Wine Wizard

It is absolutely critical to have good winery sanitation as dirty equipment does nothing but invite bad-guy bacteria and unwanted yeast beasties to munch on our wine. However — there is a

You’re on the right track — it’s not a good idea to mix chlorine bleach with winemaking because free chlorine molecules can, if the conditions are right, contribute to appreciable levels of

The most general guidelines the Wine Wiz can give you for aging wines from fruits, vegetables and herbs are these: Always cellar any wine at least six months before opening the first

Ah, the timeless pairing of American oak and Zinfandel. It’s a taste combination that’s got more than 100 years of history in U.S. winemaking and if the number of Zin labels that

Dear Wine Wizard, I am a novice home winemaker and have been contemplating making the move from carboy and bottle-aging to barrel-aging some of my reds. It is my understanding that a

For those of our fellow grape nuts who don’t know, bulk aging refers to aging wines in vessels other than the final bottle whereas bottle aging refers to wines aged in their

Norton is a fun variety of red wine to make and certainly is a big favorite in the Midwest. I’ve tried some good Nortons over the years and I can share your

It’s hard to say “what went wrong” in this situation as the life of every wine is a fog of carefully guarded secrets that even my scrying glass can’t penetrate. However, the

Wine Wizard replies: Indeed, stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a natural sugar substitute and one that is gaining in popularity with home winemakers. I have certainly heard of people using it with great

Though making fruit-based wine is a little different from making grape-based wine, you always want to make sure you’ve got enough sugar, acid, tannin and aromatic and flavor compounds to result in

Coffee wine, eh? I’ve heard of using strong black tea as a tannin additive and of using coffee in brewing recipes for a super-charged stout but I’ve never heard of making coffee

Congrats on embarking on the ever-fascinating and (just as often) maddening adventure of using oak in home winemaking! You’ve discovered what many of your predecessors already have — that it is sometimes

Dear Wine Wizard, I made 15 gallons (57 L) of wine in my basement and it won’t finish fermenting. Now I am left with a wine that is carbonated, which I do

Dear Wine Wizard, How do I get copper sulfate in accurate diluted food grade form? I would like to treat 5 gallons (19 L) of stinky fruit wine to get rid of

The short answer to your question is: 0.45 micron nominal filter pads are the industry standard for “sterile” filtration. These pads prevent all yeast and bacteria from getting through. So, if you

Congratulations for tackling one of the most interesting and esoteric of brews, the braggot (also spelled braggott or bragawd). A beverage that combines what some would say the best of what mead

Like you, many commercial wineries also feel that big bottles make great gifts. One can often see what the industry calls “large formats” displayed in restaurants that have done exceptionally well selling

Dear Wine Wizard, I bottle my wine in recycled bottles and give much of it away. A friend who is on the receiving end is critical of my choice in color type

Dear Wine Wizard, I made a Muscadine wine this year that ended up very dry with harsh flavor. I wanted it to have more of a grape flavor so I added some

Dear Wine Wizard, I used isinglass as a clarifier in my Viognier. I have it in a 55-gallon plastic food-grade barrel. It started to settle out some of the particles but never

Dear Wine Wizard, I have been making red Zinfandel wine at home with juice concentrate. I‘ve noticed crystals forming inside and they stick to the bottle. When you shake the bottle they

Certainly, do put that extra fridge to good use and by all means store some of your collection in it! Extra refrigeration is a boon to just about any winemaker, wine collector,

Dear Wine Wizard, Can Lambrusco wine be refrigerated for several months and then safely kept on a wine rack? What is the expiration time frame for this wine? Jeanne Considine Boulder, Colorado

You’re right to suspect that both the potassium metabisulfite powder and solution can lose their power over time. The solution, which you make by mixing the powder with water, is particularly unstable.

The “red wine headache” is one of those wine questions that lies somewhere between legend and reality. However, there are some real answers. I’ll lay them out and you can decide for