Writer: WineMaker Staff

Dear Wine Wizard, How do I get copper sulfate in accurate diluted food grade form? I would like to treat 5 gallons (19 L) of stinky fruit wine to get rid of

The winners of the 2004 WineMaker Label Contest

Dear Wine Wizard, I bottle my wine in recycled bottles and give much of it away. A friend who is on the receiving end is critical of my choice in color type

Dear Wine Wizard, I made a Muscadine wine this year that ended up very dry with harsh flavor. I wanted it to have more of a grape flavor so I added some

Dear Wine Wizard, I used isinglass as a clarifier in my Viognier. I have it in a 55-gallon plastic food-grade barrel. It started to settle out some of the particles but never

Dear Wine Wizard, I have been making red Zinfandel wine at home with juice concentrate. I‘ve noticed crystals forming inside and they stick to the bottle. When you shake the bottle they

Dear Wine Wizard, Can Lambrusco wine be refrigerated for several months and then safely kept on a wine rack? What is the expiration time frame for this wine? Jeanne Considine Boulder, Colorado

You’re right to suspect that both the potassium metabisulfite powder and solution can lose their power over time. The solution, which you make by mixing the powder with water, is particularly unstable.

1,499 entries 287 wine flights 221 total judging hours 41 American states 8 Canadian provinces 4 countries Walking into a large ballroom packed with 1,499 wine bottles organized into 287 wine flights

Dear Wine Wizard, Could I make wine in an aquarium or would the glue cause a problem? Dean Mehrkens Thief River Falls, Minnesota Wine Wizard replies: “This is the dawning of the

Dear Wine Wizard, Can I add yeast to Mountain Dew or Sprite to make it into a “wine”? Dean Mehrkens Thief River Falls, Minnesota Wine Wizard replies: Whoa. Sprite or Mountain Dew?

Lallzyme EX is a blend of enzymes that helps break down the plant cells in grapes. This mix of pectinase, cellulase and hemicellulase is introduced at the crusher or right at the

Stephen Smith attended wine appreciation classes at Denver University in 1982–84, winemaking seminars at the New Mexico Wine and Vine Society in Albuquerque from 1984 to the present, and extension courses at

Two pros offer advice to make a great blueberry wine at home.

Winners from the 2002 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition

View the winning labels of the 2002 WineMaker Label Contest.

Dear Wine Wizard, I desperately need to know how to cool my primary. I use two 50-gallon barrels to ferment my wine and am tired of using frozen one-gallon plastic jugs. There

Dear Wine Wizard, I have been making mead for a few years. I love the clover and honey accents in it. Most people who have tried it like the taste, but they

Dear Wine Wizard, Here’s one problem you may have been asked about before. My finished wine has an aroma and taste of rubber and burnt toast, a bit like burnt rubber. Since

Easy Electric Bottle Filler If you’ve ever used the Buon Vino automatic bottle filler, you know how easy it is to bottle a batch of wine. Buon Vino has made the job

Gold Medal Winners Joan Huff Louisville, Kentucky Joan won honorable mention in last year’s contest with a similarly colorful label. She and her husband ordered some Muscat grapes from California and things

Dear Wine Wizard, I raised the TA of the must from 0.5 to 0.6 at the beginning of fermentation for my red wine. Should I still add malolatic bacteria to start MLF

Dear Wine Wizard, I’m bottling some mead, and wanted to add that extra special touch to the finished product. I’ve seen some bottles with a wax coating on the top, the kind

Dear Wine Wizard, I’m new to wine making but I have made beer and mead for three years. What types of grapes and yeast are used to make lambrusco wine? Also the

Dear Wine Wizard, After I stabilized my wine, I added French medium toast oak beans to the Chardonnay 3/4 cup (new beans), Sauvignon Blanc 1/3 cup (new beans), Ruisseau Blanc 3/4 cup