About

Techniques in Home Winemaking is a resource for home winemakers looking for information or help on making great wines, including troubleshooting winemaking problems, and to share that knowledge with fellow winemakers. This resource is based and builds on my book by the same title and my newly released book titled Modern Home Winemaking, which has been updated to reflect the newest techniques and products for making outstanding wines.

Much of my experience is derived from extensive literature search as well as from my experience both as a home and a commercial winemaker.

Click here if interested in ordering signed copies of my books.

Check out Modern Home Winemaking on Facebook too.

Share

1,530 thoughts on “About

  1. Daniel Hogue

    This is really an excellent book–builds on my base to really go to the next level. Highly recommended.

    Reply
      1. Eric Edwards

        I am part of Cagora’s apprentice program and I’m focussing on home winemaking so your newletter will be a handy referrence. I have signed up for it and will look forward to the first issue.

        Please visit my Cagora site and join the community there if you see fit

        Reply
  2. Karen (Pediascribe)

    Wondering if this book is available for presale. We’ll be starting our first kit in about a week and I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing. Looks like a great book to use as reference.
    (found your site through facebook, btw)

    Reply
  3. John

    I just heard about your book and was wondering what type of advice it offers when homemade wine is too acidic or taste like cognac??? LOL

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Taste like cognac!? Not sure what this means (style vs alcohol??) – maybe you should just drink it as is. If it is too acidic, try reducing acidity by one of the various methods I describe in my book, depending on your situation. It is only slightly acidic, try adding some sugar. Do bench trials with various rates of additions and see what works best. Invite some friends to help you – friends whose palate (and opinions) you trust. It’s amazing what a little sugar will do to tame that acidity.

      Reply
  4. Andrew P

    I just bought your Techniques… book and am working my way through it now. I’m certain that I will pick up useful info from it, even though I’ve been making wine from kits for several years now. I’m writing now because, contrary to all the marketing hype and other comments I see equating wine kits to commercial wines, that has generally not been my experience (unless we’re defining “commercial wines” differently as even commercial wines show a wide range of quality).

    I buy only premium kits e.g. Wine Kitz Elite Vintners or Spagnol’s En Primeur. I’m not saying that the end-product from these kits isn’t palatable, but it lacks a “wow” factor that would make me proud to say “I made this”. My biggest complaint is that red wines from these kits generally seem to lack “character”. Body and color are OK, but they have little or no nose: all I can smell is oak, alcohol, and possibly other organic compounds, but none of the essence of the fruit. This is despite following the kit instructions to a T (which you advise people to do in one of your tips), and allowing plenty of time for aging. The only exception to this I’ve ever experienced was a Cellar Classic Rosso Grande, which had a beautiful nose and flavor after 8 months of aging, and this was unfortunately a friend’s wine and not mine 🙁

    Seriously, aside from this exception, I can buy a bottle of Naked Grape for 8 bucks, and have a more satisfying wine than what I get from these kits, which makes the value of cost/labor combination in making my own wine questionable. I guess I’m hoping that your book will provide suggestions for what can be done to improve the quality of wine from kits despite the fact that these kits are supposedly manufactured to balance all the components properly, and the instructions are intended to be closely followed.

    From reading one of your articles, I’m thinking one of the prime candidates for experimentation is different yeast strains, as all the kits I buy seem to come with the same generic packet of S. Bayanus. Do you have any other suggestions? I’ve looked through your troubleshooting pointers and haven’t found anything there that directly speaks to what I’m describing.

    Best,
    Andrew

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Andrew,

      Thank you for your note, though I feel frustration … please don’t give up. Winemaking is all about patience. I agree that many kits (or wines from juice or grapes for that matter) can taste very grapey when young. In general, personally, I feel that wines are much too young; we are not a patient group we home winemakers. Give your wines time; they will improve tremendously with some aging. Some of my wines – because of the style I craft – don’t come around for 3+ years. And I’m constantly impressed by some of the wines that I taste at competitions, some of which go on to win GOLD. Please don’t give up. This is supposed to be a fun hobby; it shouldn’t be about making wine for a lesser cost than Naked Grape, Yellow Tail, or whatever – that should be a secondary objective. As you gain experience, you’ll gain confidence and will want to try different techniques from the kits’ instructions, and turn that wine into something great, perhaps even superb. I don’t have any other advice at this time as you seem to be doing everything right. Experiment though. Try different kits, different techniques, be patient. And I’ll even make you an offer. If you want to send me some samples, I can taste them and give you my impressions along with some recommendations on how to improve them – tricks you won’t find in the instructions.

      Thanks again for sharing your story with me.

      Daniel

      Reply
      1. Andrew P

        Thank you for your reply. I will persevere and try a few things before “giving up”.
        Just a note though, my main complaint isn’t that the red wine i make is too “grapey”, but that too often, it has no aroma besides alcohol and oak. If this is a matter of insufficient aging, I can confirm that none of my wines have aged for as long as 3 years, mainly because I’ve been told that kit wines (at least the ones I’ve made so far) might peak at around 18 months, at the latest, and start declining afterward.
        I currently only have a single wine that has aged long enough (at least I think it’s been long enough – over a year) that I could potentially send a sample of. If you think that’s long enough, I would be pleased to send a sample in return for any comments and advice you might have. I would just need to know the specifics of how much to send and where. Otherwise, I can wait longer for it to age before sending. Please let me know one way or the other.

        Thank you again!
        Andrew

        Reply
        1. Daniel Post author

          Hi Andrew,
          Ok. Let’s work together here and see how we can help you. BTW, I wouldn’t recommend waiting 3 years for wine to age; that was meant as an example of how long it can take at times, and that was a grape wine. For kit wines, yes, 12-18 months for reds should be plenty. Follow this link http://www.techniquesinhomewinemaking.com/home%20winemaking%20analytical%20services.html#shipping for instructions to submit your sample. I’ll then take a look, I mean a sip, and see what we can do.

          Do you read WineMaker magazine? I suggest you take a look at the issue where award winners are annouonced. There, you will find the kit names that have won in previous competitions. You can try those. You may specifically want to try one which wins consistently.

          Daniel

          Reply
          1. Andrew P

            Hi Daniel,
            OK. I presume that what I would want based on our previous exchange would be the “sensorial analysis”? I frankly don’t think this wine justifies a full-blown analysis. I just want to get a knowledgeable opionon on what’s wrong with it, and how I can maximize the chances of getting better wine from future kits.

            I will have a look at winemaker magazine for ideas of which kits to buy in the future. Can you confirm though that the award-winning kits were prepared by exactly following the instructions that come with the kit, or were liberties taken by the individual winemakers according to experience? THis is someting that I’m getting mixed signals on: in some cases, I see advice to follow instructions exactly, and then, the same author might say that you can reduce the amoung of finings used (for example) by lengthening the timeframe of the winemaking, and this obviously contradicts the kit instructions. AS an example, this type of confusion appears in Tim Vanderbilt’s writing on the winemaker web site (no slight intended to Tim).

            Best,
            Andrew

  5. John

    Need some advice. I bought some imported sangiovese juice in March (It was refrigerated for several months) and it seemed to already had fermented. The label stated that the BRIX measurd at 21, but by the time I measured it, it was at 11. I added sugar to bring the brix up to by 3. (Total Brix – Label + 3 = 24). The wine finished fermenting nicely and after the second Racking specific gravity was at .996. However, when tasted it seemed flat. I tested TA and Ph, thinking that maybe the acid was too low. TA = .65, & Ph = 3.72, but the wine is still flat. How can I add flavor to this wine (It tastes like water – Flat)? Will grape concentrate help or some type of conditioner? I am lost.

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi John,

      First, always buy refrigerated juice from a reliable source that has quick inventory turnover because, as you have witnessed, juice can start fermenting even at cold temperatures. There ARE yeasts capable of starting fermentation at cold temperatures. And you also don’t know what yeast type started the fermentation, and so the results are totally unpredictable, such as poor aroma and flavor profile as you might be experiencing. The juice really needs to be frozen if it is to be stored for a prolonged period of time.

      Now you mention that the wine is flat and that you want to add flavor, and that the two are somehow related: The two problems are not related, but let’s look at each.

      A TA of .65% is not unusual and not a cause of concern, but it should be in balance with everything else. In your case it doesn’t seem to be, so try adding tartaric acid in small increments until you get something you like. I am however concerned about the pH; it’s a little higher than I would like. It’s not a major concern – and it may even be the original pH at harvest – but it may also indicate the presence of spoilage organisms because of the premature fermentation. You’ll need to protect the wine with sulfite to avoid any further microbial problems. I recommend approx 70 ppm of free SO2.

      As for flavor, you get what you get, so to speak. First and foremost, it’s in the grapes/juice. I don’t know the quality of the juice you bought, and so I can’t comment more specifically. I would however give the wine the chance to age awhile longer – in addition to my other recommendations below – to give aromas and flavors a chance to develop.

      To add mouthfeel and flavors, try adding oak (using oak cubes, for example) – that should do some amazing tricks to aromas, flavors and mouthfeel. If you go this route, you should get enough tannins to get the right mouthfeel, otherwise try adding some enological tannins or better yet, try adding gum arabic.

      Another option is to blend the wine with another batch that you have or will be making, but only if the sangiovese wine is sound – you don’t want to spoil the blending wine. The only problem with grape concentrate is the residual sugar; the wine will not be dry, which will be a problem in terms of balance if you leave the acidity low, and the wine could potentially restart fermenting unless you stabilize it properly with sulfite and sorbate.

      Hope this helps. Good luck

      Daniel

      Reply
  6. Ron

    First, I bought your book a few years ago, and it is an invaluable resource to have in my home winery. I’ve used it many times already.

    Had a question for you…I made a Sangiovese out of fresh local grapes last year, and am about ready to bottle it after aging it over the winter and spring.

    I did not get a lot of color extraction, so the wine looks more like a dark rose than a “red wine”. It tastes fine, but I think I am going to try and make it an “off dry” wine, rather than fully dry.

    I see that many local wine shops sell red or white juice concentrate, at 68 degrees brix. My question is, is there a calculator available, or perhaps even a formula I can use to determine how much of this concentrate to use to raise the sugar level of 5 gallons of finished wine to say 1/2% to 1% sugar, if you consider the present hydrometer reading is .994?

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Ron,

      Thank you for your message and kind words. BTW, there is an updated version (May 2008) of my book that is over 500 pages. There is a ton of additional information from previous editions.

      If you think you will like an off-dry Sangiovese, sure, go for it, but don’t use that solely to fix color (although adding concentrate will improve color). And remember to do bench tests before adjusting the whole batch – VERY IMPORTANT.

      At your current SG, your Brix is at approx -1.3 and essentially zero residual sugar (you may still have 0.2%+/-, but assume zero). So for every 1% w/v of residual sugar (RS) you want, you need to add 10 g per liter of wine, or approx 38 g per gallon, or approx 1.4 oz per gallon. You can then scale additions accordingly for 5 gallons and for whatever RS you want.

      And 68 deg Brix is about 92%w/v sugar. That means that there is 92 g of sugar in 100 mL of concentrate.

      So if you want to get 1% RS in your 5-gal (20-L) batch, you need to add 200 g, or 200×100/92=217 mL of concentrate.

      Hope this helps.

      Daniel

      Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      You can always order a copy from me from my website if you want a signed copy. Unfortunately, I can’t beat the price from Amazon and the likes.

      Reply
  7. s hardman

    I make wine from fresh juice and when finnised sometimes it`s too dry,how best to sweeten just enough to make it more fruity and not so harsh tasteing?

    thanks

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      I assume you want to balance acidity although you mention “harsh”. The latter refers to mouthfeel and tannins.

      Prepare a 10% sugar solution and then perform bench trials. Gather, say, 6 glasses and pour the same amount of wine into each. The first glass is the “control,” i.e. you won’t be adding any sugar to it. In the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth glasses, pour a known volume of sugar solution into each, for example, the equivalent of 2 g/L, 5, 7, 10, and 15, or whatever is easier to work with for you. Taste each glass and see what works for your taste. Say, for example, 5 g/L doesn’t quite cut it but 7 g/L is too much, then try 6 g/L. When you reach a balanced wine that you enjoy, you can then add the required amount of sugar (as a solution) to your whole batch.

      If the wine is also harsh (as in too much tannins), you can try a PVPP fining.

      Good luck.

      Daniel

      Reply
          1. Daniel Post author

            First step is to tame the harshness with a PVPP fining. Then perform some bench tests on the fined wine using various rates of addition of Arabinol to see how that improves the wine. You can find Arabinol at Presque Isle Wine Cellars at http://www.piwine.com.

          2. s hardman

            please explain PVPP finning,have looked all thru your book and didn`t find any mention.
            For Aribnol is there anywhere in Toronto or Niagara area that would have any?
            thanx

          3. Daniel Post author

            It’s explained on p. 265 of the 2008 edition (sounds like you have an older edition; you’ll want the new one – it’s over 500 pages of really great info, tips, secrets, advice, etc.). PVPP is a synthetic polymer that is very effective in precipitating polyphenols. The advantage is that settling occurs very quickly – typically, 1-2 hours. A good winemaking supply store should carry PVPP powder, which you add directly to wine. I don’t know who sells it in small volumes in the GTA or Niagara region. We buy it by the gallon from AM Ingredients (905-332-1374) in Burlington. If you’re ever in the area (Niagara-on-the-Lake), please let me know and we can give you some.

    1. Daniel Post author

      Good point. Yes. Add sulfite to bring FSO2 to at least 35 ppm, or higher depending on pH, and 1 to 2 g of sorbate per 10 L (2.5 gal) of wine.

      Reply
  8. Jason

    Daniel,

    I purchased your book and find it very comprehensive. Well done! I have a couple of questions:

    First, can you suggest a few vineyards in the Niagara area that sell small quantities of grapes to home wine makers and who don’t mind amateurs testing the grapes on site as you describe? I’d be particularly interested in cabernet sauvignon.

    Second, can you suggest a few dealers of new and/or used home wine making equipment in the GTA and/or Niagara? This might be too broad of a question, but I’d appreciate any suggestions you might have

    Thanks in advance.

    Jason

    Jason

    Reply
      1. Terry Mahoney

        Hi Daniel;
        I’m just getting ready to start making wine again after a 30 year hiatus. Your book is amazing and will be invaluable to me. thank you. And now my question. Is there a similar site for Okanagan grape suppliers? TIA

        terry

        Reply
        1. Daniel Post author

          Hello Terry and thank you for your message and kind words.

          I’m not familiar with the BC home winemaking landscape but I suggest you contact the BC Amateur Winemakers Association (BCAWA) at http://www.bcawa.ca/.

          Good luck.
          Daniel

          Reply
  9. s hardman

    I have a question ,when adding banana to a berry wine must you boil first? can it be added chopped to the other ingredients?
    Admit have added when making vermouth and also to an apple wine.
    Thanx..Sophie

    Reply
  10. Wensail

    Daniel

    I bought your book it was a good read and now a resource in my “cellar”. When I compared it with the book out of Atlantic Canada Kit winemaking 101 http://www.clubvin.com/BrewTips.html
    the book promotes no extra air to be introduced. Many kits ask for splashing and introducing extra oxygen this book asks for none. Your book did not really give me the answer. Let me know what you think.

    Thanks for having a blog.

    Whensail

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hello Whensail.

      That’s an excellent point.

      The need to splash wine for the sole purpose of introducing oxygen into the wine is recommended for softening tannins in reds to make wines more approachable in their youth. The aeration also accelerates aging to make the wine exhibit a more fruity character – it is akin to decanting a bottle of wine before serving. The instructions say to do that because that’s the style the kit manufacturer has intended.

      If you want to preserve the full-bodiedness of the wine and cellar for a longer period, then you can forego splashing.

      The technique is usually not recommended in whites as it can hasten oxidation is not done correctly or under the right conditions.

      The other reason for splashing is to help CO2 gas dissipiate – this has nothing to do with introducing oxygen.

      Thank you for the feedback. I have noted this as a clarification to add in a future edition of the book.

      You may also want to consider my other publication, Techniques in Home Winemaking (http://www.TechniquesInHomeWinemaking.com) which goes into a lot more details about the benefits of aerating must and wine, and to accomplish it effectively.

      Cheers,
      Daniel

      Reply
  11. Sophie hardman

    We expect to be in the Niagara on The Lake area on Wednesday 16th and you mentioned being able to get some PVPP from you ,is that still possible?

    Thanx Sophie

    Reply
  12. Vince

    Hi Daniel
    Great website. I just signed up for the newletter which I am eager to read. I have been making wine from fresh grapes for many years and am a great proponent of using Niagara Peninsula grapes. I just have two questions:

    How do you see the 2009 vintage in Niagara shaping up? The summer was not the greatest on record, but things seem to have turned around in September.

    Also, I have a 2007 Cab Sauv that was fermented on the skins for two weeks followed by bulk aging in glass demi-johns with oak added in the form of oak spirals. Although it is two years old, the wine still seems to carry a woody taste… and I mean woody, not the vanilla flavour that is usally associated with oak. Do you have any suggestions on how to remove? Perhaps some sort of fining?

    Thanks,
    Vince.

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Vince.

      Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. I must admit though that I’m behind on my plans to do a newsletter and also providing more content on my website. The winery is keeping me busy.

      The 2009 vintage in Niagara was not looking promising but the last 3 weeks of sunny weather helped tremendously. Sugar levels are climbing and we should have a good harvest; definitely not a 2005 or 2007 vintage, but these will be pleasant, easy-drinking and early-drinking wines.

      As for your wine, obviously you left the oak in for too long. You really need to taste the wine every so often to decide when to pull the oak out. You’re dealing with oak aromas here, and not tannins, and so, fining won’t help. The only solution really is to blend it with some other non-oaked wine until you find the aromas to your liking. I really hate to recommend any other treatment, which would compromise the quality of the wine.

      Good luck.
      Daniel

      Reply
  13. Vince

    Daniel,

    The weather has turned quite cool and rainy for October and I was debating whether to source Pinot Noir or Merlot. I was just wondering how the sugar levels are coming along on these two varietals.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Vince,
      Do you live in the Niagara region? It’s hard to make a general statement as every vineyard is different. I don’t grow Pinot Noir, and so I can’t say, but I suspect that it is probably behind schedule. At Maleta, everything is well behind schedule, but our Merlot is ahead of the pack at about 19 Brix. It might not be another couple of weeks before we harvest. It’s been a tough growing season. My advice is to find a reputable grower, go check out the grapes, taste the berries, measure the Brix, and then decide when to buy.

      Good Luck,

      Daniel

      Reply
  14. Vince

    Daniel,

    Thanks for the quick response. I live in Vaughan, but have been making the trek to Niagara annually for many years.

    It’s good to know that your Merlot is already at 19Brix. The grower I spoke to is in the Four Mile Creek area and has vines that are quite old. How important is the age of a vine with respect to wine quality? Does it much matter after say 10 years?

    Given the amount of rain we’ve experienced in October, the challenge will be to get maximum colour and flavour extraction from the grape skins. My thinking is to bleed some juice off immediately after crush and later ferment as a rose. Then cold soak the must for about 4 to 5 days under 50ppm SO2 before innoculation and follow this by MLF after a number of rackings. This time I’m planning to use oak chips or spirals, but to a lesser extent than previously.

    Do you have any other suggestions on how to get a “big” wine?

    Vince

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      The age of the vines does matter, assuming that the vines and soil are well maintained and well nourished. In general, the older the vines, the lower the yield but higher quality, i.e. more complexity on the aromas and flavors.

      Yes. This year the challenge is phenolic and flavor extraction. Bleeding & cold soak are good tricks to increase concentration, esp. with this vintage.

      You should also consider the use of yeast derivatives and enzymes to get more body, more color, and a more stable wine. I recommend OptiRED, Lallzyme EX, ColorX, ColorPro.

      Good luck.
      Daniel

      Reply
  15. Vince

    Hey Daniel,

    I am going to the Virgil area to pick up some grapes in the next week or so and I had two quick questions:

    Is your book available at the winery?

    Would I be able to bring a bottle of wine for your sensory evaluation service and pay the fee there in person?

    Many thanks

    Reply
  16. Rod

    Hi Daniel,
    I’m in the process of making some gamay wine. I’m going for the “13th street style”, not the beaujolais style. I cold soaked for three days, inoculated with rc212, and added a minimal amount of ColourPro. I’m wondering if an addition of OptoRED is nessesary? Is this too much playing around? Brix today are at 14. Got the must from watsons, 21 brix, 3.13 ph, 7.1 acid. I apprieciate your advise!!

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Rod,
      Personally, I would go with ColorX for a full-bodied style Gamay. The OptiRED is not necessary but probably worthwhile trying given the fact that this is a weak vintage.
      Good luck.
      Daniel

      Reply
  17. Ron F

    Hi Daniel,

    Have both editions of your book, and just read your very informative article on wine stabilization in Winemaker Mag…good stuff, and timely for me.

    I just finished primary fermentation of a Cab franc, with grapes procured from a local grower. Prior to fermentation, my sugar was fine, but the acid was a little low (5.7) and the pH was high (3.9). I adjusted the acid with tartaric up to 7.5 to help both the low acid and the high pH, and commenced with fermentation.

    After pressing off the skins and prior to inoculating with a ML culture, I retested evertything, and while the acid was still in good shape (6.8), the pH was still high, around 3.83. I’m concerned about the long term stability of the wine at this point, for obvious reasons. And also the reasons as to why the pH would still be this high, with my acid level at perfectly reasonable levels?

    Is there anything else I can do pH-wise at this point? I am obviously going to dose it with the appropriate amount of SO2 upon completion of MLF, and I really don’t like to sterile filter my reds (I think they lose too much). However, I will filter it if you think that is the only way to save it.

    Thoughts?

    Ron

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Ron,

      First, make sure your pH meter is re-calibrated with fresh solutions if you have not done it recently. All too often I get panicky winemakers emailing me about weird pH results measured with uncalibrated meters.

      Sounds like adding acid doesn’t impact the pH much. The juice probably had a lot of potassium or other elements from the soil.

      You are right to be concerned with the long-term stability of the wine, but if it smells and tastes great, why mess with it?

      You could try some bench tests with phosphoric acid. That will reduce the pH without affecting the TA much, but it might affect the taste. Again, do bench tests first. And again, why mess with the wine if it tastes good.

      Just sulfite the wine adequately to protect it.

      BTW, I have tasted many great wines at a pH of 3.9.

      Sterile filtration would only be a partial solution as the high pH would also affect the chemical (eg color) stability, not just microbiological.

      And BTW, I’m all for filtration. Be sure to read the Feb-Mar 2010 issue of WineMaker where I discuss the pros/cons of filtration.

      You should see filtration as your buddy, not your enemy!!

      Good luck.

      Daniel

      Reply
      1. Ron

        Thanks Daniel…I agree with you. The wine tastes great so far, and has a wonderful nose. I’m not about to start messing with phosphoric acid. I’ll just ensure I keep it sulfited and go from there. Wine never usually lasts too long around my house anyway! :=)

        Thanks again for the advice…as always, it is much appreciated.

        Ron

        Reply
  18. John

    I am looking for a simple software program to help my Father who has about 400 wines and would like to track al aspects of the wine making from the vineyard to bottling…any ideas.

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Wow! That’s a lot of wine to track. I don’t know of any s/w specifically geared to home winemaking with a price to match. But you can look up the following who specialize in commercial winemaking tracking s/w, but you can expect these to be expensive.
      The Winemaker’s Database – http://www.wmdb.com
      Wine Management Systems – http://www.WineManagementSystems.com
      Orion Wine Software – http://www.OrionWineSoftware .com

      Cheers,
      Daniel

      Reply
  19. Neil

    Hi Daniel,
    I’m a relatively new home winemaker. This year I am making two reds from French-American hybrid grapes (Luci Kuhlman (13 gallons) and Leon Millot (7 gallons)). They have finished alc fermentation and MLF after an initial 4 day cold soak. My plan is to combine these and age in a 55 liter two year-old Hungarian oak barrel after cold stabilization. Initial Brix was about 22-23, so I did very little sugar addition.

    I tend to find that these grapes lack some weight. The oak should help a bit, but I’d like to try some other experiments. Do you have any experience with Biolees or gum arabic? Do you think I should try these on a small batch? Any other suggestions? I’m looking for something medium bodied, i.e. not a monster Cab.

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Neil,

      I have a lot of experience with gum arabic. I use it often to add more mouthfeel. Try adding Arabinol (20% dilute solution) at a rate of 1 mL per liter of wine and then adjust up/down as you like. Do this on small samples first and then treat the whole batch once you have determined your preferred rate of addition.
      Good luck.
      Daniel

      Reply
  20. Alan Butler

    Hi Daniel. Thanks for your first book which I bought from you at the AWO convention I think in 2000. I was looking to download the progress chart on page 249 from the Vehicule website but can’t find the link??
    I now live in Port Hope and earlier in November we took the five hour round trip to pick up the last juice Donna Lailey will supply to amateurs. Do you have any idea of when Prince Edward County might be in a position to supply us home winemakers ? Thanks.

    Reply
  21. AlbanyCellarRat

    Daniel some members at the westchester amateur winemakers club had some questions regarding your book. I have your book and think it would make a great addition to anyone’s winemaking library. Our questions concern your brix/alcohol conversion charts in your book. Your charts are not consistent with charts found in other books on this subject. I invite your response and ask that you officially answer on our site. Please answere here:

    http://www.westchesterwinemakers.com/2010/02/16/brix-chart/#comments

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Ah! The frustrations of Brix measurements; it’s right up there with SO2. Yes, my tables are different from SOME books. You’ll be hard-pressed to find two books with the same tables from a collection of several dozens of winemaking books – professional, academic, and home winemaking.

      I’ll give you two perspectives: 1) practical, and 2) academic/theoretical. I’ll start with #1 because that’s what I recommend. Sorry for the lengthy answer, but you’ll appreciate the explanations.

      #1
      The reasons why we care about Brix is i) to ensure we harvest when grapes are ripened to a desired concentration, and ii) that the potential alcohol (PA) is in our desired range. As a commercial winery operator, I look at Brix to HELP with a decision on when to harvest though we look at phenolic ripeness and flavors – that’s key. We almost never consider PA since that can be easily adjustment up in the cellar.

      And with Brix, we simply use our hydrometer to make those decisions. The hydrometer is a tool to GUIDE us; it’s most inaccurate, particularly the cheaper models – there are precision hydrometers but they are really not worth it for our purpose) – because of the many, many dissolved solids in juice that will affect sugar readings. It’s a really rough estimate. And whether the reading is 23.5 instead of 23.4, over even 23.0, doesn’t matter.

      Since that’s the tool we use, stick to it to guide your winemaking and sugar additions.

      PA is just a rough estimate and that’s part of the reason why we, commercial wineries, are allowed as much as +/-1.5% on the alcohol declaration on the label. So you really need not lose sleep over Brix. Just concern yourself with ripeness.

      #2
      Based on what I said in #1, many people want to know the sort of “real” Brix in juice – not the measured value knowing that it’s just an estimate. My table is based on the calculation PA = (Brix x 0.55) – 0.63, and this is a closer approximation to what’s in the juice and why I choose this as the basis of my table.

      So a Brix of 24.8 would give a PA of 13.0% alc/vol. Some people even simplify this formula by dropping the subtraction so they can do a quick, mental calculation, i.e. 24.8 Brix gives 13.6%. Some simplify further by simply dividing by 2, i.e. 24.8 B gives 12.4%.

      So you can see why it is easy to give a fairly wide range of values.

      Hope this helps.

      Reply
  22. bobbler

    I love your book (bought yours and “home winemaking step by step;
    will probably throw it away).. The contrast was night and day; I was able to understand what to do..

    My first batch; white wine.. Looking to save $$ on stuff where I can..

    PH METER:
    How important is having a PH meter (for my first batch)? I am a perfectionist at heart, but all the equipment is adding up ($$$).. How often do I need to test PH (I may be able to borrow one)..

    GRAPES:
    Where can I get good grapes; frozen of fresh (Atlanta GA 30084).. I was thinking of buying a pail of frozen grapes here:
    http://www.brehmvineyards.com/ (but with shipping its almost $200).

    Given up on the french OAK barrel for the first batch, LOL.. I plan on using glass carboys.. I read about the non bisphemol_A plastic, but there area lways more chemicals in plastics..

    ARGON:
    I am concerned about topping off after racking.. Can I just squirt a few seconds of argon (or one of those 3 gas mixtures) in, instead of adding water? Seems like the gas would be the best; wondering if there is a down side..

    PRESS:
    Which one to get? Another $200 purchase I may use only 1 time (I hope this is not the case).. Are there any good alternatives to do this job without a press (5 gallons).. Otherwise, what is a good one to buy?

    bobbler

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Re pH Meter:
      It depends on what you use as must, i.e. concentrate/kit, prepared fresh juice, raw fresh juice, grapes. For the first two, you usually don’t need to measure the pH as the producer has verified/adjusted all parameters (TA, pH, etc.) for trouble-free winemaking. With fresh juice and grapes, you need to know the pH in case it is high/low, and your sulfite additions should also follow pH readings.

      Good luck.

      Re plastic carboys:
      See the section on PET containers in my book; they are completely safe as long as they are “pure” PET.

      Re Argon:
      Yes, absolutely. This is a common practice in commercial wineries. Be sure to “squirt” long enough to displace all the air out, usually a few seconds but this depends on the amount of headspace in your carboy. I would not leave the wine with gas for an “indefinite” period of time as there are always some risks.

      Re Press:
      If your winemaking involves grapes, you need a press. Buy a good press suited to your budget and winemaking volume. Be sure to consider your future volumes – it tends to grow quickly on you. If you don’t want to invest $$ in equipment that you’ll be using only once in a year, consider sharing the purchase with fellow winemakers or join a club.

      Re Grapes:
      I don’t know sources in GA, but anything from Brehm is good and reliable. Try and contact wine clubs in your area; they’ll be more than happy to provide with good sources – and you may even want to order through them to save on freight.

      Reply
    2. glenn

      this distributor has good frozen must and shipping is $30 per pail, 15 shipping and 15 to pack in styrofoam encase box. Ordered 3 pails and was able to come out with 11 gallons after free run and pressing.

      Reply
      1. Neil

        Glenn,

        Which distributor are you referring to? The price you quoted is very good. Do you have any idea as to the quality/origin of the must?

        Reply
          1. Daniel Post author

            Um! Not offhand. All the ones I know are cash-and-carry. Try Bosa Grapes out in BC.

  23. Neil

    Hi Daniel,
    I’ve got 6 gallons of New York Muscat which has fermented dry. It started out very acidic with pH 2.9 and TA ~ 12 g/l. The brix was good at about 22, and so I did not chaptilize. I fermented using a french yeast known as ML-01, which is supposed to to the alc ferment and ML at the same time. It is not supposed to give the buttery diacetyl from traditional MLF, and so (hopefully) preserves the precious aromatics of a muscat. It has just finished cold stabilizing, and has been racked of the tartrate crystals. It is still very acidic for my papate…the pH pre CS was ok at 3.3; I haven’t redone the TA, but will do so.

    Bench trails with sugar over Indian food very encouraging. The acid was beautifully balanced out with just a bit of residual sweetness, and the aromatics were excellent. How do you think I should go about sweeting the enitre batch? I was thinking about adding some sorbate and then sweeting with sugar, but was a bit concerned about the Geranium taint you can get when ML bacteria get their hands on Sorbate. I don’t think ML-01 will do the same, but don’t really know. What about lactose…It isn’t supposed to be fermentable. I don’t easily have access to sterile filtration. We aren’t interested in trying sugar substitues, as most of them have an artifical flavour.

    Thanks for you help.

    Cheers!

    Neil

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Neil,

      First thing is to perform a paper chromatography test to confirm that MLF has indeed run to completion; it the test is negative, then you should let the MLF finish, though I imagine it would be “stuck” at this stage.

      If the wine is still too acidic, there are ways of reducing acidity depending on what you feel comfortable doing. If the MLF had not completed, there is still some bracing malic acid present, which can be reduced using double-salt precipitation without the need to restart the MLF.

      I find that the best way to tame the acidity is by adding some sugar – table sugar is just fine. I’m not suggesting to make the wine sweet but rather just enough sugar to reduce that acidity. You can find the right balance by doing bench trials; for example, try adding 5, 10, 15 g/L and then zero in on a rate based on what you like. Once you’ve found the right balance, you can add sugar to the entire batch.

      I wouldn’t add sorbate. Be sure to sulfite judiciously. You may want to consider using some lysozyme.

      Daniel

      Reply
  24. Mike

    Hello Daniel: I have both your books, and have been devouring “Techniques” again as I’m getting ready to get Malbec juice in from Chile. I am planning a winemaking/storage room in my basement and am unsure as what to do for a vapor barrier and insulation in the ceiling. I have 2″x12″ joists with electrical and plumbing through the joists in different areas, as well as a shutoff for an exteior faucet I have to contend with. My big question is how to apply the vapor barrier. I’ve read not to wrap the joists, wrap the joists, faced batting that will serve as a vapor barrier…. Any hints or suggestions? I wonder if using foil backed rigid insulation laid accross the joists will work? The only problem there is my ceiling is very low, so I don’t want to drop the height too low. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
    Thanks, Mike

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Mike: From your description, I assume that your basement is under some living area, in which, heat transfer between the two level is not as great a concern as if the winemaking room was under a balcony, for example. That was my situation and it required some serious insulation work. All you need to do is insert pink insulation in between the joists, install a polyethylene vapor barrier, and finish with drywal, preferably the water-proof (green) kind. You can paint the drywal with a water and mildew-resistant, odorless paint. That’s the easiest and cheapest, and only add a half inch to height loss. Hope this helps.
      Daniel

      Reply
      1. Mike

        Thanks for the info, Daniel. yes, there is heated space above. Would my best bet be to staple the vapor barrier to the bottom of the joists, then attach the green board as usual? Someone suggested using a drop ceiling, which may work w/o lowering the ceiling height too much. I have to do some research to see how a drop would handle the moisture of the cellar. Thanks for all the advice here and in the books.
        Regards,
        Mike

        Reply
        1. Daniel Post author

          Yes, just staple the vapor barrier to the joists and screw drywall sheets right over it. Not sure why a drop-ceiling would be better here. I don’t recommend it. The pink insulation also reduces noise and vibrations from above. It’s the cheapest, most expedient and efficient solution for your situation.
          Daniel

          Reply
          1. Mike

            Thinking about it a little more, I was originally thinking of insulating the spaces between the joists. If I staple the vapor barrier to the joists, the insultaion would be behind the vapor barrier, closer to the warm side of the space. That seems a little backwards, or am I missing something (I tend to do that alot)?
            Mike

          2. Daniel Post author

            Your temperature difference between the two levels won’t be as big as to warrant a vapor barrier, under normal circumstances; however, you will be working with a lot of water in your winery, and that will create a lot of water vapor. The barrier is to protect that on the basement side. See? It all makes sense.

          3. Mike

            Well, the temp in the wine cellar will be 55 deg F., hopefully, so there will be a significant temperature difference between upstairs and down. I guess I’m confused reading different info where some say to put the barrier on the “warm”of the room, others on the cool, or wine cellar side of the room (inside the insulation). Knowing that insulation batts get damaged by moisture, it would seem better to have the barrier between the insulation and the green board. Man, this gets more confusing the more ya think about it.

          4. Daniel Post author

            You’re worrying too much. The reality is that is not much of a temperature difference. When it’s below freezing outside and room temperature, that’s when condensation can become a problem. As to the drop-ceiling, personally, I don’t like them, but that’s for you to decide based on the amount of access you need or will need in the future. I had only one valve that I never use, so I installed gypsum boards with a trap door. Easy enough.

  25. bobbler

    The drop ceiling would be better where plaster board would cover up utility access (elec access, shut off valves, etc.. all common in basements)..

    bobbler

    Reply
  26. Frank

    We have 300 vines of St. Croix planted and will soon harvest. We have been making St. Croix wine for 3 years, and two out of three have produced tart grapes and wine. The TA starts out high (1.33 and higher) so it has been difficult to get the finished wine down to 6 or 6.5. Have tried MLF , cold stabilization and potassium bicarb but am not happy with the taste after using the bicarb. I am not happy with using 71B yeast (which reduces the malic acid more effectively) but leaves too much fruity flavor for my tastebuds. Even with a great summer of sun and warm temps here in CT, the acid levels in my vineyard sampling are still high(1.11 today) and the Brix is moving to the point (19-20) at which other winemakers claim that I will get a “foxy” or “musty” flavor. I don’t know if you have any experience with St. Croix, but do you have any suggestions? I really have enjoyed your book. It is my primary reference.

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Frank,
      Sounds like you have very high malic acid content.
      I don’t have any experience with St. Croix but I believe you can fix your problem using double-salt precipitation using products like Acidex or Sihadex. The procedure allows you to reduce both tartaric and malic acids in equal proportions. I describe the procedure in my book and the upcoming issue (Oct-Nov) of WineMaker magazine.
      Daniel

      Reply
  27. Frank

    I don’t find anything in your book about off odors during fermentation. We harvested 1200 lbs of St. Croix under not very good conditions – we had three inches of rain right before harvest which caused some skin spliting. The yellow jackets were all over the place (and I assume fruit flies although we didn’t acutally see those in abundance). Crushed and added 40ppm SO2 but didn’t want to add more because we plan on a MLF. We innoculated with 71B yeast 18 hours after crush. We added Fermaid K (15 g/hL) when the Brix dropped 10% and plan on another 10g/hL soon. The fermentation has an odor of ethyl acetate (nail polish remover). I assume this is caused by acetic acid bacteria or starving yeasts. Any suggestion in addition to what I am already doing.

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Um! Doesn’t sound good. I’m assuming that it is in fact ethyl acetate that you are smelling. It sounds like you have some indigenous yeasts that kicked in and converted the acetate into its ester, ethyl acetate, during fermentation. Fermentation probably started when split grapes were still hanging. A higher dosage of SO2 was required at crush. Quite possibly, even the 71B might have generated some under the stressful conditions, esp. if it was deprived of nutrients (what you added might have been too late). A hot fermentation may have been a contributing factor too. Then there is the slight chance of a premature MLF, but that’s probably not the case since you have added 40 ppm of sulfite — do a MLF test and check anyways. MLF produces some ethyl acetate but it’s usually small, unless you have some other bacteria or the MLF happened under stressful conditions. At this point, there’s not much you can do to reduce the ethyl acetate. Measure the pH and add a good dose of SO2. Keep your SO2 up all along. I would avoid an MLF. If you need to reduce the malic acid, I would consider double-salt precipitation. In the end, you’ll have a subpar wine, and what you do all depends on how bad the ethyl acetate is. You can blend in another wine if it’s not too bad, but I’m afraid the wine is destined for the sewer. Sorry. I wish I had better news.

      Reply
      1. Frank

        Thanks for the r esponse. Live and learn I guess. I had picked some of the same grapes before the rain and they fermented just fine. I’m glad I’m not making wine for a living, it is a challenge. I’ll do some testing and use some of your ideas as I progress as you suggested. I have to say that your book is the most thorough I’ve read on wine making, especially for the home wine making and novice like me. I recommend it to all my wine-making friends.

        Reply
        1. Daniel Post author

          Thank you for your kind words. Based on the fact that you have fermented “good” grapes successfully without any problems, we can conclude that spoilage yeasts kicked in and started fermentation when grapes started splitting with heavy rain.

          Reply
  28. James Farrell

    Hi Daniel,

    I’m in my 3rd year. I have about 10 gallons of Zinfindal grapes, just crushed. I want to try an extended maceration because previous 2 years were very tannic. How long should I extend after sugar goes to 0 and should I use sulfites during the extension, if so how much?

    Thanks,

    Jim

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Jim,

      I assume you mean to do an extended post-ferment cold maceration to soften tannins.

      If in previous years your Zin has been overly tannic, I would look at the root cause before undertaking a risky procedure. You need to be equipped and have some experience to be able to do an extended post-ferment cold maceration. I would be concerned keeping the wine with little SO2 (assuming you will be doing an MLF).

      Perhaps you are overly extracting phenols either pre-ferment or during fermentation, and so, I would actually recommend you shorten those durations and perhaps even eliminating the pre-ferment cold soak if you are doing it.

      There are other ways to soften tannins without risks, eg. fining with egg whites, doing a PVPP treatment, etc.

      Good luck,
      Daniel

      Reply
  29. Frank

    Hi Daniel, I have some Seyval that just finished fermenting and is clearing beautifully. I racked after pressing and then again when fermentation was complete. It is slightly tart to the taste, so I eventually will add back some sugar and filter at .45 microns with a cartridge filter. Should I still fine with betonite soon and eventually filter, or is filtering enough to eliminate any possibility of protein haze in the bottle?

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      You should do protein test (described in my book) to find out if you need a bentonite treatment, but chances are that you will need to. Filtration is not sufficient. Also, did you cold stabilize the wine? That reduces acidity a little, and you may want to deacidify a little. Then at the end, you can add sugar if you like.

      Reply
  30. Frank

    thanks for the tips. that was quick. I must have caught you sitting at the computer. I didn’t cold stabilize yet, but will do so before a final TA test.

    Reply
  31. Neil

    Hi Daniel,
    It looks like the ML-01 is being phased out. I really like having it as an option for high acid musts, especially the hybrids that may have lots of malic acid in subpar years.

    I’ve got about 30 g of ML-01 left over from last year. Any idea how I could go about propagating it so that I can continue to use it down the road?

    Thanks,

    Neil

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Neil,

      I am not a fan of malo culture propagation. I always recommend using a fresh culture if you don’t want any hassles. There are many good cultures available.

      That being said, a winemaker did tell me about how he does it, although I never tried it myself, nor do I endorse the technique.

      At the end of the MLF, he racks the wine and transfer the lees to an airtight container and places it in the freezer until the next vintage.

      Daniel

      Reply
      1. Daniel Post author

        Oh! I did want to mention that I was particularly fond of ML01 because it minimizes biogenic amine production. And, you can also opt for double-acid precipitation if malic acid is unusually high.

        Reply
  32. Neil

    Hi again Daniel,

    I’ve got 82 gallons of wine which need to go through MLF. I purchase 2.5g of VP41, which reconstituted should give me enough bacteria for 66 gallons.

    I was thinking about propagating the MLB in preservative-free apple juice to expand the population a little. Can you describe the process? Should I pasturize my apple juice?

    Thanks,

    Neil

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Here’s the process, taken from my book.

      Prepare an inoculum using a STANDARD (i.e., not direct inoculation) MLB culture, and acclimatize it by diluting the inoculum into an equal volume of commercial apple juice – the kind containing no preservatives. Apple juice has a high malic acid concentration, which will “jump-start” the bacteria. For example, if the manufacturer’s instructions require rehydrating the culture in 50 mL of distilled water, add the inoculum to 50 mL of apple juice. Loosely cover the container ensuring that there is little air space and let the inoculum stand for two to four days before adding it to the wine.

      To inoculate several batches, withdraw a 5–10% volume of wine actively undergoing MLF and inoculate another batch with this second-generation sample. For example, withdraw approximately 1 L to inoculate a 20-L batch. Be sure to minimize the sample’s exposure to air. This method of cross-inoculation reduces the cost of MLB cultures to be used but does not always work as reliably as straight inoculation and is risky as you may end up cross-inoculating more than good MLB.

      Reply
      1. Neil

        Just to confirm. I should first rehydrate in 50 ml water and then add to 50 ml of apple juice? Should I pasturise the AJ?

        Reply
  33. Neil

    Hi again Daniel,

    I’m trying to figure out what sort of corks I should be using for medium to long term storage (5-10 yrs). So far I’ve been using synthetic Noma corks, and they’ve worked fine, but I’ve not aged anything more than two years. They are widely available, whereas good quality cork is had to find. Can I use a synthetic closure for 5-10 yrs?

    Thanks,

    Neil

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Neil,
      I would only go with natural corks for longer-term bottle aging. Synthetic corks are for short term (i.e. < 2 years). You should be able to find them at a good supplier. Where do you live?

      Reply
        1. Daniel Post author

          Try Scott Laboratories. They have them and they should be able to ship though I don’t know what’s the minimum quantity.

          Reply
  34. Ali

    Hi Daniel! I have your book ” techniques in..” and I consider it as # 1 in my homemaking wine. I usually make wine from California grapes, mostly the blend of Cabernet and Merlot with a ratio that depends on pH,TA,and Brix.I missed adding MLF culture right after the primary fermentation,when Brix was .998.and instead I raked it to 6 gal caraboys and added 25ppm free SO2 a month ago. I just dit a chromatogrphy test and it shows the presence of both, Malic and Lactic Acids. Also, I dit the free SO2 analyse (using Hanna 84100 Titrator) and the result was 20ppm freeSO2.In this condition is it possible to add MLF culture (if there is any that resist 20 ppm SO2 or if not is any way I can lower free SO2) when pH is 3.43 and TA 6.2gr/l ? I dit read your book,and all options over the timing of MLF inoculation,but with 20 ppm freeSO2 I’m in acrossroad : not enough to protect the wine( it needs about 35 free So2 for this pH ), and enough to stop MLF. Could you please advice me what is the best choise? Thank you Ali, MIchigan

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Ali,

      If you have already bought your ML culture, it should tell you on the package (or you should find the specs on the manufacturer’s website) what is the max free/total SO2 is. It’s not that big a deal at 20 mg/L free SO2, assuming that total SO2 is fairly low. You need rack the wine vigorously into another carboy; that will cause the free SO2 to become bound thus reducing the free SO2; total SO2 will remain the same. You can then re-measure your free SO2 and repeat until you achieve your desired free SO2 level, typically 10 mg/L.

      Reply
  35. John La Puma

    Hi Daniel: congratulations on the success of your book and your tremendous experience.
    I have made a barrel + of finished Santa Ynez grenache that is dry, fully thru ML, and tastes very good…but pH 4.06 and TA 0.67 with a FSO2 of 33.
    I usually avoid filtering wine, and intend to bottle by gravity, hopefully in about 4 weeks.
    I racked it today into 4 kegs without more than an inch of headspace, and added enough sulfite to get it to 87ppm.
    Adding tartaric to lower the pH even to 3.95 makes the flavors unpleasantly harsh, and lower is worse.
    I don’t have a lower pH wine on hand to blend it with that will make a dent.
    I’ve read about phosphoric acid but haven’t ordered or used it, but am tempted.
    My questions are
    a. how important is it to lower the pH?
    b. if it is very important, would you try phosphoric first?
    c. is there another alternative that will not change flavor significantly?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi John,
      I wouldn’t mess with it given that everything else seems ok and that tartaric acid additions have not been helpful. Yes, your pH is high but don’t lose sleep over it. Ideally, the wine should be sterile filtered but I realize that this is most likely not possible for you or most home winemakers. You’ve protected the wine with quite a bit of SO2 but it still remains vulnerable to microbial attacks at that pH. I suggest you treat the wine with lysozyme. I don’t recommend aging the wine for any extended period of time, i.e. drink early. Be sure to keep a nominal SO2 level throughout the (short) aging period by adding sulfite say every 3 months.
      Good luck.
      Daniel

      Reply
      1. John La Puma

        Thank you, Daniel. Lysozyme is a good suggestion, though I am concerned about large fluffy precipitants: the wine is already in kegs to be bottled and re-racking into new containers will be a pain. I have sterile filtered in the past for a wine with RS of 1.6%, but it was unsuccessful: the Buon Vino 3 stage filter with 0.45 micron paper was inadequate. I did blend a little bit of grenache blanc (pH 3.06, very clean and fresh) and it both improved flavor and lowered pH to 4.02, but it’s still pretty high. I am wondering if a tartaric addition, though it tastes harsh now, to say pH 3.95, will improve or soften with time…will not require reracking, either.

        Reply
        1. Daniel Post author

          John,
          Lowering the pH from 4.02 to 3.95 would not make much of a difference to warrant adding more tartaric acid given that the wine is already harsh and given the margin of error in pH readings (your target is only slightly lower than your current reading). Best to keep a nominal SO2 level around 90-100 ppm and drink the wine without waiting too long.

          Reply
  36. frank

    Daniel, Is there any way of determining beforehand how much one can lower the TA thru cold stabilization? I don’t have refrigerated tanks and use the bulkhead to my basement. But in warm winters in CT, the temp may only reach in the low 30’s. Last year, I thought I was all set, but bottled some wine which then thru deposits over a six month period in my cellar. Would a conductivity meter help or some other calculation?

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Frank,

      Tartrate stability in wine is a function of the concentrations of tartaric acid, potassium/calcium ions, and alcohol, as well as pH and temperature — the colder the temperature, the less soluble the tartrates and thus precipitate. This function also changes at pH 3.7 as the tartrate components are rebalanced in the equilibrium reaction. And this all is affected by the presence of polyphenols, sulfates and proteins, which can bind with tartaric acid or potassium and bitartrate ions and thus reduce the availability of these ions to form tartrates. So it’s not straightforward to determine how much tartrate will precipitate and the corresponding reduction in tartaric acid and TA.

      You can use a conductivity meter with some knowledge of tartrate chemistry to estimate TA reduction, but that’s an expensive proposition.

      Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      What you could do is perform a freeze test by placing a bottle of the wine in the coldest area of the fridge and hold for at least one week, even two. Then, take the bottle out and turn it upside down to see if there are any tartrates. If there aren’t, then your wine is cold stable. If there are, then you need to cold stabilize the whole batch. You can measure the TA of the chilled sample and compare that to your initial TA to see what TA reduction you can expect.

      Reply
  37. Neil

    Daniel,
    I’ve got more New York Muscat (2010 vintage…was long and hot). pH was 3.4, TA 5 g/l, Brix 22. Reserved 10% juice to do a sous reserve. Now dry and stabilized. I don’t know where to begin with balancing. Should I bump up the acid to ~7 g/l and then do some trials with the juice additions?

    Thanks.

    PS The 2009 high acid Muscat was great with a small sugar addition.

    Reply
    1. Neil

      pps – I Bumped up brix on the 2010 Muscat to 24 in anticipation of adding the sous reserve so as not to have a low alcohal finished product.

      Reply
    2. Daniel Pambianchi

      You should first decide what your objective is, though, yes, your TA seems low. Run some bench trials by bumping acidity up in 1 g/L increments and then by smaller increments to fine tune. You may also want to add a touch more acidity and then back sweeten to emulate the 2009. You may also want to try blending the 2009 & 2010 with any TA adjustments in the 2009 just to see what you get. Might be interesting.

      Daniel

      Reply
  38. yis

    Hello Daniel,

    I have been studying your book “The Technique in Home Winemaking” for a while.This is a great book and has every detail about making wine. I have been making wine at home for a couple of years and my dream is to open a small winery. I feel that your book is a good resource. Do you have any other books to recommend.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi,
      Thank you for your feedback.
      I have included a bibliography of some of my favorite books in an appendix in my book; take a look at page 475 in the 2008 edition.
      Cheers,
      Daniel

      Reply
  39. John

    Daniel,
    I know writing a book is not an easy thing and requires a lot of patience, not to mention the hard work. I commend you on writing these books, 2 things I enjoy, reading and tasting wine. So I think I would like to see you write a book on the benefits of drinking wine based on any scientific research for I believe it has more health benefits than we currently know. Keep up the great job!

    Reply
    1. Joel

      John, I share your wine tasting liking BTW, what I wanted to point is that wine has a long history of health benefits from what I read, so John you got a point there…

      Reply
    2. Daniel Post author

      John,

      I am not a doctor, but I have done extensive research in the literature and the latest research on wine & health. I look at it all from a scientific perspective. The data must be credible and been subjected to peer review. Tremendous research now clearly points to the benefits of moderate (red) wine consumption.

      BTW, I do have a book that discusses wine & health amongst other wine topics. See my website.

      Thanks for your feedback.
      Daniel

      Reply
  40. Michael Cohen

    I am making wine for the first time this year.I have your book and am reading it, trying to read one step ahead of the process as I go.

    I have three four year old St Croix vines trellised around my backyard deck and up onto the house where we get the most sun. When the ripe grapes started falling, the birds got active in the vines, and hurricane Irene was threatening I decided to harvest before I lost the whole crop.

    I don’t have a crusher, but I do have a Victorio strainer that I have used to separate tomatoe juice and pulp from skins and seeds. It uses a corkscrew to push the juice and pulp through a screen while keeping the skins and seeds separate. It came with a grape screen so I decided to use it on my grapes. We separated the grapes from the stems by hand, then put them through the Victorio. I mixed the skins and seeds back in with the juice and pulp.

    So, my question for the master winemaker is: Was this an ok idea? What problems or benefits might I expect from the Victorio “total crush” approach? The seeds don’t seem to have been damaged or broken.

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Michael,

      It seems fine though 1) you should have left out the seeds since you were able to separate them out, and 2) the Victorio crusher seems to crush excessively – it wasn’t really meant for winemaking. The idea is to simply split the berries (not crush them to a pulp) to expose the pulp and flesh to the yeast, then everything works its course. Next time, and since you seem to be dealing with a relatively small quantity of grapes, simply lightly crush the berries with a potato masher, for example.

      Good luck. Let us know the results.

      Reply
  41. Marco

    Hi,I have been thinking about making my own wine, and I came across your book. Would you recommend this book for beginners, or do you think your original book is more geared to the newbie? I live in the south and grow muscadine grapes in my yard. I usually get way more crop than I know what to do with, so I would like to use them for wine. Have you personally ever used muscadines in your winemaking? If so, how would you describe the flavor?

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hi Marco,

      I have only one general winemaking book currently available — i.e., the 2008 edition of Techniques in Home Winemaking. This edition includes everything, from A to Z, on home winemaking. It tackles many advanced topics not found in other texts. It might be a little overwhelming for a complete newbie. As you grow your skills and knowledge, I’m sure it will become an indispensable reference.

      I have never made muscadine wine but have tasted quite a few during wine competition judging. Honestly, for my palate, it doesn’t make the best wine, esp. in the hands of a newbie who may not know about the need to add sugar to balance the grape’s sky-high acidity.

      But you may be interested to know that, if you macerate the skins and juice adequately during fermentation, you will extract a fairly large amount of polyphenols — more than many other grape varieties. Polyphenols are known to have health benefits.

      Good luck.

      Reply
  42. Linda

    Yes Marco, Daniel is right. Muscadines are said to have more antioxidants than any other food. Forget about the exotic ACAI berry, you have a miracle food growing right in your backyard. Unfortunately, I don’t grow them myself, but I try to pick some up whenever I see them in the store. Some are put-off by their tough skin and many seeds, but I think they are tasty and worth the effort of eating.

    Also, if you decide that you don’t want to make wine out of them, you can also use them to make jelly. I have tried muscadine jelly several times and it tastes great.

    Reply
  43. Neil

    I too have no direct experience with this species of grape. I understand they require a large nutrient addition to ferment to dryness.

    Reply
  44. ThomasTrumen

    Daniel i have been reading articles on your website on wine and i am learning a lot. To be honest i just started learning about wine techniques a few days ago just before i ran into your site.

    I plan on getting engaged with my girlfriend and i want to celebrate by drinking wine with her. However, i want to make the wine my self. Problem is i am not sure were to start and i cant afford to mess this up.

    Ive been looking at different books to get online, on amazon and a few other places.At the moment i want to get your beginners guide to wine because i have already learned so much from your site. Is that the best place for me to start?

    Reply
    1. Daniel Post author

      Hello Thomas, and welcome to this exciting hobby. You’ll be duly rewarded in your winemaking, but you need to be patient – don’t rush anything.

      Since you are new to winemaking and you “don’t want to mess [the wine] up,” I recommend you start with a kit. It’s foolproof and the results are good. Typically, the more expensive the kit, the better the wine.

      My book “Kit Winemaking” will guide you through all the steps and teach you the techniques along the way. This will help you become familiar with the key steps in making good wine.

      And with a kit, you’ll have wine within a few weeks. Then, as you get more comfortable with the process, you can try making wine from fresh juice and, ultimately, from grapes. There I recommend my other book “Techniques in Home Winemaking” where you will learn more of the basic stuff along with all the more advanced techniques.

      Good luck, and let us know how it all goes.

      Daniel

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.