Article

Moldy Odor In My Wines, Calculating Molecular SO₂, Brown (Red) Wine

TCA, or the “corked” off-aroma, is caused by ambient molds interacting with a chlorine molecule of some kind, usually from domestic wate

Article

Exploring The Corking Options and Making Acidity Adjustments

Most closures are packaged pre-sanitized, usually with sulfur dioxide in the sealed bags that come from the manufacturer.

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Bottle Sediments

Article

Adding Sparkle To Your Wines, Bottle Sediments, and Reducing Acidity

To maximize your chances of a successful in-the-bottle fermentation you need to prepare a starter culture.

Article

Measuring Brix in Fermentation, Drinking From Brass, and Yeast Options

I would argue that the rapidity with which the sugar is consumed (and the density is lowered) is almost as important as the level of sugar i

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Yeast Options

Article

Red Wine Sediment and What To Consider When Selecting A Yeast

What you’re experiencing is the precipitation over time of all sorts of complex tannins and colored compounds.

Wine-wizard

White Crystals After Crushing

Wine-wizard

Malolactic Fermentation Timing

When and to what container should I add the malolactic bacteria and nutrient?

Article

Tartrate Crystals, Blending Stuck Wine, Malolactic Timing

In my experience, doing a traditional cold stability where you chill the wine down and then filter off any precipitation won’t shift the a

Wine-wizard

Mellowing a Big Wine

Article

Understanding Bentonite, Refractometers vs. Hydrometers, and Mellowing A Big Wine

Most folks I talk to say that sodium bentonite and calcium bentonite are interchangeable in winemaking.

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Chlorine In My Wine

Article

Malolactic Problems and Cleaning with Chlorine

Some of the SO₂ gas created by the sulfur wick certainly will transfer into the wine as sulfur dioxide.

Article

Wine Press Mold Growth and Magnesium Sulfate Vineyard Sprays

It’s very possible this mold bloom was caused by a change in the weather or a change in your cellar environment.

Wine-wizard

Dealing With High Brix Grapes

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Is Potassium Sorbate In A Port Necessary?

Article

First-Time Barrel Soaking, Wine Flower and High Brix Grapes

It is entirely normal for the first soaking of a barrel to produce a dark-colored water.

Article

Sniffing The Cork, Screwcap Closures and the Facts About Wine Headaches

Interestingly, a cork may smell “tainted” and the wine below it might be just fine, or, better said the wine in the bottle may be below

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The Facts About Wine Headaches

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Screwcap Closures

Wine-wizard

Sniffing The Cork

Article

What’s This? and Calculating Proper Yeast Pitching

To quote one of my favorite UC-Davis professors, the newly-retired Dr. Linda Bisson, “No human pathogen can survive in wine.”

Wine-wizard

Yeast Pitching Rates

Article

Submerge Those Oak Chips, Wine Yields and a Copper Problem

I actually prefer using a sock or some kind of bag rather than just having chips float loose on the surface.