Alison Crowe

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Yeast-free wine and quality control: Wine Wizard

The good news is that most wines that you can buy off the supermarket shelf don’t contain a lot of yeast cells; if they did, the wines wou

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Chlorine Conundrum & Country Wines: Wine Wizard

I never use any chlorine-containing cleaning compounds in my winemaking and don’t recommend it to anyone. There are plenty of alternatives

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Pressing Issues

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Wine Yeast to Make Bread

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Light Strike in Wine?

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Pressing Issues, Making Bread with Wine Yeast and Light Strike

Dumping your pomace and finding the grapes still juice-laden after pressing is frustrating. The Wizard has some pointers for getting the mos

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Acidity & Aging

My situation is that the total acidity (TA) rises during the aging process.What could be causing this?

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The New Need For Sanitation

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Overcompensating With Copper

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Defining “Percent New Oak” in Wine

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Percent New Oak, Overcompensating, And The New Need For Sanitation

While the concept that is listed on some wine bottles or talked about in literature — % new oak — seems simple, there is a lot of nuance

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Barrel Cleaning, Kit Wine Tannins and Proper Sulfite Levels

It seems to me like your Carmenère is a candidate for one of the “Wine Wizard’s” cheapest, easiest and most favorite ways to improve

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Reconditioning Corks & Bottle Film

I’m glad you sent this question, though, because it brings up an important rule of the world of corks: corks must have a certain amount of

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Suspicious Syrah & Fermentation Aids

The first step I would take is to look at the package and/or the packing slip that came with the grapes . . . I hope they say Syrah. If you

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Dumb Merlot & Filmy Finishes

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Bracing Barrels & Coffee Wine

The level of caffeine, of course, will depend on how much coffee you used in the recipe — just as your average cup of joe will be stronger

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Fine Filtering Chardonnay and a Sour Mead

Pad filters are stacks of cellulose sheets that get mounted in a stainless steel or metal frame. Wine or juice is forced by a pump or by air

The Safety of Brass Fittings

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Off Odors, Port-Style Wines, and Brass Fittings

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Can I Use An Untoasted Oak Barrel?

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How to Adjust SO₂ Levels In Must

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Adjusting Acidity in Wine Kits

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Crazy pH Shift

Crazy pH Shift, Acidity in Wine Kits, Adjusting SO₂, and Untoasted Oak Barrels

A winemaker experiences a large and unexpected pH shift from a feral fermentation. Learn about the potential reasons as well as what to do w

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High-pH Wine