Writer: Daniel Pambianchi
Wine Filtration 101
MEMBERS ONLYYou want to start a heated and emotionally charged discussion on a controversial topic? Ask a group of amateur winemakers for their thoughts on the impact of filtration on wine. Chances are you will get diametrically opposed views on the pros and cons of filtration, and, quite often, those views and opinions are not necessarily
Malolactic Fermentation
FREEMalolactic fermentation (MLF) is a secondary fermentation occurring when malolactic (ML) bacteria become active in the presence of malic acid. Bacteria may be present naturally in fresh grape juice or wines. It
Good Oxygen
FREEPositive affects of oxidation? How can that be? Wine-makers know that oxygen negatively affects wine. A little oxygen, however, can actually be beneficial to your homemade wine. Two common winemaking practices that
Bad oxygen
FREEWe often read that air (and especially the oxygen it contains) is a wine’s worst enemy. Oxidized wine becomes devoid of subtle and fruity aromas that make it seem tired, as if
Aging Potential: Understanding the lifespan of your wine
FREEFor many wine lovers, the subject of a wine’s aging potential can be intimidating or seem like artful science that is best left to the wine gurus of the world. Some are
New Skills: Master maceration
FREEMaceration is the process in red winemaking of letting the crushed grape solids soak in the juice. It is during maceration that key compounds are extracted from the grape juice and solids,
Minerality in Wine
MEMBERS ONLYTerms such as “mineral taste” and “minerality” have entered the modern wine lexicon and into common usage probably by traditionalists in an attempt to link the equally ill-defined concept of terroir to wine flavors and aromas. The terms often appear, for example, in tasting notes of Riesling wines and the Chardonnay-based Chablis wines of Burgundian
Understanding YAN
MEMBERS ONLYIf you want to make good homemade wine, you should learn to manage your wines’ YAN — yeast assimilable nitrogen.
Bottling & Aging Wine
FREEFill It Up With all the preparatory work — rinsing, sanitizing and more rinsing — bottling can become overwhelming as one’s production increases. That can quickly turn into many hours of bottling
Detecting, Measuring, and Preventing Volatile Acidity
MEMBERS ONLYYou’ve worked long and hard to craft that awesome red wine but now, you go down to the cellar to taste a sample out of the carboy or oak barrel to see how the wine is coming along. Oh no! The wine smells of vinegar, and worse yet, it reeks of nail polish remover. What
Sulfite Calculator
FREEIntroduction The Sulfite Calculator is a simple yet very useful tool to quickly calculate the amount of sulfite needed to adequately protect a wine. It calculates the amount of sulfite based on
Making Sherry-Style Wines
MEMBERS ONLYSherry is the fortified wine from Jerez, Spain, made in soleras and conditioned with flor yeast.
Simple Sulfite Wine Chemistry
MEMBERS ONLYThere is no denying: Sulfur dioxide (SO2) can be a source of headaches for winemakers — even without drinking any wine. Why does SO2 continue to be such a perplexing and confusing topic? All too often I am asked to help out with problems that seem completely unrelated to sulfite additions, though these are at
Guide to Cleaning and Sanitizing Winemaking Equipment
FREEWe can probably all agree that readying equipment for winemaking is not exactly a carboy of fun; nevertheless, it is an absolutely crucial aspect of winemaking. Reports of wine gone bad and,
Techniques to Reduce Sulfite Additions
MEMBERS ONLYIn spite of their long history as wine preservatives dating to the days of the Romans, sulfites can receive a bad rap. Many suspect that sulfites cause headaches or believe that any preservative is harmful, and so, there is a strong push to eliminate — or at least reduce — the use of sulfites and
Troubleshooting Guide for Home Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYA perfect stranger wanting to strike up a conversation about winemaking once came up to me and said, “Making wine is really easy. Don’t believe anyone who says otherwise.” Making wine is easy when all is “perfect,” but nothing is ever perfect in winemaking. Making great wine is a challenge more often than not given
Making White Wines with Less Sulfite
MEMBERS ONLYManaging oxygen is key in making reduced-sulfite or sulfite-free wines. A dissolved oxygen (DO) meter is a wise investment; you can buy a portable model for less than $300. Then you can ensure that your DO level at bottling is less than 2 mg/L to give you peace of mind that your wine will age
10 Italian Red Wines to Make at Home
MEMBERS ONLYNEBBIOLO Nebbiolo derives its name from nebbia, in reference to the foggy conditions under which it is typically harvested, and possibly from nobile, as it is considered the most noble of Italian red varietals owing to its pedigree and the wines’ long aging potential. Much like oenophiles refer to Pinot Noir from Burgundy as Burgundy,
Reducing Use of Winemaking Sulfites
MEMBERS ONLYInexperienced amateur winemakers are often misled thinking that making red wine is easier — or at least more foolproof — than making white wine because reds are better protected by polyphenols from the effects of oxidation. The result: Tired, orangey (and even brown) colored, lifeless reds. Making great red wine is indeed more challenging as
Using Winemaking Enzymes
MEMBERS ONLYMany winemakers shun the use of additives, including enzymes, to respect the wine’s “naturalness.” But juice is laden with natural enzymes, and once inoculated with yeast, fermenting wine is under the control of countless enzymes working hard to help convert odorless compounds into volatile, odiferous ones and create new ones, all of which will define
Understanding Oxygen and Oxidation in Winemaking
MEMBERS ONLYAs budding winemakers, one important principle we heed is protecting juice (must) and wine from oxygen’s baneful effects. But then we learn that yeast needs a “little” oxygen for a good fermentation, that reds benefit from “some” aeration, and that some white varietals can be subjected to lots of oxygen with no ill-effects while others
15 Keys to Winemaking Success
MEMBERS ONLYAs we look back at the many wines we made, we cherish the memories of those winners that amazed our friends and family. But there have been failures too and perhaps some disappointments when we expected that “great” wine to fetch gold at competitions but failed to earn any medals. Have we learned anything from
Choosing Corks and Wine Closures
MEMBERS ONLYAs I walked about the roomful of wine following April’s WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition judging, I was reminded of how little thought is given to closures. Winemaking problems notwithstanding, this could confirm the fact that I found far too many wines to be oxidized. There were recycled screw caps, both aluminum from wine bottles
Bâtonnage Winemaking Techniques
MEMBERS ONLYYou want to add extra body and mouthfeel to your wines, or perhaps enhance those buttery or yeasty aromas and flavors in your barrel-fermented Chardonnay? Or maybe even round out those sharp tannins in young reds? Then you may want to consider lees stirring, or what the French call bâtonnage, the technique of stirring dead
Sparkling Techniques
MEMBERS ONLYThere is nothing as refreshing and enjoyable as a chilled bottle of mousseux (foamy), or fine bubbly. No longer are sparkling wines simply uncorked to celebrate a new year or a kid’s college graduation. Consumers are finally discovering this exquisite style of wine with global consumption that is now growing at twice the rate of
