Writer: Thomas J. Miller
Field Blending: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYPeople blend wines for many reasons and are able to fine tune their blends by drawing the best characteristics from each wine blended. For centuries winemakers have started their blends right in the vineyard, growing a combination of grapes that stick together through out the entire process. Crushed, macerated and fermented together, these grapes come
Fixing Common Mistakes: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYWinter is a good time to take a critical look at your cellar techniques. With a nod to the new year and its requisite resolutions, we asked two professional winemakers to discuss common winemaking mistakes and how to avoid or correct them. Here’s to error-free wine in 2003! Winemaker: Morten Hallgern is a Danish citizen
Bottling: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYWinemaker: Greg Pollman started working at Fountain Wine Cellars in Cincinnati in 1974 and went to Sublette Winery in Cincinnati in the late 70s. He joined Valley Vineyards Estate Winery in Morrow, Ohio in 1984 and now is the company’s winemaker. Spring is a good time to start thinking about bottling. Blushes or whites with some
Blending Batches: Tips from the Pros
FREEThe moment of truth in winemaking often comes when you taste your wine to see how it turned out and you wish it could be just a touch better. Maybe the wine
Second Press Runs to Get More from Your Grapes
FREEAs home winemakers, there’s nothing like adding a new trick to our repertoire. Anything that makes our wine a little better is definitely a good thing. For those reasons, you should explore
Mastering Malolactic Fermentation: Tips from the Pros
FREEMalolactic fermentation (MLF) may sound mysterious, but it’s a technique every home winemaker should master. It’s quite different from “regular” fermentation, in which yeast convert sugar into alcohol. MLF involves bacteria instead
The Willamette way to world-class wine
MEMBERS ONLYDid you ever notice that California is hot? You know, that exasperating kind of hot that feels like it might actually singe your lungs? Well, that same heart-stopping heat is the foundation for California’s successful wine industry. Hot days and cool nights provide the perfect climate for most varietals, be it Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay.
From Cleaning to Bottling: Tips from Adelsheim
MEMBERS ONLYDid you ever notice that California is hot? You know, that exasperating kind of hot that feels like it might actually singe your lungs? Well, that same heart-stopping heat is the foundation for California’s successful wine industry. Hot days and cool nights provide the perfect climate for most varietals, be it Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay.
Great Gewurztraminer from Grapes
MEMBERS ONLYWhy make a wine you can’t even pronounce? If you’ve ever tasted a Gewürztraminer, you already know the answer. At its finest, this most distinctive white wine has an exotic, spicy flavor with hints of ginger and cinnamon. It is full-bodied, dry and slightly fruity. Gewürztraminer grapes are as unique as the wine. The origin
Ferment Well: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYAsk most home winemakers where to find America’s best wines, and they will probably say California. Ask for the best region, and they will almost certainly say Napa Valley. And if you follow the Napa River into an area that three hundred residents call home, you will have reached a winemaker’s Nirvana: Rutherford. This California
Making Cabernet Franc: Tips from the Pros
MEMBERS ONLYDerek Wilber, Anthony Road Wine Co., Penn Yan, NY on cabernet franc and quality juice. Cabernet Franc “Adapting your techniques to the climate of a region is the essence of creative winemaking,” says Derek Wilber, one of the partners at Anthony Road Wine Co. In the cool climate of the Finger Lakes region, Cabernet Franc