Winemaking Online Class, Lesson Seven at WSU

The final class lesson looked at red winemaking. This rather lengthy class reviewed many of the previously presented winemaking practices as well as highlighted new practices. The lecture began with fermentation. Red wines ferment at warm temperatures. Oxidation is usually not a problem since the skins and seeds form a cap above the […]

Winemaking Online Class, Lesson Six at WSU

This lesson looked at specific wine making techniques as they relate to white wine. The instructor discussed the importance of cool fermentation and the need to protect the wine from oxidation. The practice of adding enzymes was presented. These enzymes improve juice yield and help in clarification. The comparison between barrel fermentation and […]

Winery Task: Rebottling Wine

Twice this year we’ve come across a winery that had cases of bottled wine that had a buildup of CO2 in some of the bottles. At a Texas winery there were only a few bottles detected, however the winemaker didn’t want to take any chances and decided to open all the bottles, dump […]

What would you do if 800 pounds of blueberries showed up on the last Sunday of the year?

Eight hundred pounds of blueberries is a lot of fruit. So what can be done on short notice? One option is to make wine. The flats were loaded onto a truck and delivered to Tin Lizzie Wineworks early on the last Sunday of the year. We arrived at 10:00 AM and began to […]

Winemaking Online Class, Lesson Five at WSU

Barreling, clarification, blending and bottling were the topics explored in this lesson. It began with a discussion of barrels and differences between French, American and Hungarian barrels. The instructor talked about the characters that barrel aging could add to wine as well as the degree of toast and a barrel’s lifespan.

Clarification […]

Winemaking Online Class, Lesson Four at WSU

The fourth lesson explored secondary fermentation. The lecture described in detail the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid. This malolactic conversion is going to affect the pH and TA levels. The lactic acid is less acedic than the malic acid. The secondary fermentation can stabilize the wine and change the flavor.

Making Jelly from Wine

Most people do not have access to must or the leftover pumace after a pressing. We successfully made wine jelly from must. However, if you do not have access to the must what can you do?

One of the easiest jellies to make is wine jelly. Just pick up two bottles of […]