbate is made in a laboratory. In addition to potassium sorbate being
Fruit Port From Puree
MEMBERS ONLYDessert wine paired with a sweet pie, savory cheese, or fine cigar is one of the best ways to finish off an excellent meal. Home winemakers have a variety of dessert wine styles to choose from when venturing down this path, ranging from low-alcohol sweet options such as Muscat wines, to naturally enriched icewines to
Dessert Wines
MEMBERS ONLYPerfect for after-dinner treats, dessert wines are some of the most complex wines in the world. Get tips for making your own icewine, Sherry-style, and Port-style wines at home.
Fortify It! Adding Spirits To Your Wine
MEMBERS ONLYYour first fortified wine can be a little intimidating. What method are you going to utilize? Sweet or dry? What type of spirits are you going to use? Then again, maybe you’re not like me and already have a game plan in place for your fortification process. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore other means
15 Wine Kits to Try
MEMBERS ONLYMost home winemakers have limits on their winemaking space, equipment, cellar capacity or the ability of their liver to keep up. If you are one of those who has to pick and choose, this article could be a sort of personal bucket list, especially if like a lot of folks you’ve found a “house” wine
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 no crime in getting better and better at making one wine or one style, there is much to be learned — and much
Making Fortified Wine
MEMBERS ONLYThe word “fortified” is prohibited on commercial wine labels in the United States. Yet we are surrounded by a fascinating array of fortified wines when we visit a good wine shop. Fortified wines are simply those to which distilled spirits have been added to raise the final alcohol level. Some sweet dessert wines, like late
Making Port-Style Wine: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYPort is a fortified wine made in Portugal, but many North American winemakers are making their own versions. Use their advice to try your own Port-style wine! Winemaker: Matt Meyer, Meyer Family Cellars, Yorkville, California For Port wines we are big fans of Syrah and have had good results with it, but I find the
Enjoying Dessert Wine Kits
MEMBERS ONLYDrinking Port To my palate, Port is toothsome — it somehow seems to satisfy and delight all on its own. Back when I smoked a pipe (and nothing looks dopier than someone under the age of 40 smoking a pipe, let me tell you) I thought it was the perfect accompaniment. Not that I’m recommending
I am new to homemade winemaking and I want to begin making Port-style wines.
FREEWelcome to the wonderful world of fortified winemaking! Making Port-style dessert wines is really fun. One of the side benefits of making these types of wines is that fortified wines are typically
Making Port-Style Wine Kits
FREE“Port is not for the very young, the vain and the active. It is the comfort of age and the companion of the scholar and the philosopher.” – Evelyn Waugh Drinking Port can
Fruit Port
FREEPort wines are steeped in history and date back to sometime in the 17th century. It is said that a partnership between the British and Portugal and a shortage of wine from