Writer: Dave Green
Cellaring Bottled Wine for Beginners
Aging bottled wine properly is key to let certain wine styles to fully develop. Make sure the conditions you are providing are right.
Evaluating Your Finished Wines
Get tips on how to properly taste and evaluate your homemade wines.
Dry Rosé Production
Dry, crisp rosé wines hold a special place in a lot of wine lovers’ hearts, as a well-made version can be a thing of beauty. Learn some of the key components to producing one yourself.
Crushing It
Learn about several grape crushing options, the equipment that can be used, and the processes available to fresh grape winemakers.
Making Berry Wines
As the temperatures climb during the summer months, trees, bushes, and other perennials teeming with berries are aplenty. Get some tips on making berry wines.
Keys to Making Red Wine
If you’re a beginner planning on making a batch of red wine, here are some keys components to hone in on before you dive in.
Chaptalization
Chaptalization is the act of adding sugar to juice or must in order to increase alcohol content post-fermentation. Learn the basics of this technique.
Wine Pairing For the Holidays
A time for friends and family to gather and celebrate, the holiday season is best paired with good food and wine. Be sure you plan ahead to match the main course with the vino.
Lees, Sur Lie Aging, and Bâttonage
Learn about the lees that we find in wine and how we can use them to our advantage.
Volatile Acidity Basics
It’s a dirty phrase in most winemaking circles, but volatile acidity is found in all wine and having a little can actually add complexity to a wine. Get the scoop on volatile acidity.
Stone Fruit Wines
Also known as drupes, stone fruits offer some advantages over some other types of fruit for making wine. Learn some basics of making stone fruit wines.
Prepping Wine For Competition
If you’ve got a wine aging in your cellar you would like unbiased, expert opinions on, then entering it in a competition for judging is one of the best options. Get some pointers for getting the best feedback.
Understanding the Basics of pH Meters
pH meters are a crucial piece of testing equipment for winemakers looking to take their hobby to the next level. Learn some basics of why, how, and when.
Turning Kits to Gold
Wine kits come with all of the necessary ingredients to make a great tasting batch of wine. So how come all of these wines don’t come out tasting the same? The short answer is that the creativity often associated with fresh grape winemakers must also be applied to kit winemaking, and then solid technique and practices are key. We asked four highly decorated kit winemakers to share their best advice in this kit winemaking roundtable.
Put Some Sparkle In Your Wines
There are several techniques a home winemaker can create bubbles for their wine. Learn about the methods for crafting a sparkling wine of your own.
Honey-Based Wines
The earliest known alcoholic beverage uncovered on Earth was a mead from northern China. Get familiarized with the great and storied world of honey-based wines.
The Alcohols
Ethanol may be the most prominent and well-known alcohol in wine, but it is not the only one to play a large role in a wine’s character. Learn about the various alcohols in wine.
The ABC’s of MLF
If you make your own wine, no matter what kind, the concept of malolactic fermentation (MLF) should be well embedded in your mind. Learn some of the basics of MLF.
The Role Of Nitrogen in Winemaking
Learn about the fundamentals of nitrogen levels in your winemaking as well as how, when, and what additions are needed
The Basics Of Racking Wine
Review some basic concepts of transferring your wine and ways you can improve your process to better your wine.
Grape Skins: Start to finish
Grape skins can be one of the most important components when creating some wines, while being detrimental to others. Scratch the surface of grape skins in this piece.
The Mobile “Wall-Mount” Wine Opener
If your home winemaking club runs a wine competition, you should check out this DIY stand stand that allows a high-volume wine opener to go mobile.
Oak Yeah!? When and why to add oak to wine
Adding oak to a wine can add an amazing depth of character or it can detract from the fruit. Learn some keys to managing the oak in your wine.
The Importance of Temperature Control in Winemaking
Not properly controlling the temperature of your grapes, must, juice, or wine can have lasting impacts. Learn when and how to take control.
Getting Closure: Corkers and Cork Sizing
Learn about the various factors that affect a home winemaker’s decision when choosing cork size and corkers.