2021 WM JUNE-JULY

WINE RECIPES COUNTRY

CAPTURE THE SUMMER SEASON IN A WINE BOTTLE

PÉT-NAT SPARKLING

TIPS: ANCIENT WAY

HAVING A NEW DAY

DIAL IN COUNTRY

WINE SWEETNESS

ANSWERING BACKYARD

VINEYARD QUESTIONS

24 PÉT PROJECTS

Pétillant-naturel sparkling wines — which are bottled prior to the conclusion of fermentation — are having a moment. Without any required riddling, disgorging, or extended aging, pét-nats are a perfect fit for home winemakers to try when getting into sparkling wines.

by Phil Plummer

30

7

COUNTRY WINE RECIPES

Fruit wines are generally the first thing to come to mind when we hear “country wine,” however the term is much more encompassing than that. We share seven recipes from Jack B. Keller Jr.’s new book release Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine that illustrate just how broad an array of ingredients the term includes.

by Jack B. Keller Jr.

38 MATURATION INTERVENTION

No matter how much attention we give a wine, sometimes it will disappoint when tasted for the first time during aging. It may not be faulted, just lacking a desired characteristic. That’s when it is time to intervene. Qualities like flavor, aroma, body, color, or even tannins can all be improved with a little help.

by Maureen Macdonald

42 SUR LIE AGING

Aging wines on the lees can add aromatic complexity, soften tannins, enrich mouthfeel, protect it from oxygen, feed malolactic bacteria, and add longterm stability. Learn how to get the most from sur lie aging, and techniques for removing, storing, and reusing lees.

by Alex Russan

departments

8 MAIL

A reader asks about using juice vs. puree to make Port-style wines. We also have a group of award-winning amateur winemakers share their best advice for new kit winemakers.

10 CELLAR DWELLERS

A favorite in the colder climates of North America, Edelweiss grape’s hardiness combined with its floral aromas likens it to the famous flower of Europe. Learn about growing and making wine with it as well as the basics of malolactic fermentation and the latest news, products, and events in the wine world.

14 TIPS FROM THE PROS

Backsweetening is a popular method to balance and bring out the fruit character in fruit wines. We enlist two experts to share their tips to backsweetening success.

16 WINE WIZARD

Oxidation is one of the most common faults among homemade wines. The Wiz has some tips for minimizing exposure during racking along with advice for how to read fermentation temperature, reducing reductive stink with copper, and carbonating a dessert wine.

20 VARIETAL FOCUS

Elmer Swenson’s grape breeding program has had a profound effect on the North American wine scene. One such grape to come from his program is Brianna, a grape that required an estimated 93 crosses to produce. Learn about this grape’s heritage as well as how to best work with it.

47 TECHNIQUES

As your winemaking production scales up, so does the space required to store the wine as well as the miscellaneous items that come along with it. Bob Peak guides readers through some of the various bottlenecks that winemakers experience during the aging and bottling processes as their operation grows.

50 BACKYARD VINES

Two attendees of the Backyard Grape Growing Online Boot Camp had some follow-up questions; one on their spray protocol, the other about coming back from a devastating loss of vines. Wes dishes out some advice.

56 DRY FINISH

A common sight in the coastal communities throughout the northeastern part of the U.S. and Canada, rugosa roses produce a rosehip that is commonly made into jam. One adventurous spirit opted to try making wine with it.

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Cover Photo Illustration: Charles A. Parker/Images Plus

It’s the time of year when I love reclining in an Adirondack chair in my backyard overseeing the grill and visiting with friends and family. While I’m likely to have a refreshing rosé in my glass while grilling, I like to serve pork ribs with a bold Barolo. The complex interplay of acid, tannin, and tobacco notes in the wine complement the smoky, caramelized barbecue sauce flavors of the ribs.

One of my favorite meals is filet mignon and to go along with that is a heavy Cabernet Sauvignon. Many Cabs have a smooth enough acidity so that it’s not taking away the tenderness of the filet flavor.

The first time meeting the in-laws? No stress . . . I’d play it safe with a Grenache rosé and some freshly ground burger blend on homemade rolls. Impressive and tasty.

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Sparkling Country Wine

For those that produce country fruit wines, the option to add bubbles to your latest creations opens a world of possibilities. Jack Keller has some tips and techniques to adding some sparkle to your next batch of fruit wine. https:// winemakermag.com/article/1000-spar kling-country-wine

MEMBERS ONLY

Méthode Champenoise

It requires extra time, attention to detail, and more steps than other methods of sparkling wine production, however, it also makes the highest quality bubbly, which is why it is the only technique used by Champagne makers. Learn how to master this technique at home. https://winemakermag. com/article/methode-champenoise

The Biology of Malolactic

If you’re looking to dig in deep into what makes lactic acid bacteria (LAB) tick, here is an excerpt from Lallemand that offers a peek into the more technical aspects of malolactic fermentation (MLF).

All contents of WineMaker are Copyright © 2021 by Battenkill Communications, unless otherwise noted. WineMaker is a registered trademark owned by Battenkill Communications, a Vermont corporation. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned, and no responsibility can be assumed for such material. All “Letters to the Editor” should be sent to the editor at the Vermont office address. All rights in letters sent to WineMaker will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and subject to WineMaker’s unrestricted right to edit. Although all reasonable attempts are made to ensure accuracy, the publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions anywhere in the publication. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or in whole without written permission is strictly prohibited. Printed in the United States of America. Volume 24, Number 3: June-July 2021

https://winemakermag.com/tech nique/665-the-biology-of-malo lactic-bugs

MEMBERS ONLY

Testing For Titratable Acidity

Titratable acidity, or TA, is often viewed as a more advanced test, but it shouldn’t be. With a simple kit and a good pH meter, anyone can measure TA in any wine. Help bring balance to your wines through controlling TA. https://wine makermag.com/technique/testingfor-titratable-acidity

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Do you have a favorite grilled food-wine pairing? The type you would break out if meeting your future in-laws for the first time?

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R O P P (roll over pilfer proof), Semi- Automatic, 120v/60Hz, Made in Italy, 3-400 caps/Hr, Aluminum screw caps for Wine, Spirits, Olive oil and other beverages. Height adjustable, 23Kg, Table top operation

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RED BLENDS MASTERING

SUBSTITUTING JUICE FOR PUREE

I have a question regarding Andrew K. Boal’s article “Fruit Port from Puree” from the February-March 2020 issue. His ingredients list includes six cans of cherry puree. My grape distributor carries 6-gallon (23-L) containers of cherry juice (cherry tart natural select at 22 °Brix) and 6 gallons (23-L) of the juice is a third of the price of six cans of puree. Is there a significant difference or is the juice a reasonable substitute?

Michael Kurela • via email

That sounds like a great deal if you can get juice at 22 °Brix and at a fraction of the price of puree. The juice should be a reasonable substitute (of course, you’ll need to adjust the recipe as there won’t be a need for the water addition, and less sugar will be required since you’ll have a higher Brix than the watered down puree). Just plug your numbers in using a Pearson Square to make sure you’ve got the ABV/sugar worked out with the juice and you should be on your way to some fine cherry Port-style wine!

FUMIGATING THE WINE CELLAR

Do you know of any winemakers that have had to have the house and winery fumigated? We must treat for termites but don’t know what would be the safest way to go about it! We have many bottles and truly want to save them from the gas exposure.

Martha Moya • via email

Hi Martha, we polled all of our columnists and none have run into this situation before, but the consensus among them was that the best way to ensure the safety of your precious wines is to remove them from the building to avoid the risk of contaminating bottles with the chemicals used by the exterminator. Our Technical Editor Bob Peak did share another possibility, so we’ll include his full response here as well:

“I have never run across this problem, either, but I would remove all the wine from the home during the process. There are special plastic bags people can seal food and pet food in and leave in a home while it is tented, but that doesn’t sound like much less work than just taking the wine somewhere else for a few days.”

KIT TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

During our March Live Video Chat for digital members our expert

Phil Plummer has been a student of wine since 2004 when he began his formal education in the subject at Rochester Institute of Technology. After running a clandestine homebrewery and winery out of his college apartment, he managed to land a part-time job at Casa Larga Vineyards in Fairport, New York, where he discovered commercial winemaking to be his calling. For the past 11 years, Phil has worked for the Martin Family Wineries (Montezuma, Idol Ridge, and Fossenvue) in New York’s Finger Lakes Region, serving as Head Winemaker since 2013. In his time as Head Winemaker, he has developed a diverse portfolio of unique wines made from grapes, fruit, and honey. Phil’s passion for wine and winemaking is boundless, as evidenced by his constant experimentation with new techniques, materials, and mindsets.

Phil makes his WineMaker writing debut detailing the process of making pét-nat sparkling wines at home starting on page 24.

Maureen Macdonald is a University of Vermont graduate with 17 years professional experience in the beverage and wine industry. She has experience in both viticulture and oenology as a Field Manager and Head Winemaker for commercial vineyards. After years of working as a consultant to many vineyards, she now is the Head Winemaker for Hawk Ridge Winery in Watertown, Connecticut, where she makes 30 different wines. When she isn’t hard at work in the lab or winery, she is often judging commercial and amateur competitions or making hard cider and beer at home.

In this issue, Maureen explores the techniques and products that can help bring life to a wine that lacks character during maturation, beginning on page 38.

Alex Russan is the Owner and Winemaker of Metrick Wines

(www.metrickwines.com), working with grapes from around California that he feels are particularly suited to their site and to produce elegant wines. Fascinated by uncommon grapes, unheard of regions, and diverse winemaking techniques, he also scours the Iberian Peninsula for unique wines for his Spanish wine import company and label of barrel-selected Sherries, Alexander Jules (www. alexander-jules.com). A former member of the Cellarmasters of Los Angeles Home Winemaking Club, Russan made his first vintages dragging hundreds of pounds of grapes up a flight of stairs, destined to be made into wine in his apartment closet. He lives in Santa Monica, California, where he collects rare tropical plants, fruits, and grapevines.

Starting on page 42, Alex shares the techniques and benefits of aging wines on their lees.

panel of award-winning home winemakers (Bob Joakimson, Dominick Profaci, Kathleen Ondrus, and Timothy Valdez) were asked for their best tips for a first-time kit winemaker. Here are some of their answers:

Bob: “Whatever wine kit you purchase, follow the directions exactly the first time, and maybe the second and third time. And then once you’ve produced a quality wine following their directions then you can experiment, but those kits are tested and developed (to ensure success). So if you really want to get a very nice wine the first time out, follow those directions.”

Timothy: “Certainly don’t shy away from the higher-end kits. If you have a budget, save a little money up and spend a little more money on a kit. Some kits come with skins and there is a real big difference in a kit with skins vs. a kit without skins in terms of the robustness of the wine that you’re making. Do a little research on those kits as well and get a good kit.”

Kathleen: “I would say the opposite. Get an inexpensive kit so if you screw it up you don’t feel so bad about screwing it up.”

Bob: “But if you follow the directions you’re not going to screw it up. They are idiot-proof. I’m living proof.”

More information about WineMaker’s Live Video Chats can be found on our homepage at www.winemakermag.com

COLOR STABILITY

Dwayne Bershaw wanted to follow up and provide some clarification regarding the interactions between hydrolysable tannins and anthocyanins and the impact it has on color stability, which was discussed

in his feature “Additives to Impact Phenolics and Tannins” that appeared in the December 2020-January 2021 issue:

“Current research shows that the amount of ellagitannins extracted from oak barrels is so much smaller than the level of tannin from the grapes themselves that researchers don’t think oak barrel tannins play a big role in color stability. Instead, researchers feel that the oxidation occurring during barrel aging is what leads to stable color. I think this is where I was getting the impetus for my statement that ellagitannins don’t contribute to color stability.

“However, there is evidence that the addition of oak extracts (which contain hydrolysable tannin and other compounds) can increase color stability to young red wines, but the role of ellagitannins in this process is not completely clear. Ellagitannins by themselves may not be catalyzing the reactions that lead to stable color, but there may be other chemical compounds in oak extracts, and perhaps oak barrels, which are facilitating the conversion of anthocyanins to stable color molecules.”

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO WINEMAKER

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RECENT NEWS

Fat’s E ect On Your Red Wine

We would assume that everyone that is reading this knows how your selection of wine can have an effect on your dining experience. Some wines may enhance the food while others may detract. But most of us also know that the inverse is true . . . food selection can have an effect on the wine. For example, eating something sugary may really bring out the acidity and bitterness of a wine. But a new study put out by the Université Bordeaux located in Pessac, France found that fats in food will interact with the tannins from red wines, changing the character.

This study basically reconfirms a key age-old belief when it comes to wine-food pairings a big tannic wine like a Bordeaux pairs nicely with fatty foods like a seared filet mignon. It turns out that the fat (lipids) in the steak will actually interact with the tannins of the red wine, rendering them almost imperceptible to our senses. The scientists used several oils, like olive and grapeseed, and had testers consume a spoonful prior to tasting one of the more well-known tannins, catechin, to see how their perceptions changed. What tasters found was that instead of getting astringency from the tannin, they now found a more fruity taste notably with olive oil. The tannins can no longer bind to our saliva glands, where the astringent sensation in our mouth is derived. https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/03/studyexamines-molecular-basis-for-why-wine-goes-so-well-with-fatty-foods/

New Products:

Boisé Staves And Inserts

Vivelys’ Boisé line of oak products has released five new products in their Inspiration lineup. Made from 100% French oak, winemakers can now choose from two new staves and three new inserts — all of which are toasted via solar power energy. These can be used to help extend the life of your barrels while fine-tuning the specific oak makeup you are after in the finished wine, whether you’re looking to boost vanilla, fresh fruit, spice, smoke, or ripe grape character. Learn more at: https://www.vivelys.com/en/content/boiseinspiration

AB Vickers YeastLife O™

A new 100% organic nitrogen source including biologically available vitamins and minerals, YeastLife O™ is suitable for use in organic alcoholic beverages. This new yeast nutrient is designed for the yeast nutritional aspect for any low-nitrogen (YAN), sugar-based fermented beverages such as hard seltzer, cider, mead, and high-gravity beer. In addition to providing the nutritional requirements, it has been formulated to avoid off-flavors and improve mouthfeel. YeastLife O™ is a pure blend of yeast autolysates (specific inactive Saccharomyces cerevisiae) with specific characteristics in amino acids composition, bio-available vitamins and minerals, and fractions rich in mannoproteins. It is available in 2-kg sachets with a recommended pitch rate of 40 g/hl to 250 g/hl, depending on application.

https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/en/united-states/product-details/yeastlife-o/

11, 2021

Ever think about taking your home winemaking hobby pro and opening your own small-scale winery? Join Genevieve Rodgers, a successful winery start-up consultant, for a live and interactive, four-hour workshop. Learn from her years of expertise and wide experience to help you better achieve your dream of running your own small winery. Learn more at: https://winemakermag. com/bootcamp

2-5, 2022

Our upcoming sold-out 2021 WineMaker Conference has been postponed to 2022. The event will still be in the same exact location in San Luis Obispo, California. Our 2022 program will feature the same great lineup of workshops and seminars planned for May 2021. Thanks for your understanding and patience as we worked through all the details of this necessary date change. Be safe, be well, and cheers! https://winemakerconference.com

Small Winery Start-Up Online Boot Camp with Genevieve Rodgers Update for WineMaker Conference San Luis Obispo – Paso Robles

AWARD-WINNING KITS

Here is a list of medal-winning kits for Grape and Non-Grape Table Wine Blend, Berry Fruit, and Other Fruit categories chosen by a blind-tasting judging panel at the 2020 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition in Manchester, Vermont:

Grape and Non-Grape Table Wine Blend

GOLD

RJS Craft Winemaking Orchard

Breezin’ Tropical Lime

Winexpert Island Mist Strawberry

Watermelon Shiraz

SILVER

Master Vintner Tropical Bliss

Raspberry Merlot

Winexpert Island Mist Peach

Apricot Chardonnay

Winexpert Island Mist Pomegranate

Cabernet Sauvignon

Winexpert Island Mist White

Cranberry Pinot Grigio

Berry Fruit

GOLD

Winexpert Island Mist Black

Raspberry

Winexpert Island Mist Blueberry

Winexpert Island Mist Raspberry

Peach Sangria

BRONZE

RJS Craft Winemaking Orchard

Breezin’ Strawberry Sensation

Vintner’s Best Elderberry

Other Fruit

GOLD

RJS Craft Winemaking Orchard

Breezin’ Tropical Lime

SILVER

Vintner’s Best Blood Orange

Winexpert Island Mist Cucumber

Melon Riesling

Vintner’s Best Plum

BRONZE

Winexpert Island Mist Pomegranate

Zinfandel

www.ldcarlson.com

EDELWEISS EDELWEISS

A cold-hardy grape varietal developed by Elmer Swenson and released with the cooperation of the University of Minnesota, this white grape varietal is a hybrid cross between a Vitis riparia (Minnesota 78) and a Vitis labrusca (Ontario). Susceptible to powdery mildew, a regimented spray program will be needed to keep the vines happy and healthy. Edelweiss can be planted in climates down to USDA hardiness zone 4, which is as cold as -30 °F (-34 °C). Heavy winter mulching is recommended in these colder zones though. Harvest should happen fairly early in the ripening process, as fruit left hanging will produce the often-maligned “foxy” quality inherent in many non-vinifera grape varietals.

Edelweiss grapes will usually be brought in between 14–16 °Brix and can often exceed 1% total acidity (TA). Chaptalization should be performed to bring the Brix up to roughly 22 and an acid reducing yeast strain like Lalvin 71B-1122 should be used with a high acid must. If, after fermentation is complete, TA still is above 0.8% potassium carbonate may be added. Malolactic fermentation is not recommended as the process can interfere with aromatic qualities of the wine. Wines produced from Edelweiss grapes are frequently backsweetened some in order to balance out the high acidity. Make sure to use sorbate if you plan to backsweeten. When a fine example is produced, notes of pineapple, pear, honey, and peach are common characteristics cited in the profile.

Photo courtesy of Double A Vineyards, Inc.

BY DAVE GREEN

BEGINNER’S BLOCK THE ABC’S OF MLF

R

ecently we posted a link on our Facebook page about tips for malolactic fermentations (MLF). A reply came back from a gentleman saying that he’s been making wine now for 15 years and has never heard of MLF. At that moment I knew what I needed to cover for this issue’s segment.

Also commonly known as secondary fermentation, MLF is performed by a class of bacteria that can take grape’s second most abundant acid, malic acid, and convert it to lactic acid. These bacteria can be found on grape skins and in used barrels where MLF has occurred previously, but oftentimes winemakers will add a fresh batch of Oenococcus bacteria culture for this purpose. These bacteria are commonly referred to as lactic acid bacteria or simply LAB and will be added either near the height of active fermentation or after fermentation has died down. We will come back to that point regarding the timing of the addition; but the bacteria consumes the stronger, more biting malic acid and leaves behind the smoother, less acidic lactic acid. Should all wines go through MLF? Definitely not, it is simply a tool that winemakers may or may not utilize in a given batch of wine.

WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE?

So we’ll start with when you may choose to inoculate your wine with a LAB culture. First off, sending your wine through malolactic fermentation provides one huge benefit for longer-term storage — microbial stability. The existence of malic acid in your wine means that there is something for bacteria to consume if left alone. So if you’ve already bottled your wine and a population of LAB begins to ferment, then you have a problem on hand in the form of carbonated wines and the potential for popped corks. For this reason alone, almost all red wines will go through secondary fermentation. But also, red wines commonly will benefit from rounding out the tasting profile by the conversion of the malic acid. If winemakers find their grapes to be low

in total acidity or too high in pH, then it is recommended that the winemaker use the non-fermentable tartaric acid to boost acidity (for more on this topic see https://winemakermag.com/tech nique/1650-monitoring-adjusting-ph).

Winemakers may also choose to send several white and rosé wines through MLF, but it is far less common. Burgundian-styled Chardonnays would be the most common white wine to see intentional MLF. The malolactic process can provide the buttery (diacetyl) character commonly enjoyed by lovers of these style wines. Champagne and other forms of sparkling wines found on lees are another class of white wines that often undergo MLF, allowing them a longer-term storage.

WHEN IS IT NOT APPROPRIATE?

Many white and rosé wines can benefit from the sharper, crisper quality that the malic acid provides . . . think a nice fresh, biting apple picked off the tree. There are many reasons that microbial stability is less of an issue with these wines. First off, they are more typically consumed relatively young. Second, and very importantly, they should have lower pH when compared to red wines. The lower pH and lower fermentation temperatures of white wines, when combined with appropriate sulfite regimen, should provide sufficient protection against LAB from gaining a foothold in the wine during aging. Many winemakers will filter these non-MLF wines for an added layer of protection.

If you plan to backsweeten a wine and have added LAB or potentially have these bacteria in the wine, then you will want to make sure that all malolactic activity is complete (see the Testing For MLF section later) well before the backsweetening process begins. This is because one step in the backsweetening should be the addition of potassium sorbate, a compound that active LAB can convert into a compound called geraniol . . . something you do not want in your wine at perceptible levels.

Therefore MLF and backsweetening are not recommended for the same wine during the same time frame.

TIMING OF MLB INOCULATION

When you add your malolactic culture can play a crucial role in the profile of the finished wine. This is because of the butter-like diacetyl compounds that LAB can produce. Yeast in primary fermentation can metabolize diacetyl, rendering the wine more neutral in character. So if you’re looking to reduce diacetyl, then add your culture at or just after the height of fermentation. For a more buttery, diacetyl-laden wine, add after fermentation is over and your yeast has settled.

TESTING FOR MLF

Testing for MLF can be done at home using paper chromatography. You can purchase a kit from most larger winemaking supply stores. For stability of the wine once it’s in bottle or if backsweetening, it’s important to know that the process is complete. Your typical MLF takes about 4 weeks at 68 °F (20 °C), so if your test reveals there is still malic acid after about 6 weeks, then it is probably time to start troubleshooting what may have gone wrong and see if there are ways to fix it.

TROUBLESHOOTING

There are a few elements that are critical to a successful MLF: Temperature, pH, molecular sulfite, alcohol, and nutrients. It is not uncommon for winemakers to struggle with their bacteria’s ability to either start or complete an MLF because one of these factors was not addressed. In summary . . . keep temperature above 64 °F (17 °C), make sure pH of the wine is at or above 3.2, hold off on post-fermentation sulfite additions until MLF is complete, hold alcohol below 15% (24.5–25 °Brix must prior to fermentation), and add some MLF micronutrients. Finally, make sure you are using a fresh batch of bacteria culture (before its expire date). LAB do not last long in storage.

BY DAWSON RASPUZZI

BACKSWEETENING FRUIT WINES

Fruit wines often benefit from backsweetening to help make the fruit’s flavor more recognizable after its natural sugars are fermented out. Two fruit winemakers share their sweet tips for successful backsweetening.

Pretty much all of our wines start as a blend of finished dry wines. The wines that are to become bottled sweet wines, Grapeful Red for example, are then backsweetened using 100% dry granulated sugar (sucrose), usually made from sugar beets because that is the most cost-effective domestic source of granulated sugar. Using dry sugar we are not diluting our base wine any more than the volume the dissolved sugar takes up. We don’t use fruit juice or concentrated juice to sweeten because it requires a lot more volume of the sweetener to achieve our desired sweetness level. In essence, we are replacing some of the sucrose that the yeast used up in the process of making alcohol.

I like to add all sugar before any final stabilization processes. Any fining to achieve heat stability or colloid stability is carried out as a whole blend, to ensure a successful stabilization. Once the sweetened blend is stable from that perspective, crossflow filtration ensures microbial stabilization and final clarity. Going into the bottling line the wine passes through a final 0.45-micron absolute sterile cartridge filter to catch any stray microbial particulates. I don’t use any chemical sterilizers on our wines other than sulfur dioxide in the form of added potassium metabisulfite, which serves as more than just an antimicrobial.

sumer demand. For those wines that do allow for vintage-to-vintage variation we look for the point of balance between sweetness and acidity. On wines that are off-dry we might not want to dampen the acidity too much because it is part of the stylistic presentation. In this case we experiment with sweetening to help fill out the body or mid-palate. In these instances, we are only looking to add several grams/liter, as opposed to some of our very sweet wines that reach up into the realm of 120 g/L added sugar.

The goal has always been to find the balance between the natural acidity and the added sugar. In a fruit wine that means finding that point where drinking the wine makes you feel like you just bit into the fresh piece of fruit without exaggerating that point by adding too much sugar. Sugar and acid don’t replace flavor, they simply help to elevate it. Experimentation and trials are always the default method for finding that balance.

In 2018 Kyle Jones was promoted to Head Winemaker at Nissley Vineyards in Bainbridge, Pennsylvania. Previous to the wine industry he worked in several sectors of the non-profit industry including agriculture/food production and healthcare. Kyle oversees a diverse portfolio of wines, and is steadfast in his pursuit of elevating the perception of wines made in Pennsylvania.

A panel of 5–10 staff members conduct tasting trials before we do any blending. We are all familiar with our wines, and each year we trial several blends to ensure we are producing consistent products from vintage-tovintage. Most of our wines have a defined level of sweetness based on con-

When it comes to the level that you are adding, approach it from the perspective of the wine first. Find that balance (whether it is fruit wine or wine from grapes). Don’t worry about whether or not sweetness makes a wine second rate. If you have the acidity like we do in the east, we do ourselves a disservice by leaving it out of balance. Some of the most sought after, age-worthy wines in the world are sweeter than some people like to admit. Lastly, stability is key, adding sugar to a dry wine that isn’t 100% microbially stable will teach you a lesson every time. If you can’t guarantee its stability, just buy thicker bottles and put a crown cap on the top. You’ll still like the result.

In essence, we are replacing some of the sucrose that the yeast used up in the process of making alcohol.

Rex Johnston started making wines at home from dandelions and fruits in 1965. After moving to California his winemaking included grapes and fruits and he started entering competitions in 2002. Over the years he has won more than 150 Best of Show awards, 13 Golden Bears at the California State Fair Home Wine Competition, and the WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition Winemaker of the Year a record eight times.

Isstart with 100% fruit juice before fermentation and sweeten all of these wines with table sugar (sucrose) as it is easy to obtain and least costly. Quite often I concentrate the fermented wine further by freezing and collecting the thawed juice in fractions I keep separate and then blend back (the first portion has the highest alcohol and acid and the numbers decrease with each subsequent fraction, while the pH gets higher for each fraction). Also, one can freeze the unfermented juice and do the same process to increase the intensity of the fruit. Both of these are done before the final sugar addition for balance and should be added after conducting bench trials.

Prior to backsweetening I stabilize by adding ½ teaspoon potassium sorbate per gallon (3.8 L), stir to dissolve, and then sterile filter.

The amount of sugar to add is decided by doing bench trials in which I have 3–4 people arrive at a consensus to find the right balance.

As an example of the process I will use my elephant heart plum wine made from the fruit of trees in my backyard. We usually begin with 5–10 gallons (19–38 L) of juice that has completed fermentation and is dry. From past experience, we begin with 10% by weight sugar and make additional solutions up to 20% in 2% increments. Then we smell and taste to consensus.

The amount of sugar varies by fruit, but I usually arrive at a sugar level of 2% to 18% to achieve balance. Raspberries and other berry seed fruit are very acidic (and thus require more sugar to balance). Plums are less acidic, and then peaches and apricots are even less.

For anyone new to the process: Try experimenting and entering competitions to get feedback. You will find that there is much less competition in the non-grape categories and if you produce a wine that tastes and smells like the fruit, you will be taking home a gold medal.

OVER 20 VARIETIES

PLUS Blackberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, Red Raspberry, Cherry, Peach, Plum, Cranberry and Rhubarb

BY ALISON CROWE

WINE WIZARD PROTECTING YOUR WINE

Also: Cap temperature, copper sulfate additions, and carbonation help

QMY QUESTION IS ON THE USE OF ARGON/CO 2 TO MAKE - UP FOR HEADSPACE IN A CARBOY OR TANK. HOW DOES ONE KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE PLACED ENOUGH TO DISPLACE THE OXYGEN? IS THERE A METHOD TO COLOR THE CO 2, FOR INSTANCE? I KNOW SOME PEOPLE CANNOT STAND THE SMELL OF CO 2, BUT IT IS VERY SELDOM I GET A WHIFF. ALSO, WHEN I PLACE MY STAINLESS STEEL SPARGER INSTRUMENT INTO THE CARBOY ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM, HIT THE VALVE FOR TWO SECONDS, AND THEN RACK INTO THE CARBOY WITH WINE, WHAT SORT OF TIME FRAME IS THE WINE STILL PROTECTED IN, ONE MONTH, TWO PERHAPS?

RICKER OLSON BILLINGS, MONTANA

AExcluding oxygen by gassing headspaces and purging containers is one of the most important winemaking jobs we have. Oxygen exposure during aging can create all sorts of problems from premature oxidation and loss of aroma to spoilage microbe growth. The tough part is just what you mention — how do we know, with our own unique bottles, carboys, kegs, and barrels (not to mention the PSI and size of our gassing setup) that a barrel or carboy is “gassed” enough for the job? Sadly, there is no easy answer because as I’ve intimated there are so many unique factors involved. I can, however, provide a solid set of guidelines to help you make the best decisions for any situation you may encounter while racking.

We “gas the headspace” using inert gases heavier than air, typically argon and carbon dioxide gas. Nitrogen is sometimes used in the commercial winemaking process to push hose lines, etc., but since nitrogen has about the same gas density as air (nitrogen has 1.25 g/L to air’s 1.29 g/L) it’s not terribly practical for blanketing headspace. Carbon dioxide

is indeed heavier than air (1.98 g/L) while argon clocks in at 1.78 g/L, making them both great candidates for this kind of work. Carbon dioxide, especially under cold conditions, however, will readily dissolve into wine so argon is the best gas to use as a wine approaches bottling (unless you want a little extra fizz).

Like I said, there’s no way to fully exclude oxygen from headspace as there will always be a little mixing. Think of it as if you’d be pouring heavy cream into coffee or making one of those fancy layered cocktails with different colors. Your aim is to layer the heavier gas on top of the wine’s surface with as little turbulence as possible, in order to avoid mixing the argon or carbon dioxide in with the lighter air above.

Here are some blanketing tips:

• Introduce gas very slowly. Start regulator at 0 psi and just crack open to a very low pressure setting.

• You want the gas to be exiting at a low rate so as not to cause a big mixture of your gas and the air in the headspace.

• Meter in the gas parallel to the wine surface, not directly down onto it.

If you blow your gas directly down onto the surface of the wine, it’ll just

Excluding oxygen by gassing headspaces and purging containers is one of the most important winemaking jobs

Photo by Charles A. Parker/Images Plus

A carbon dioxide system is by no means a requirement for hobby winemakers, but many find it to be useful in several instances.

rebound up, creating a jet-wash effect. You can avoid this by fitting a “T” onto the end of your hose or pipe, so that the gas is blown (gently . . .) parallel to the surface of the wine, which will again help avoid that turbulence.

• Use the largest-sized hose possible.

• Many wineries use a “bell” type device that fits over the end of the hose or a type of cone fitting that allows the gas to exit in a controlled, non-turbulent manner rather than a small hissing stream, which would just get mixed in with the air.

• Use the “flame test” to test for the presence of a gas blanket: Using a long-stemmed lighter or BBQ match, lower the flame down into your carboy, keg, or barrel until it’s snuffed out. That’ll allow you to see where the oxygen starts to be excluded. It’s imperfect but, absent an oxygen meter, is a pretty good way to approximate it.

If you’re gassing a 750 mL bottle, then a two-second slow pulse is probably enough. The bigger the containers get, as you might imagine, the more gas you need to introduce to create an effective layer on the surface of the wine. Sadly, the blankets

don’t last that long. I gas headspaces at least twice a month in my winemaking.

There are always some safety concerns to take into account when using inert gases. Never use them in confined spaces. The very things that make it great for winemaking (odorless, tasteless, non-coloring) make it a potential hazard. Always have a high degree of ventilation in your work area and when in doubt, get out.

If you are going to “purge” a container (i.e., fill it up with gas before filling with wine) always make sure you’ve got a vent — you don’t want to blow up a container in the name of preventing wine spoilage!

Also be aware that using gas for blanketing is never as effective as a completely full carboy, tank, or barrel; there will always be some level of mixing between inert gases and air because while yes, they’re heavier, they’re not going to create a 100% “seal.” Keeping your vessels fully topped-up is really the only way to make sure the wine isn’t getting unnecessarily oxidized or that air-loving spoilage microbes won’t get in and gain a foothold.

QIN THIS GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT SYRAH: HTTPS://WINEMAKERMAG.COM/ARTICLE/648- SUPERSYRAH, I FOUND THE FOLLOWING: “SYRAH NEEDS A WARM FERMENTATION, AT LEAST A DAY OR TWO WITH A TEMPERATURE IN BETWEEN 80–90 °F (27–32 °C ).”

THAT GOT ME THINKING, HOW SHOULD ONE MEASURE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE FERMENTATION? IN THE CAP BEFORE PUNCHING DOWN ( THAT’S NOT AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE BUT A LOCAL MAXIMUM ), OR ON TOP OF THE CAP AFTER PUNCHDOWNS, OR SOMEPLACE ELSE?

I TRIED TO SEARCH FOR THE MEASURING PROCESS BUT HAVE NOT FOUND ONE YET. COULD YOU PLEASE POINT ME TO AN ARTICLE THAT DESCRIBES IT, IF THERE IS ONE?

ZOLTÁN NÉMETI BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

AThat is a great question and I’m really glad you asked. Sometimes when those of us who have been making wines for quite some time write about some technique, process, or concept that we may think of as “simple,” we need to rethink for a moment that how we describe something might not be so obvious to everyone. I think your instincts are pointing you in the right direction. During an active fermentation the cap (the grape skins that float to the top of the vessel) can get very hot and so the cap’s temperature is definitely not indicative of the temperature of the entire must/fermentation.

I’m not aware of any specific article that points to “how to measure the temperature of a fermentation” but I’ll pass on to you what I know from how I was trained over many harvests and how I still conduct temperature measurements today. Like you say, the cap is always a local temperature and during the peak of fermentation, when we want to make sure we’re getting a red fermentation warm enough to extract “the good stuff” (anthocyanins, tannins, etc.) but we don’t want it so hot that the yeast start to be inhibited (no one wants cranky yeast), the cap will always be hotter than

the juice below. This is why I will only “take the temperature” of the overall fermentation after a really good punchdown or pumpover, after the tank is well mixed.

Let’s say you’ve got your fermentation going in a one-ton (910-kg) macro bin and it’s been ripping along at about three °Brix drop per day and is now at about 10 °Brix. This is just about at peak fermentation time. I’d wager the cap would be super-hot and the wine would be slightly cooler below. Give your macro a big punchdown, going over the surface at least twice, very vigorously. Then, sink your cylinder or sample-collecting device underneath the cap about 2⁄3 of the way down (covered with your hand), let it fill, and bring it back up. That’ll give you a good idea of the overall, mixed temperature of that fermentation. That’s the 80–90 °F (27–32 °C) range you want to try to hit. In a stainless steel tank, you’d do a decently long pumpover to mix the tank well and then would take a sample from the sample valve, which is usually about 1⁄3 of the way up from the bottom of the tank. Winemakers may have their own specific definitions or techniques, but I’m pretty sure most of us mean a “well-mixed, just-punched-down” temperature when we talk about starting, finished, or peak fermentation temperatures.

I HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING THE ARTICLE, “VOLATILE SULFUR COMPOUNDS AND HYDROGEN SULFIDE IN WINE,” WRITTEN BY DANIEL PAMBIANCHI IN THE APRIL- MAY 2017 ISSUE. I HAVE USED COPPER TUBING, ALONG WITH RACKING AND AERATION, WITH SUCCESS TO REMOVE H ₂ S ODORS. WHEN H ₂ S ODORS ARE DETECTED, I RACK/AERATE AND PLACE A COPPER TUBE IN THE CARBOY UNTIL THE ODOR HAS DISSIPATED. THERE WAS NO MENTION OF THIS TECHNIQUE IN THE ARTICLE. MY QUESTION IS, IF THERE IS A STRICT LIMIT OF USING C u SO ₄, IS THERE ALSO A LIMIT TO USING COPPER ( E.G., HOW MUCH COPPER TUBING TO USE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME )? ALSO, DOES THE COPPER DISSOLVE INTO THE WINE OR DOES IT SIMPLY CHEMICALLY REACT TO THE WINE?

GREG MEYER BRUSH PRAIRIE, WASHINGTON

Ah yes, the classic “I sunk a bunch of pennies in my carboy” tale. Forgetting for a moment that modern pennies contain very little copper, there’s a reason that most winemakers I know don’t use brass fittings or copper equipment anymore. It’s because it is indeed impossible to really know how much elemental copper you’re releasing into your wine.

In high doses, copper is indeed poisonous and there’s a very good reason that those gorgeous old Victorian cooking pots you see in antique stores are lined with shiny tin. It’s because Mrs. Crumbie the Cook wouldn’t want to inadvertently give the Master and Mistress of the house copper poisoning with a poorly lined saucepan (on second thought, who’s to say, maybe she would). Regardless, I don’t want you poisoning yourselves or your loved ones so it’s always best to carefully measure copper sulfate (CuSO₄) into your wine rather than rely on copper-containing objects or equipment.

The TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) website states that as of 2020, “The quantity of copper sulfate (calculated as copper) must not exceed 6 parts copper per million parts of wine (6.0 mg/L). The residual level of copper in the finished wine must not exceed 1 part per million (1 mg/L).” Copper from brass fittings or copper equipment does indeed react with wine and certainly can contribute to residual dissolved

copper in finished wines. How much copper gets into your wine is dependent on a multitude of factors. One, as you mention, is contact time. The others include, but are not limited to, temperature, copper content of the metal item in question, surface area of the metal, the pH of your wine, the alcohol content of your wine, etc. As you can see, it’s quite unpredictable.

Now, do I think there’s anything terribly wrong with, while doing a pumpover, using a copper screen in the tub for a minute or two or racking a young wine by passing it through a hose with a copper fitting? Not really. I do think that leaving copper-containing objects in containers for any length of time over a few minutes is risky and don’t recommend it, especially if a wine is approaching bottling. Fermenting, young wines have their entire lives in carboy, keg, or barrel to precipitate and “drop out” copper-containing solids over time and are much less likely to end up with an unhealthy amount of residual copper in a finished bottle. Wine that is ready to bottle doesn’t have the luxury of time and so is quite sensitive to potentially big doses. Do you really want to chance it? If you can pick up some diluted copper sulfate solution (I usually buy a 1.00% solution) and have some small-gauge pipettes (1 mL or smaller), you’ll be able to do bench trials and measure in small amounts of copper like a pro, without any fear of having any toxic residues in your wine.

WHAT IS THE PROPER PSI FOR CARBONATING DESSERT WINE? RESIDUAL SUGAR IS ABOUT 8 DEGREES BRIX. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

JESSICA LAMINACK FRUITHURST, ALABAMA

If you’ve got a carbonation setup at home that you use for your homebrew, cider, mead, or kombucha, you certainly can fizzy up some wine products for yourself. I like your idea of using a dessert wine, because the sugar in sweet wines can balance out the sensory “sharpness” of bubbles, possibly leading to a very harmonious outcome.

I think you should experiment a bit with the level of carbonation; starting low and turning up the pressure gradually can be a good way to come to the perfect balance point. The first thing to do is to think about your serving temperature. The laws of physics tell us that a colder product will hold onto dissolved gas more readily than a room temperature one. Es-

pecially if your dessert wine is a white or a rosé, I’d guess you’d plan to serve it at least slightly chilled (54–56 °F/12–13 °C) if not all the way down to refrigerator temperature (37 °F/3 °C). Why not really “chilled,” like 50–52 °F (10–11 °C)? Try a range to find what best suits your wine, but I like to never serve dessert wines too cold, even whites. This is because if you chill it too much, delicate aromas are repressed and all you experience is a big whack of sugar on the palate with none of the retro-nasal nuance that should come with a well-made dessert wine.

Assuming you’ll be serving it somewhere between 52–56 °F (11–13 °C), try 7–10 PSI, which, if you think in beer terms, is about the fizz level of where a stout or a porter would be. I would start there first before going higher, which you certain-

ly can. Carbonation works best when you give the gas some time to dissolve into the liquid. Ideally, you’d have a temperature-controlled place where this can happen. At my house, we’ve converted an older “garage fridge” into the “beer fridge” where we keep our kegs and sparkling water. In fact, while I was pregnant with my two sons, my husband made me my own kegs of ginger-apple sparkling water, which was essentially well-diluted apple juice flavored with fresh ginger. We found that if we chilled it to 45 °F (7 °C) then carbonated it and waited a few days, the gas would integrate a lot better and the bubbles would stay nicely in the glass. I’m not sure of your particular situation but having a fizz-friendly setup like that certainly makes it easy to dial in your temperatures and carbon dioxide levels.

Can you make a sparkling sweet wine with naturally fermented carbon dioxide? For the other readers out there who might be wanting to experiment, sweet sparkling wine is made by a) backsweetening during the "dosage" process in the méthode champenoise or charmat traditional sparkling process, b) capturing residual carbon dioxide gas during an arrested fermentation, or c) injected into an existing sweet wine, as seems to be the case here. Doing naturally sparkling wine right can take quite a bit of specialized equipment and know-how, but it certainly can be achievable on a small scale. But it is a challenge none-the-less for many hobby winemakers. If you’re interested in making naturally sparkling wine, be sure to check out the article starting on page 24 on making sparkling wines via the pét-nat method.

If you’ve got a carbonation setup at home that you use for your homebrew, cider, mead, or kombucha, you certainly can fizzy up some wine products for yourself.

VARIETAL FOCUS

BY CHIK BRENNEMAN

BOLD BRIANNA

A strong and healthy grower

It was once called ES 7-4-76. At first glance, you would not have a clue as to what that meant. If you understand a little about grape breeders, given the vast numbers of seedlings they work with, everything gets a number long before a name is conjured up. In this case, the “ES” refers to Elmer Swenson (1913–2004), the grape breeder from Osceola, Wisconsin. Swenson was mostly a backyard breeder but was affiliated with the highly acclaimed viticulture program at the University of Minnesota, where cold-hardy grape varieties are developed for climates where it is difficult to grow Vitis vinifera. The University of Minnesota program has become increasingly important in the movement to promote “local” spreading all across the country. Cold-tolerant varieties have opened up new wine regions all across the northern states as well as Canada. Mr. Swenson had many numbered varieties, the one referred to as ES 7-4-76, moved into the big leagues to be known as Brianna.

Incidentally, the wine part came later. Brianna is a white grape, first selected as a table grape in 1989. It wasn’t used as a wine grape until 2001, so it is a relative newbie in the wine grape variety world. Swenson was focused on it as a table grape — it is reported that he did not drink alcohol! In regards to its name, as the story goes it is not named for Swenson’s wife or daughter. He did name one for his wife, Louise, at one point though. Brianna was actually named by Ed Swanson of Cuthills Vineyards in Pierce, Nebraska. Swanson likened it to a “strong and healthy grower,” so he first considered naming it Brian but that did not seem appropriate to him for a white wine. So the name Brianna was selected.

Viticulturally speaking, it is

cold-hardy, but not entirely disease resistant. Black rot and Botrytis bunch rot are its short-term challenges, where crown gall can affect it in the long term. The clusters are small- to medium-sized with thick-skinned, mediumto large-sized berries. It is classified to grow in United States Department of Agriculture zones 4–8 so in addition to its cold hardiness, as low as -10 °F (-23 °C), it can also withstand blistering summer temperatures of up to 90 °F (32 °C).

When you look at the pedigrees of grapes, sometimes the past is very murky. Sometimes neither parent, or just one, is known. In this day and age, DNA analysis can be used to put together the pieces of the story. In the case of Brianna, it was not just Swenson who gets the credit, although he made the final two crosses; Jancis Robinson reports that there were “93 deliberate or natural crosses that led up to Brianna.” Swenson used material produced by his heroes, T.V. Munson (1843-1913) and Louis Suelter, a German immigrant to Minnesota, who in the 1870s, produced Beta (pronounced Bĕtt ah). Suelter eventually went on to produce Minnesota 78, of which Beta and Witt are the parents. Minnesota 78 is most likely 25% V. riparia, 37.5% V. labrusca, and 37.5% V. vinifera. Brianna eventually wound up with the following genetic mix: V. vinifera 34.57%, V. rupestris 6.25%, V. labrusca 31.64%, V. riparia 23.44%, V. aestivalis 2.83%, V. berlandiari 0.78%, and V. cinerea 0.49%. I am told that breeders sometimes muddy the waters on purpose to keep a little secrecy to their work, however in the case of Brianna, it does get complicated, but this is one of the most detailed pedigrees I have ever seen.

The V. labrusca contribution is the result of Concord being one of the parents of Witt, and also of Beta. With so

Viticulturally speaking, it is cold-hardy, but not entirely disease resistant.

BRIANNA Yield 5 gallons (19 L)

INGREDIENTS

100 lbs. (45 kg) Brianna fruit

Distilled water

10% potassium metabisulfite (KMBS) solution (Weigh 10 grams of KMBS, dissolve into about 75 mL of distilled water. When completely dissolved, make up to 100 mL total with distilled water.)

5 g Lallemand QA23 yeast (Premier Cuvee can also be used as a substitute)

5 g Fermaid K (or equivalent yeast nutrient)

5 g Diammonium phosphate (DAP)

EQUIPMENT NEEDS

5-gallon (19-L) carboy

6-gallon (23-L) carboy

6-gallon (23-L) plastic bucket

Airlock/stopper

Racking hoses

Destemmer/crusher

Wine press

Equipment cleaning and sanitizing agents (Bio-Clean, Bio-San)

Inert gas (nitrogen, argon, or carbon dioxide)

Refrigerator (~45 °F/7 °C) to cold settle the juice. (Remove the shelves so that the bucket will fit.)

Ability to maintain a fermentation temperature of 55 °F (13 °C)

Thermometer capable of measuring between 40–110 °F (4–43 °C) in one degree increments

Pipettes with the ability to add in increments of 1 mL

Ability to test or have testing performed for sulfur dioxide

STEP BY STEP

1. Crush and press the grapes. Do not delay between crushing and pressing. Move the must directly to the press and press lightly to avoid extended contact with the skins and seeds.

2. Transfer the juice to a 6-gallon (23-L) bucket. During the transfer, add 16 mL of 10% KMBS solution (This addition is the equivalent of 40 mg/L or ppm SO2). Move the juice to the refrigerator.

3. Let the juice settle at least overnight. Layer the headspace with inert gas and keep covered.

4. Measure the Brix. Ideal styles of this wine are around 11% alcohol, which

is produced when the sugar is around 18 °Brix. You certainly do not want anything greater than 13% alcohol. If the Brix is low, add cane or corn sugar using a chaptalization calculator.

5. When sufficiently settled, rack the juice off of the solids into the 6-gallon (23-L) carboy. If you have a little extra juice, add 3 milliliters of your 10% SO2 solution per gallon (3.8 L), protect the headspace from oxygen intrusion, and put it back in the refrigerator to be used to backsweeten after primary fermentation.

6. Prepare yeast. Heat about 50 mL distilled water to 108 °F (42 °C). Pitch the yeast when the suspension is 104 °F (40 °C). Sprinkle the yeast on the surface and gently mix so that no clumps exist. Let sit for 15 minutes undisturbed. Measure the temperature of the yeast suspension and the juice. You do not want to add the yeast to your cool juice if the temperature of the yeast and the must temperature difference exceeds 15 °F (8 °C). To avoid temperature shock, acclimate your yeast by taking about 10 mL of the juice and adding it to the yeast suspension. Wait 15 minutes and measure the temperature again. Do this until you are within the specified temperature range. Do not let the yeast sit in the original water suspension for longer than 20 minutes. When the yeast is ready, add it to the fermenter.

7. Add Fermaid K or yeast nutrient.

8. Initiate the fermentation at room temperature ~(65–68 °F/18–20 °C) and once fermentation is noticed, (~24 hours) move to a location where the temperature can be maintained at 55 °F (13 °C).

9. Two days after fermentation starts, dissolve the DAP in as little distilled water required to completely go into solution (usually ~20 mL). Add directly to the carboy.

10. Normally you would monitor the progress of the fermentation by measuring Brix. One of the biggest problems with making white wine at home is maintaining a clean fermentation. Entering the carboy to measure the sugar is a prime way to infect the fermentation with undesirable microbes. So at this point, the presence

of noticeable fermentation is good enough. If your airlock becomes dirty by foaming over, remove it, then clean and replace it as quickly and cleanly as possible. Leave fermentation alone until bubbles in the airlock are about one bubble per minute, usually about two to three weeks.

11. The wine is considered dry or nearly dry when the Brix reaches -1.5 °Brix or less. Taste the wine — if it tastes dry, it probably is. If the wine is too acidic you have some options:

a) Inoculate for malolactic fermentation using a lactic acid bacteria strain.

b) Backsweeten the wine with the juice you set aside earlier. If you decide to backsweeten, make sure you clarify the juice and keep the temperature down near freezing. I then add 6 mL of fresh KMBS (10%) solution per gallon (3.8 L) of wine. This is equivalent to about an 80 ppm addition. Transfer the wine to the five-gallon (19-L) carboy and lower the temperature to near freezing.

c) You could do both, but perform the process sequentially, the malolactic fermentation, then experiment with backsweetening. Do not add the sulfur dioxide until the very end.

12. After two weeks, test for pH and SO2 and adjust as necessary to attain 0.8 ppm molecular SO2. (There is a simple SO2 calculator on the Web at www.winemakermag.com/guide/ sulfite). Check the SO2 in another two weeks, prior to the next racking and adjust while racking. HINT: Rack to another sanitized five-gallon (19-L) carboy, or your bucket. In the case of the latter, clean the original carboy and transfer the wine back to it. This is done at about 4–6 weeks after the first SO2 addition. Once the free SO2 is adjusted, maintain at the target level by monitoring every 3–4 weeks.

13. Consult winemakermag.com for tips on fining and filtration. If you did backsweeten the wine, sterile filter or dose with sorbate to prevent refermentation in the bottle.

14. At about three months you are ready to bottle. Be sure to maintain sanitary conditions while bottling. Once bottled, you’ll need to periodically check your work by opening a bottle to enjoy with friends.

much V. labrusca, there can be a propensity for the foxiness in the fruit. Therefore the fruit should be picked before full maturity. With Muscat in its recent parentage, it can be full of citrus and tropical fruit flavors, like pineapple and mango. Picking early also results in a lower alcohol wine. Swanson

was 15.4 to 19.6, and a corresponding pH range of 3.09 to 3.45. In this study most of the desirable characteristics were found at lower Brix and pH and the study recommended that Brianna be “farmed for flavor” in addition to Brix, pH, and titratable acidity. Another testament to my long-stand-

recommends picking when the pH levels are 3.2–3.4, but he prefers lower pH levels. Jacek Koziel conducted a study at Iowa State University in 2019 looking at the sequential harvest of Brianna and Frontenac Gris, which at the time comprised about one-third of the total grape growing area in Iowa. The purpose of the study was to measure, with very sophisticated equipment, grape aroma compounds and associate them with sensory analysis conducted by both professional and amateur tasters. The Brix range studied

ing belief that the best wines are made in the vineyard. If Brix is not sufficient to produce a dry or semi-sweet wine with a recommended alcohol by volume of 10–12%, then intervention with chaptalization was recommended as there are “few (other) intervention options” for enhancing the desired aromas in the vineyard through growing practices. Wine balance not only involves pH and titratable acidity, of which the former lends to associate itself with stability and the latter with mouthfeel, but also alcohol balance. The

If Brix is not sufficient to produce a dry or

wine

then intervention with chaptalization was recommended . . .

alcohol balance has been sometimes referred to as the “sweet spot.” This will vary depending on the grape varietal and achieving that sweet spot can take on many forms. For high-Brix fruit, that might involve water additions prior to fermentation or de-alcoholization processes after fermentation. For Brianna, if the Brix falls short of that 10–12% target, the aforementioned study suggested chaptalization. Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to juice or must to increase the potential alcohol. Potential alcohol can be estimated by multiplying the measured Brix by 0.55–0.60. The actual multiplier should be based on your own experience with the particular yeast used.

I generally use the higher conversion number, but regardless of which one you use it will get you in the ballpark as it is just an estimate anyway. The type of sugar you use, either sucrose or dextrose, can make a difference too. Dextrose is also known as glucose, or corn sugar, and is metabolized readily by the yeast. Sucrose, or cane sugar, is a dimer of glucose and fructose joined together by a glycosidic bond, therefore 50% glucose and 50% fructose. For the yeast to metabolize sucrose, the glycosidic bond must be broken. The glucose is readily consumed, but the fructose must be converted to glucose by an enzyme called isomerase. Some yeast have better expressions of isomerase than others, and thus are referred to as “fructophilic,” or fructose loving. I personally use corn sugar in a solution based on just how much I am trying to chaptalize. The more I need to sweeten, the more concentrated the solution. There are many chaptalization calculators on the internet, I use the one put out by Wine Business Monthly (https://www. winebusiness.com/tools/?go=wine making.calc&sid=4).

Home winemakers are free to perform chaptalization on their juice but commercial wine producers need to remember that the laws across the country are different for commercial practice. Check your local regulatory agency for the rules in your area surrounding the chaptalization process.

Finally, as with any white wine where aromatic retention is desired,

fermenting the wine on the cooler end of the selected yeast’s range is desirable. Good temperature control over your fermentation helps immensely with this goal in mind. Also, choosing a clean yeast strain like QA23 will allow those tropical pineapple and mango notes to shine. For more information on these concepts, check out the AprilMay 2021 issue’s “Advanced Winemaking” column on white wine aromatics. Making wine with hybrids is fun,

but sometimes a challenge. The growing seasons in these colder regions can be cut short by frost or torrential rains. I had a lot of experience making wine with the hybrids in the breeding programs I was involved with at UC-Davis. We really never had to worry about low sugars, rather getting the right flavor profile we wanted. Which lends itself to my often mentioned rule, a winemaker’s job is so much easier if the vineyard cooperates.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

by Phil Plummer

If you’ve spent any time hanging around wine bars or bottle shops over the past few years, you may have noticed what — taken at face value — appears troubling: Commercially-produced bottles of hazy wine, sediment and all, sealed with . . . crown caps. While your first instinct might be to speculate on what the winemaker was thinking or where the bottling line hygiene failed so catastrophically, what you’ve happened upon is actually one of the fastest-growing trends in the sparkling wine world: Pétillant-naturel (pét-nat for short). With its unpolished look and wild flavor diversity, pét-nat has gained a cult following among consumers ranging from adventurous winery visitors to sour beer aficionados, and is an overwhelming favorite of the wine world’s ever-increasing population of hipsters. But pét-nat isn’t anything new; in fact, it’s the oldest, simplest-tomake style of sparkling wine.

MÉTHODE TO THE MADNESS

The term pétillant-naturel couldn’t be much simpler or fitting a name — it’s French for “naturally sparkling.”

Every winemaker understands that one of the by-products of fermentation is carbon dioxide. When crafting still wine, the racking and agitation that occur prior to packaging all but ensure the finished product will be bubble-free. But, if you ferment in a sealed vessel and don’t allow the gas to escape, the wine gains delightful effervescence. This is the essential step in the production of naturally-sparkling wines: Allowing fermentation to occur without an opportunity to vent carbon dioxide, thereby forcing the gas into solution.

So, is pét-nat just an unfinished analog of Champagne-style sparkling? Not exactly.

Champagne is produced via a meticulous process called méthode traditionnelle, in which base wine is fermented dry, clarified, stabilized, then sweetened and re-inoculated just prior to bottling. The bottles are left to sit en tirage (on the yeast) for a year or more, prior to a complicated settling and sediment removal process that requires loads of effort.

By contrast, pét-nat is made through a very simple process called méthode ancestrale, in which wine is bottled prior to the end of alcohol-

ic fermentation and is ready to enjoy as soon as it reaches completion. No riddling, no disgorging. Just ferment, bottle, wait, and enjoy. Really, it’s that easy.

IS THE HOME WINERY PÉT FRIENDLY?

So if pét-nat is so easy to make, does that simplicity translate to home wineries? Absolutely.

Given the relative lack of effort and equipment required for successful production, pét-nat is a perfect fit for home winemakers who are looking to give sparkling a try.

One of the most attractive aspects of pét-nat production in the home winery is the comparatively small amount of work and time that are required. While méthode traditionnelle wines require enough extra steps and aging time to intimidate even the most seasoned winemakers, méthode ancestrale wines simply cut out the middlemen between winemaking’s most critical steps: Fermentation and packaging. In general, pét-nat wines are ready to drink within a month or two of bottling, which allows the winemaker to evaluate their success or failure without an extended tirage period.

At the simplest level of pét-nat production, most of the required tools are items already present in most home wineries. While there are always upgrades that can be made to winemaking equipment, the basics are as follows: Fermentation vessel, bottling vessel, racking/bottling hoses, hydrometer, Champagne bottles, crown caps, and a crown capper.

With some careful decision-making and attention to detail, the home winemaker can make sparkling wines that rival, or even surpass, their commercial counterparts.

TAMING THE NATUREL WORLD

Though unpredictability may appear to be the ethos of méthode ancestrale wines, there are plenty of considerations that can be made in order to increase the chances of success. There are several metrics and protocols that may be leveraged to maximize the quality of pét-nat; the most import-

ant are juice chemistry, fermentation management, and bottling protocol.

GRAPE VARIETY SELECTION

Before discussing the ideal chemical parameters for pét-nat production, it makes sense to talk about some grape varieties that are particularly well suited to this unique style. While pét-nat may be made from anything bottled before completing fermentation, varieties that showcase bright acidity, less phenolics, and lower alcohol tend to make the most compelling wines. Vinifera varieties like Riesling, Albariño, and Pinot Noir are fantastic when produced in this style, but this is an avenue where hybrid and native cultivars really shine. Some of my favorite pét-nats have been made

from grapes like Catawba, Diamond, and Marquette.

JUICE CHEMISTRY

In any sort of winemaking, the most important predictor of the finished product’s quality is the quality of the juice or must from which it started. Understanding juice chemistry is paramount in sparkling wine production.

In general, the juice characteristics that lead to a high probability of success in sparkling wine production are as follows: High acid, low tannin, adequate YAN (yeast assimilable nitrogen), and low sugar (17–19 °Brix for Champagne-style wines). In pétnat these ideal parameters hold true, with the exception of starting sugar, which has a lower target range unless

Pét-nat wines are carbonated by bottling prior to the completion of fermentation. Unlike fermenting in a traditional vessel where carbon dioxide is released, the closed bottle forces the CO2 into solution.

Photo courtesy of Phil Plummer

the winemaker hopes to leave behind some sweetness. Let’s look more closely at each of these parameters.

If bubbles are the heart of any great sparkling wine, acid is the soul. Effervescence and acidity have a synergistic relationship: Carbonation slightly acidifies wine and acid helps to integrate carbonation in a harmonious way. In most commercial sparkling wine production, grapes are selected for their acidity and are often harvested prior to reaching ripeness in an effort to retain this acid. Analyzing the titratable acidity of incoming juice or grapes gives the winemaker a picture of where his or her acid concentration stands prior to fermentation and allows for any necessary adjustments. In my experience, a titratable acidity (TA) value between 8-12 g/L tartaric acid is usually a good starting point for pét-nat.

While acid is a welcome and necessary component in pét-nat, the same cannot be said for tannin. Tannins interact with effervescence and acid to amplify astringency: The dusty, drying sensation associated with dry red wines. Some tannin is unavoidable and can even lend some weight to the mouthfeel of the finished wine, but an excess of tannin will lead to a wine with less than desirable flavor and texture. Tannin extraction can be minimized by limiting the contact time between crushing and pressing, and by separating free run juice from heavier press fractions. Not all home winemakers are equipped to process their own fruit, so these preventive steps may not be available. In that case, an assessment of the juice’s tannins is necessary. The clearest way to do this in the home winery is by tasting the juice. If the juice is judged to be overly astringent, excess tannin may be removed via protein fining with agents like egg white, skim milk, or gelatin.

The YAN of juice is the chemical parameter that most impacts fermentation health. Without adequate YAN, fermentation may become sluggish, stuck, or worse: Produce an array of unpleasant aromatic compounds. Too much YAN and your fermentation may run far too quickly for you

to manage it appropriately; plus, any nitrogen that isn’t exhausted during primary fermentation becomes an attractive buffet for spoilage yeasts. If that isn’t daunting enough, YAN requirements vary greatly across yeast strains and fermentation conditions. It’s a lot to think about, but for the fermentation protocol that will be detailed in the next section, 100–200 ppm is generally the right neighborhood. YAN is a parameter that is often difficult to quantify in a home winery, but there are affordable, commercially available instruments that allow for this analysis. Alternatively, if you live near a winegrowing region there are probably nearby laboratories that will run a YAN analysis for a modest fee. Winemakers both amateur and professional will benefit significantly from clearer understanding of this data.

While the méthode traditionnelle ideals for acid, tannin, and nitrogen hold true for pét-nat, there’s definitely some wiggle room on the starting sugar level — that metric can shift based upon the desired effervescence, residual sugar, and alcohol of the finished product. There is a direct relationship between sugar content and the amount of alcohol and carbon dioxide produced by fermentation, both of which are critical to the character of pét-nat. In sparkling wines, an excess of alcohol has much the same effect as an excess of tannin — producing a hot, disconnected wine that is unpleasant from both a flavor and textural standpoint. Ideally, sparkling wines will end up somewhere between 9–12.5% alcohol, with traditional pétnats skewing toward the low end of that range. Given that one can expect between 0.5–0.6% alcohol for every degree of Brix fermented, that places the ideal starting sugar range from 15-25 °Brix for sparkling wines.

There is, however, one factor that may affect this range: Residual sugar. If the plan is to leave some sugar to balance the acidity of the finished wine, a quick calculation can be made to adjust the starting sugar accordingly. Pressure may be leveraged in order to arrest fermentation and, in my experience, pressures above

6 atmospheres are effective in accomplishing this. When the internal pressure of the bottle approaches 6 atm, the yeast are inhibited and fermentation stops, leaving any remaining sugar unfermented.

As one atmosphere of CO2 may be produced from the fermentation of 4 g/L sugar, this generally requires between 2.4–3 °Brix more than the desired residual sugar level at bottling; packaging the wine while the sugar measures greater than 3 °Brix will ensure that some residual sugar will be left behind.

FERMENTATION MANAGEMENT

At first glance, the name pétillant-naturel might lead a winemaker to believe that the only correct way to produce these wines is a hands-off approach to fermentation, but that couldn’t be further from the case. While it is true that excellent pét-nats can be made using native yeasts and limiting intervention, an embrace of commercial yeasts, nutrients, and careful monitoring increases the probability that attempts to make these wines will be successful. The most critical aspect of méthode ancestrale winemaking is timing, and engineering a little bit of predictability into the process goes a long way toward recognizing and acting upon key moments in fermentation.

Though inoculation with commercial yeast may seem antithetical to the spirit of a style with “naturel” in the name, nobody ever made great wine with ideology alone. Uninoculated fermentations can be unbelievably complex and interesting, but they’re equally — if not more — likely to be faulty and sluggish. Pét-nat is already prone to a host of off-aromas and requires careful timing; faulty and sluggish fermentations ought be avoided at all costs. Inoculated yeasts, on the other hand, are predictable: Winemakers can source information on optimum temperature ranges, nutrient requirements, and a variety of other parameters that may be adjusted in order to maximize the potential of their wines. In sparkling wine production, the gold standard of commercial yeast strains is Lalvin’s EC-

1118. A classic Prise de Mousse strain, EC-1118 is incredibly hardy; its low nitrogen requirement, competitive factor, steady fermentation speed, compact settling, and cold tolerance are all welcome attributes in méthode ancestrale winemaking.

Even when using inoculated yeast, close attention must be paid to overall fermentation health. After méthode ancestrale wines are bottled, the fermentation conditions are less than ideal for even the most robust commercial yeast strains and can lead to a variety of faults including sulfur off-aromas and volatile acidity. Assessing YAN content prior to inoculation and adjusting as necessary with a complex yeast nutrient like Fermaid K can help keep the fermentation clean through completion. For a hardy yeast strain like EC-1118, an initial YAN of 100–200 ppm should be sufficient.

As timing of bottling is critical for achieving desired pressure and/ or residual sugar, careful monitoring of fermentation speed and temperature must be observed. Daily measurements of Brix and temperature

can help the winemaker determine fermentation speed and make adjustments if necessary. If the fermentation appears to be proceeding too quickly it may be slowed by chilling to between 50–55 °F (10–13 °C), giving the winemaker time to track sugar depletion and prepare for bottling. As fermentation begins to approach the target for bottling, a precision hydrometer becomes an indispensable tool for accurate monitoring.

BOTTLING PROTOCOL

CO2 is generated as fermentation proceeds. Unless the fermenting wine is bottled in a timely manner, the gas will escape, leaving a less-thanpétillant final product. Considerations made around bottling will have a direct impact on the carbonation, flavor, and appearance of the finished wine. Proper bottling timing, use of riddling adjuvants, and appropriate bottle/closure selection play significant roles in shaping the textural, organoleptic, and visual profiles of pét-nat wines.

Appropriate timing of bottling

dictates the carbonation level and residual sugar of the finished wine. The winemaker would be well-served to have a target effervescence and sweetness level in mind prior to initiating fermentation, but on-the-fly adjustments may be made with regard to balancing sweetness and acidity. Daily Brix analysis and tasting allows for tracking of fermentation health, balance, and speed. As mentioned in the section on juice chemistry, 4 g/L sugar generates roughly one atmosphere of CO2, and fermentations may be arrested via pressure in the range of 6 atmospheres. This information can be weighed alongside the sweetness and effervescence targets in order to time bottling effectively. An additional measure that may be taken to assist in timing bottling is to arrest the fermentation by chilling. If EC-1118 is used, chilling to 35–40 °F (2–4 °C) when the Brix reading drops to within a degree of the target should be sufficient to stop further depletion of sugar without killing the yeast. A secondary benefit of chilling the wine to arrest fermentation prior to bottling is tartrate stabilization. If tartrates are not effectively stabilized, they may precipitate in the bottle, which can lead to gushing — bubble seeding by wine diamonds can result in messy losses when bottles are finally opened.

The addition of riddling adjuvants may also help to prevent gushing by assisting in the compact settling of spent yeast. While there are a host of commercially available additives that may be used in this pursuit, standard issue bentonite is equally effective. Adding a properly-swelled bentonite suspension of 100–300 ppm prior to bottling will have a significant impact on the clarity and stability of the finished product.

A final consideration that needs to be made for safe and effective pét-nat production is the selection of proper bottles and closures. Crown caps are the preferred closure for wines of this style, as they are cost effective, simple to use, and hold pressure well. Corks may be used, but a wire cage is required in order to prevent them from pushing out of the bottles as they

A precision hydrometer is critical to accurately measure the gravity of the fermenting wine so that it can be bottled at just the right gravity to result in the desired level of carbonation and residual sugar.

Photo courtesy of Phil Plummer

pressurize. For safety reasons, pétnat wines should always be bottled in punted Champagne bottles. As the wine may reach pressures up to 6 atmospheres (assuming that it was bottled at 2.4–3 °Brix or higher), using a heavily reinforced bottle is the surest way to prevent a fun experiment in sparkling wine production from becoming a literal time bomb.

Following bottling, cellaring the wine at 50–60 °F (10-16 °C) for 1–2 months should be sufficient to allow for the fermentation to finish. The winemaker is advised to open the first few bottles over a sink or outdoors; for all the planning and attention to fermentation management, there is still an element of unpredictability to pét-nat, and unpredictability in sparkling wine usually means a mess.

CROWN CAPPING IT OFF (CONCLUSIONS)

Though the earliest analogs of pétnat wines were often both unexpected and undesirable, advances in the understanding of fermentation science have allowed winemakers to capture and leverage fermentation’s gaseous by-product to make complex, vibrant wines of distinction. The integration of modern winemaking technique and technology into méthode ancestrale has carried pét-nat out of obscurity and into the mainstream.

While pét-nat is enjoying growing commercial success, it’s a style that is particularly well-suited to home winemaking. With careful attention to a few key parameters, winemakers of varying experience levels can produce layered, lively, naturally-sparkling wines without the extended time, effort, or equipment investments required to produce wines via méthode traditionnelle.

So what are you waiting for? Next time you’re looking to add a new technique to your home winemaking arsenal, give méthode ancestrale a try. Follow the steps outlined here and you’re likely to succeed in making bright, bubbly, interesting wine. And if it doesn’t turn out perfectly — remember, pét-nat is unpredictable — well, that’s nothing a little orange juice can’t fix.

Photos by Charles A. Parker/Images Plus

by Jack B. Keller Jr.

Summer is here and while grapes may not be in season, delicious wine can be made with many fruits, vegetables, and other unique ingredients. Instead of waiting until the fall harvest, keep your winemaking going all summer long with something a little different.

The recipes on the following pages come from legendary home winemaker Jack B. Keller, Jr.’s new book Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine. The book includes 65 wine recipes, broken into categories of grape, berry, fruit, tropical fruit, root, flower, herbal/spice, and novelty wines. WineMaker has selected a recipe from each section, minus grapes, from the book. Find the book at better booksellers for the full selection of recipes and chapters on making wine at home.

Blackcurrant Wine

Blackcurrant wine can be the toughest wine of all to make if the acidity level in your berries is on the extreme of what these berries are capable of producing. But don’t be intimidated. When augmented by higher-end sugars, they taste absolutely divine, even when highly acidic. Taste the berries, test them, and decide if you are up to the challenge.

At their best, blackcurrants are an absolute delight to eat, so they are terrific in pies, jams, jellies, syrup, culinary uses, and wine. They possess a unique, and complex, flavor profile, with layers of fruit and floral hints in their aroma when they are at their

best behavior.

The berries can be found in the wild, but once the sugar levels rise in the maturing berries they are favorite targets of wildlife. It is far easier to obtain farm-grown berries, and this gives you some say in the flavor and balance of the berries you choose to ferment. Canned blackcurrant, either as berries, puree, concentrate, or juice, is a good choice for those not living in the relatively few states in which they are currently cultivated.

Blackcurrant wine is worth making because of the wealth of flavor it conceals. With aromatic floral notes, good structure and complexi-

ty worthy of any noble grape, blackcurrant is simply the Cabernet of berry wines.

The good thing about canned blackcurrant products, whether berries, puree, concentrate, or juice, is that its sometimes nightmarish acidity will almost certainly be manageable when canned. This goes a long way to simplifying the winemaking effort. Follow good winemaking procedures and this will be a wine to show off your skills. This recipe requires blackcurrant juice. I recommend Knudsen Just Black Currant juice; it comes in 32-oz. (956-mL) bottles; a case of 12 makes 3 gallons (11.5 L).

THE MUST will almost certainly require dilution, but how much depends on the berries themselves. Test, taste, and test again. If the acid appears manageable, a minimum amelioration may be required. I have made blackcurrant wine with as little as 20% and as much as about 60% water added, the latter only because I didn’t have enough canned berries. Just be cognizant of lurking tannins.

Since the berry’s minor acid is malic, Lalvin 71B yeast can eliminate most or all of it. The problem is it is difficult to test for malic acid in the home, so you don’t know how much the yeast will reduce titratable acidity (TA). However, sugar will go a long way toward balancing the wine, so higher acidity can be dealt with if the pH can be raised to at least 3.2 to give the yeast a less-hostile environment in which to work.

BLACKCURRANT WINE RECIPE

Wine Is Ready In: 11 months

You’ll Need: 1 gallon of juice per gallon of wine (3.8 L/3.8 L)

Additional Equipment: 3–5 gallon (11.5–19 L) primary

Makes: 1 gallon (3.8 L), but can be scaled up

INGREDIENTS

1 gallon (3.8 L) blackcurrant juice

1 lb. 10 oz. (0.74 kg) very fine granulated sugar

Calcium carbonate, to raise pH to 3.2–3.3

Potassium metabisulfite, as needed

1⁄2 tsp. potassium sorbate

1 tsp. (3 g) yeast nutrient

1 g Fermaid-K

Lalvin 71B yeast (5 g)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare must: Add juice to primary and use pH meter to determine its pH. If very low (3.1 or below), add 1 gram of calcium carbonate, wait 2–3 hours, and add the second gram; wait an additional 2–3 hours and add a third gram. If

higher than 3.1 (3.2 or above) taste to decide if you need to raise to pH 3.3. If 3.3. or higher, do not add calcium carbonate. Wait 4 hours and add sugar and yeast nutrient, stirring until completely dissolved. Wait 4 hours and add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite and stir well. Cover the primary and set aside 12 hours.

Add yeast: To 1 cup warm water (not to exceed 102 °F/39 °C) add a pinch of yeast nutrient and stir to dissolve. Add yeast to water, stir, and cover mixture for 30 minutes. Add mixture to primary and cover primary.

Fermentation: Check specific gravity (SG) daily. When SG drops to 1.060, stir in Fermaid-K. When SG drops to 1.020, or lower, if the fermentation is still vigorous, transfer to secondary, and affix airlock. In 30 days, carefully rack.

Post-Fermentation: Move wine to a dark, cool place and allow to sit untouched 60 days while lees settle. Carefully rack. The wine must now sit an additional three months. Rack and add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite

and 1⁄2 teaspoon dissolved potassium sorbate and stir well. Check clarity and correct if necessary with pectic enzyme. Sweeten to taste or to balance. If sweetened, wait 30 days to ensure no renewed fermentation and carefully rack into bottles. Allow six months or more in bottles before tasting.

Options: To add body, add one or two very ripe bananas, cut crosswise into 1⁄2-inch (1.3-cm) slices, before pitching yeast. For ease of removal, place in a separate straining bag.

This wine responds to oak very well. One cup of oak cubes in the wine for 4–6 weeks during maturation is usually enough. Let taste be your guide, but don’t overdo it.

As with all berry wines, because tasting can consume all of your wine, it is wise to bottle four 187-mL splits to use for that purpose.

Similar berries: The following berries are more tart than the blackcurrant and require additional processing, but the basic recipe shown above is still relevant: Redcurrant, whitecurrant.

JACK’S TIP

Pear Wine

With around 20 species, 3,000 varieties and thousands of cultivars, it is obvious the pear has been cultivated for a very long time with plenty of natural variety to breed. It is almost a shame, then, to walk into a large supermarket and find 6 or 8 varieties, at most, to select from.

On the other hand, my wife and I stopped at several large, open-air produce markets in Spain, and there were probably 50–60 varieties to choose from — some small, some very large, some elongated, some round, and

many in between. The vendors were anxious to cut a slice for you to try, and because of that, we bought just two each of four different and unusual tasting varieties we would never have experienced. I can only imagine what their wines would have tasted like.

Most who make pear wine have one or more pear trees or know someone who does. We used to have three until a blight killed them. I can say from experience that three adult trees produce an overwhelming crop. You can’t eat, preserve, make wine, or give them away

fast enough to use them.

Balance in pear wine, as in most wines, is the counterplay between acidity, tannin, alcohol, and sugar. Get any one of these too high or too low, and the wine will express the fault. We are making a still (non sparkling) wine around 12% ABV. That is the magic number among wines. It is the number where alcohol’s biological stabilizing quality is assured. It is also the number at which the wine is expected to age at least 18 months before declining in quality.

THIS RECIPE uses a lot of pears. If you have a pear tree, you will thank me. If you have to buy them, maybe not so much. You must take the extra time to remove the core and seeds from each pear. I guarantee you the seeds will impart an off-taste that will spoil the wine. Yes, this is time-consuming. It is important that once you start de-seeding the pears you immediately move to the next steps. If you don’t, they will begin to oxidize and turn brown. A light browning is acceptable, but not a dark one. You don’t want your wine to oxidize before you even make it. You can prevent this by putting your cut pears in a non-aluminum stockpot half-filled with water and the juice of 3 lemons. Pears have decent sugar but poor acidity. Get the pH down to at least 3.5, 3.3 if you can without sending the TA too high. However, let your taste buds help determine if the TA is too high.

Wine Is Ready In: 13 months

You’ll Need: 5 pounds pears per gallon of wine (2.3 kg/3.8 L)

Additional Equipment: 1–2 nylon straining bags

Makes: 1 gallon (3.8 L), but can be scaled up

INGREDIENTS

5 lbs. (2.3 kg) pears

1 lb. 6 oz. (0.6 kg) very fine granulated sugar

Water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L)

11⁄4 tsp. powdered pectic enzyme

1⁄8 tsp. grape tannins

Acid correction, tartaric, as needed

Potassium metabisulfite, as needed

1⁄2 tsp. potassium sorbate

1 tsp. (3 g) yeast nutrient

Lalvin EC-1116 yeast

DIRECTIONS

Prepare must: Wash, de-seed, and chop pears rather finely, discarding their seeds. Place chopped pears in nylon straining bags and tie closed. In the primary, mash fruit completely to release as much juice as possible.

Put 1 liter (1 qt.) of water on to boil

and add sugar, stirring well to dissolve. Pour sugar water over bags and stir well. When lukewarm, dissolve yeast nutrient in 1 cup of juice and stir into the primary. Add water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L) and test juice for pH. Adjust acidity as necessary. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, stir well, cover primary, and set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stirring until completely dissolved. Re-cover primary and set aside 12 hours.

Add yeast: To 1 cup warm water (not to exceed 102 °F/39 °C) add a pinch of sugar and yeast nutrient and stir to dissolve. Add yeast to water, stir, and cover mixture for 30 minutes. Add to primary and stir well.

Fermentation: Gently squeeze bags at least twice daily for five days. Remove bags to a large bowl and squeeze firmly to expel remaining juice. Hang the bags over the bowl and squeeze firmly after 30 minutes. Add juice to primary and discard pulp. When SG drops to 1.020, or lower if the fermentation is still vigorous, transfer to secondary and affix airlock. Ferment to dryness. Post-Fermentation: Move wine to a

dark, cool place for 60 days, stirring every 15 days. Rack off of sediment and set aside another 60 days without stirring. If the wine is not clear, rack and set aside until wine clears. Carefully rack, check clarity, and correct with pectic enzyme and, if required, two-part fining. If fined, wait four days and rack. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, 1⁄2 teaspoon dissolved potassium sorbate, and 1⁄8 teaspoon grape tannin. Stir well and sweeten to taste or to balance. If sweetened, wait 30 days to ensure no renewed fermentation and carefully rack into bottles. Taste after six months, but it will improve considerably at one year.

Options: To add body, add one or two very ripe bananas, cut crosswise into 1⁄2-inch (1.3-cm) slices, before pitching yeast. For ease of removal, place in a separate straining bag.

This wine blends well with many different wines. Experiment, but do not overpower the pear.

When sweetening this wine at the end, honey or raw sugar adds both sweetness and complexity. Honey adds a little length to the finish.

JACK’S TIP

Orange Wine

Orange wines are great for sipping, for blending into Sangria, cocktails, or other beverages, and for culinary uses too numerous to mention. Whether you like your wine dry, off-dry, semisweet, or sweet, you can make an orange wine to suit. With care, it can be made into a dessert wine and co-produced with chocolate for a real treat.

Today, we are blessed to have oranges in the market year-round. Therefore, orange wine can be made anytime one decides to make it.

ORANGE WINE RECIPE

Wine Is Ready In: 16 months

You’ll Need: 8 medium-size oranges,

1 can frozen 100 percent white grape juice concentrate per gallon (3.8 L) of wine

Additional Equipment: 1 nylon straining bag

Makes: 1 gallon (3.8 L), but can be scaled up

INGREDIENTS

8 medium-size oranges

Zest of 2 oranges

1 can 100 percent white grape juice frozen concentrate, thawed

1 lb. 10 oz. (0.74 kg) finely granulated sugar

water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L)

1 tsp. pectic enzyme

1⁄2 tsp. grape tannin powder

Tartaric acid, as needed

Potassium metabisulfite, as needed

1⁄2 tsp. potassium sorbate

1 tsp. (3 g) yeast nutrient

Lalvin BA11 yeast (5 g)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare must: Scrub oranges clean. Boil

1⁄2 gallon (1.9 L) water while thinly grating peelings of 2 oranges. Put gratings in a nylon straining bag. Peel oranges and remove all pith. Section all fruit and place in bag with zest, tie closed. Put bag in primary and squeeze the segments. Add tannin, yeast nutrient, and thawed grape juice concentrate to primary. Remove boiling water from heat and stir in sugar until completely dissolved. Pour over oranges, add additional water to increase the liquid to 1 gallon (3.8 L), cover the primary and set aside to cool. When cool, test juice for pH. Begin acid

JACK’S TIP

ORANGES possess a high TA composed almost entirely of citric acid, and their pH can sometimes be somewhat high as well. Bringing the pH down to an acceptable level for wine will raise the TA even higher. The TA can be brought down considerably with amelioration, but the wine will still initially be acidic. This can be smoothed out a bit by aging, especially since it is citric acid.

This is a fairly simple wine to make. It is best when made from a mix of Valencia and tart oranges (blood oranges will do), but these are not always available. If made from navel oranges, it will be necessary to zest half the oranges thinly. Otherwise, the zest of two of the oranges will do.

correction if necessary. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, stir well, cover primary, and set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stirring until completely dissolved and set aside 12 hours. Add yeast: To 1 cup warm water (not to exceed 102 °F/39 °C) add a pinch of yeast nutrient, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add yeast to water, stir, and cover mixture for 30 minutes. Add mixture to primary, stir, and cover primary.

Fermentation: Squeeze nylon straining bag 4–6 times a day. When SG drops to 1.060, remove nylon straining bag and drip drain (squeeze gently every 15 minutes) over large bowl for 1 hour. Discard orange pulp and pour juice into the primary. When SG drops to 1.020, or lower if the fermentation is still vigorous, transfer to secondary and affix airlock. In 30 days, carefully rack. Post-Fermentation: Move wine to a dark, cool place for 30 days and carefully rack. Repeat every 30 days until

wine clears. Correct clarity with pectic enzyme and, if necessary, two-part fining. If fined, wait four days and rack. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite and 1⁄2 teaspoon dissolved potassium sorbate. Stir well. Sweeten to taste or to balance. If sweetened, wait 30 days to ensure no renewed fermentation and carefully rack into bottles. Allow to age one year in bottles for acid to smooth out before tasting.

Options: This wine can be sweetened with honey for greater complexity. Most honey contains pollen, so check the bottom of secondary after 30 days for signs of a very light dusting of pollen. If present, very carefully rack and immediately rack again into bottles. This wine blends very well with many wines. Running bench tasting trials is essential to getting it right. Similar fruit: The following fruit can be substituted for oranges in this recipe: Tangerine, clementine, satsuma, cara cara navel, bitter orange, and citron.

Sweet Potato Wine

Sweet potatoes are native to the Americas, believed to have become a separate species somewhere between the Yucatan in Mexico and northeast Venezuela. Its actual parents are not yet known. It was domesticated at least 5,000 years ago and spread into the Caribbean and South America by

JACK’S TIP

2,500 BC. It was brought to Spain by Columbus and spread throughout the world by post-Columbian exploration and trade.

Little is known about its use in winemaking before the eighteenth century. But it’s difficult to believe its natural sweetness was not put to use

much earlier than that. In any event, it has been a staple in the South since at least the Civil War.

The recipe that follows probably dates back no earlier than the 1920s-30s, but this is just an educated guess based on its ingredients. I have updated the recipe over the years.

AS IS USUAL for root vegetables, the pH of the sweet potato is high—pH 5.3 to 5.6. I never recorded its TA, but know it was not very high. The recipe that follows takes care of the acid, but you should check it at least once, preferably before fermentation begins, to make sure things are on track.

SWEET POTATO WINE RECIPE

Wine Is Ready In: 12 months

You’ll Need: 6 pounds sweet potatoes per gallon of wine (2.7 kg/3.8 L)

Additional Equipment: 1–2 nylon straining bags

Makes: 1 gallon (3.8 L), but can be scaled up

INGREDIENTS

6 lbs. (2.7 kg) sweet potatoes

1 lb. (0.45 kg) white or golden raisins

2 lbs. (0.9 kg) light brown sugar

Water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L)

11⁄2 tsp. tartaric acid

1 tsp. pectic enzyme

1⁄8 tsp. grape tannin powder

Potassium metabisulfite, as needed

1⁄2 tsp. potassium sorbate

1 tsp. (3 g) yeast nutrient

Lalvin EC1118 yeast (5 g)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare must: Scrub sweet potatoes and dice finely, skin on. Put diced potatoes in a pot and just cover with water. Bring to boil, cover the pot, reduce to simmer for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, mince or chop raisins and put in primary with half the sugar. Strain the potatoes over the primary, setting potatoes aside for later culinary use. Stir to dissolve sugar and add tartaric acid and yeast nutrient. Add enough water to make up 1 gallon (3.8 L) and wait 1 hour. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, stir well, cover primary, and set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stirring until completely dissolved and set aside 12 hours.

Add yeast: To 1 cup warm water (not to exceed 102 °F/39 °C) add a pinch of yeast nutrient, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add yeast to water, stir, and cover mixture for 30 minutes. Add mixture to primary, stir, and cover primary.

Fermentation: Ferment 7 days, stirring twice daily. Strain through nylon and discard strained raisins. Add remainder of sugar, stir well to dissolve, transfer to a secondary, and affix airlock. Wait 30 days and carefully rack. Post-Fermentation: Move wine to a dark, cool place for 30 days and rack. Rack every 30 days until wine clears (may take 4–5 months). Wait another 30 days after clearing and check for continued sedimentation and improved clarity. Aid clarity as necessary with amylase, pectic enzyme, or two-part fining.

If fined, wait four days and rack. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite and 1⁄2 teaspoon dissolved potassium sorbate. Stir. Sweeten to taste or to balance. If sweetened, wait 30 days to ensure no renewed fermentation and carefully rack into bottles. This wine can be consumed in six months, but the usual aging in bottles is nine months.

Options: When sweetening at the end, try using Barbados, Muscovado, or dark brown sugar for more complexity. This wine may blend well, but this author simply has never tried it.

Because tasting can consume all of your wine, it is wise to bottle four 187mL splits to use for that purpose. Similar vegetable: The African yam looks similar, but shouldn’t be used in this recipe. There are no substitutes for the sweet potato using this recipe.

Honeysuckle Wine

For years I tried, without success, to make a good honeysuckle wine, mainly following the recipes of those who went before me. Well, “without success” is perhaps a bit dramatic. I made wine. Most people liked it. But I didn’t. Then one day I was judging a county fair wine competition and tasted the perfect honeysuckle wine. I met up with the winemaker after the competition and we talked about his wine. I finally had to ask him outright how many flowers he used. He told me and I knew what I had been doing wrong.

TIP

Honeysuckle wine has been around at least two thousand years, so it amazes me that all the recipe references I’ve read make a weak wine. True, for the most part, honeysuckle wine was a “homestead wine,” generally made by the woman of the house, and it was a quality wine, no doubt, but they did not often write books on winemaking. So those recipes seemingly have been lost, but perhaps there are many recipes that simply haven’t been discovered. I can only wonder why so many authors have gotten it so wrong

throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The earliest mention I can find of honeysuckle wine is in ancient Korea. It’s a mention, not a recipe. Honeysuckles are found over much of the world, so I assume if they were making it in Korea, they were making it in many other places. It just wasn’t mentioned in a way I can retrieve.

What follows is the recipe I managed to elicit from the competition entrant, plus sulfite additions and other essentials. I made the yeast selection myself.

WITH 180 SPECIES of honeysuckle recorded and many imported ones having become naturalized and now invasive, no single species can be cited as “the best” for making wine. My only advice is that if it is fragrant, it can be used with expectations of success. There is a good chance that the common honeysuckle, with white and yellow flowers, is the imported, now naturalized and invasive, Lonicera japonica, or a variety thereof, or cultivar. Introduced into the United States in 1806, it became widely naturalized by the 1860s. The native, common honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum, also known as woodbine, is substantially widespread. Either is a candidate for wine, as is the coral or trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).

Note: Before making honeysuckle wine, confirm the identity of the honeysuckle species you’re harvesting and that it’s edible. Don’t make wine out of honeysuckle berries, as they are often toxic.

HONEYSUCKLE WINE RECIPE

Wine Is Ready In: 14 months

You’ll Need: 2 quarts of honeysuckle flowers per gallon of wine (1.9 L flower per 3.8 L wine)

Additional Equipment: 1 colander

Makes: 1 gallon (3.8 L), but can be scaled up

INGREDIENTS

2 qts. (1.9 L) (packed) honeysuckle flowers

2 lbs. (0.9 kg) very fine granulated sugar

2 tsp. tartaric acid

1 tsp. citric acid

1⁄4 tsp. grape tannin powder

Water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L)

Potassium metabisulfite, as needed

1⁄2 tsp. potassium sorbate

1⁄4 tsp. yeast energizer

1 tsp. yeast nutrient

Lalvin DV10 yeast

DIRECTIONS

Prepare must: Wash flowers under cold water. Put in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid and 21⁄2 quarts (2.3 L)

water. Bring to simmer and place the lid on the pot. Turn off heat and let steep three hours. Meanwhile, bring 1 quart (1 L) water to boil, remove from heat and dissolve sugar, grape tannin, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, and acid thoroughly in water. Pour into your primary. Using a colander, strain flower water into primary, pressing flowers well to extract as much essence as possible. Discard flowers. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, stir well, cover primary, and wait 12 hours. Add yeast: To 1 cup warm water (not to exceed 102 °F/39 °C) add a pinch of yeast nutrient, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add yeast to water, stir, and cover mixture for 30 minutes. Add mixture to primary, stir, and cover primary.

Fermentation: Stir 2–3 times daily until SG drops to 1.020, or lower if the fermentation is still vigorous. Transfer the wine to secondary and attach airlock. Set aside in a dark place for 30 days and carefully rack.

Post-Fermentation: Move wine back

into the dark for 90 days and carefully rack. Rack again after another 90 days. Correct clarity if necessary and wait three days. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, 1⁄2 teaspoon dissolved potassium sorbate, check pH, and correct as needed. Sweeten to SG 1.002 or to balance. If sweetened, wait 30 days to ensure no renewed fermentation and carefully rack into bottles. Taste in 6 months.

Options: To add body, add one or two very ripe bananas, cut crosswise into 1⁄2-inch (1.3-cm) slices, before pitching yeast. For ease of removal, place it in a separate straining bag.

When sweetening at the end, use quality honey instead of sugar. At the end of the final 30-day wait period (after stabilization), carefully check to see if pollen has precipitated out of the honey. If present, rack again, wait three days and then bottle.

As with all flower wines, because tasting can consume all of your wine, it is wise to bottle four 187-mL splits to use for that purpose.

JACK’S

Ginger Wine

The root of the ginger plant has long been an important food supplement. Dried and ground, it is a spice. Pickled, it is a relish. Candied, it is a delicacy. Shredded or thinly sliced fresh, it is a condiment. In the condiment form, it is sometimes added to wine recipes which would otherwise yield uninspiring results. But it can also be used to make a wine of its own.

JACK’S TIP

MAKING A THIN WINE by itself, it requires a body-builder to be fully enjoyed. Here we use 100% grape juice concentrate to supply that body without subtracting from its own character. The amount of ginger used is more than sufficient to provide that character. If that proves too much, you can reduce it by half and it will still shine through. Neither amylase nor pectic enzyme are part of the recipe but may be required if the wine does not clear on its own.

GINGER WINE RECIPE

Wine Is Ready In: 7 months

You’ll Need: 1⁄2 pound (0.23 kg) ginger root, 2 cans frozen 100 percent white grape juice concentrate per gallon (3.8 L) of wine

Additional Equipment: 1 jelly bag

Makes: 1 gallon (3.8 L), but can be scaled up

INGREDIENTS

1⁄2 lb. (0.23 kg) ginger root, grated

2 cans 100 percent white grape juice frozen concentrate, thawed

1⁄4 tsp. pectic enzyme

1 lb. (0.45 kg) very fine granulated sugar

Water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L)

21⁄2 tsp. tartaric-citric acid blend (60:40 ratio, or 11⁄2 tsp.: 1 tsp.)

1⁄4 tsp. grape tannin powder

Potassium metabisulfite, as needed

1⁄2 tsp. potassium sorbate

11⁄4 tsp. (4 g) yeast nutrient

Lalvin EC-1118 yeast

DIRECTIONS

Prepare must: Wash the ginger root,

I have always been amazed at how often this wine has placed well in competitions, including my own. The secret, I believe, is because it is just a good wine. Whether made for cooking, blending or drinking, the result is the same.

Ginger wine can be enjoyed in its own right or used as a blend to give life and interest to wines that would oth-

grate it (it makes no difference if you peel the root or not, but I suggest you do not), and put in a jelly bag with 4–5 sanitized glass marbles for weight, tie closed, and put in primary. Put all other ingredients, including 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, except yeast in primary and stir well to dissolve thoroughly. Cover primary and set aside for 12 hours.

Add yeast: To 1 cup warm water (not to exceed 102 °F/39 °C) add a pinch of yeast nutrient, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add yeast to water, stir, and cover mixture for 30 minutes. Add mixture to primary, stir, and cover primary.

Fermentation: Gently squeeze bag twice daily until SG drops to 1.020, or lower if the fermentation is still vigorous. Remove the bag and squeeze firmly. Add drippings to primary and discard ginger root. Transfer to secondary, stir well and affix airlock.

Post-Fermentation: Move wine to a dark place for 30 days and carefully rack. Repeat until absolute dryness and wine clears (2–3 months). If clarity is not pristine, add a small amount of amylase and wait 6 hours. If haze per-

erwise lack them, especially herbal, grain, and vegetable wines. As a separate wine, it should be stabilized and sweetened to a specific gravity of no more than 1.008 (2% residual sugar). It goes well unchilled on a cold day, being both pleasant and warming. On warmer days, it should be served chilled as it offers an inner warmth without warming the outside.

sists, add 1⁄4 teaspoon pectic enzyme. A second addition may be required. Wait 12 hours and add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite and 1⁄2 teaspoon dissolved potassium sorbate. Add two-part fining only if needed, wait four days, and carefully rack. Sweeten to taste or to balance. If sweetened, wait 30 days to ensure no renewed fermentation and carefully rack into bottles. Allow to age three months before tasting but will improve in 6 months.

Options: To add body, add one or two very ripe bananas, cut crosswise into 1⁄2-inch (1.3-cm) slices, before pitching yeast. For ease of removal, place it in a separate straining bag.

When sweetening at the end, try using premium honey. At the end of the final 30-day wait period (after stabilization), carefully check to see if pollen has precipitated out of the honey. Do not disturb any fine lees when bottling. If in doubt, rack again, wait three days and then bottle. If you prefer to avoid using honey when sweetening at the end, use Demerara sugar or Sugar In The Raw instead.

Similar spice: None.

Tomato Wine

Tomatoes were domesticated by the Aztec and Inca civilizations, and imported to Europe, where they were used in cooking long before they were used in the thirteen colonies. In the colonies, they were introduced via the Spanish colony of Florida into Georgia and then South Carolina, where it was especially appreciated. It is believed that tomato wine followed that same route. In the other colonies, however, there

JACK’S TIP

ON ITS OWN, tomato wine is thin and has little to recommend it other than its unique taste. Grape juice concentrate helps the wine tremendously with body and tends to normalize its taste.

TOMATO WINE RECIPE

Wine Is Ready In: 12 months

You’ll Need: 4 pounds (1.8 kg) tomatoes, 1 can frozen 100 percent white grape juice concentrate

Additional Equipment: 1 nylon straining bag

Makes: 1 gallon (3.8 L), but can be scaled up

INGREDIENTS

4 lbs. (1.8 kg) ripe tomatoes, mixed varieties favored

1 can 100 percent white grape juice

frozen concentrate, thawed

1 lb. 10 oz. (0.74 kg) Demerara sugar or Sugar In The Raw

1⁄4 tsp. grape tannin powder

1 tsp. powdered pectic enzyme

Water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L)

Potassium metabisulfite, as needed

1⁄2 tsp. potassium sorbate

11⁄2 tsp. (5 g) yeast nutrient

Red Star Côte des Blancs yeast

DIRECTIONS

Prepare must: Put 2 quarts (1.9 L) of water on to boil. When boiling, remove from heat and dissolve sugar thoroughly. Meanwhile, wash tomatoes and cut into chunks, discarding any bruised or insect-scarred parts. Put tomatoes and any juice from cutting into a nylon

was a strong initial aversion to eating tomatoes thanks to the spread of many misconceptions about the plant.

When the idea of tomato wine is first expressed to a group, the reaction is always very mixed. For some, the initial reaction is “Yuck!” But the usual reaction is surprise, as in “Who’d have thunk it?!” There is also a lingering curiosity as to its taste. Let me assure you, it is nothing

straining bag in the primary. Tie closed and mash the tomatoes. Pour grape concentrate over tomatoes and hot sugar-water over that. Add water to make 1 gallon (3.8 L) total, add tannin and yeast nutrient. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite and stir well. Cover the primary and wait 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stirring until completely dissolved. Cover primary and set aside 12 hours.

Add yeast: To 1 cup warm water (not to exceed 102 °F/39 °C) add a pinch of yeast nutrient, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add yeast to water, stir, and cover mixture for 30 minutes. Add mixture to primary, stir, and cover primary.

Fermentation: Submerge bag several times a day (do not squeeze) for 7 days. Remove the bag and suspend over the primary 1 hour (do not squeeze). Discard tomatoes and transfer liquid to secondary, leaving sediments behind. Do not top-up but affix airlock.

Post-Fermentation: Set aside in a dark place for 60 days. Carefully rack and affix airlock. Return to dark, and repeat every 60 days until wine clears. Carefully rack, add an additional 1⁄2 teaspoon pectic enzyme, stir well, top-up,

like you might expect.

When entered in competitions, well-made tomato wines tend to do fairly well. Having judged many of these wines, I have never hesitated to revel in the skill with which they are made. I have talked to many of these winemakers and have concluded that no one variety of tomato is favored, but rather the best wines tend to have 2–3 varieties in their pedigree, including cherry and heirloom.

affix airlock, and return to dark for 60 days. Add 0.2 g potassium metabisulfite, 1⁄2 teaspoon dissolved potassium sorbate, and stir well. Check pH and correct it if necessary. Sweeten to taste or to balance, wait 30 days to ensure no renewed fermentation and carefully rack into bottles. Do not consume for a year. Serve chilled.

Options: Add 1 jalapeño, halved lengthwise and de-seeded, then cut into thin strips, to nylon straining bag.

Tomato wine blends well with a spice or herbal wine, such as rosemary, tarragon, ginger, or a chili wine such as jalapeño.

Serve with a dash or two of hot sauce, stirred.

As with all novelty wines, because tasting can consume all of your wine, it is wise to bottle four 187-mL splits to use for that purpose. Similar fruit: None.

Text excerpted from Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine © 2021 by Jack B. Keller, Jr. Used with permission from Adventure Publications. Text edited for length and metric equivalents added by WineMaker. Jack wrote many articles for WineMaker over the past two decades on making wine from all sorts of fruits. He passed away in September 2020.

SPRUCING UP WINES THAT LACK CHARACTER

by Maureen Macdonald

s one progresses in their winemaking hobby, they often learn two things: No two wines are exactly the same and very few wines are perfect from the time the juice is pressed on through post-fermentation. This is where the art, scientific skill, and patience of winemaking really have an opportunity to shine.

After fermentation is complete — both primary alcoholic and secondary malolactic, if desired — the wine is racked a few times o of gross and secondary lees. The bulk maturation process begins in the winemaker’s vessel of choice; either barrel, stainless tank, glass vessel, etc. A few patient months of aging pass and of course curiosity often gets to us: How does it taste? How often have we tasted a wine, and while it is not faulted or flawed, it just isn’t quite right? Either it’s lacking in a desired characteristic such as fruity aroma and flavor, body, color, or it perhaps has too much of a quality such as tannin or astringency. This is an opportunity for the winemaker to really exercise patience, knowledge, and their creative problem solving.

Many issues can either be prevented or amended. There is no better safeguard for your wine in process or aging than high standards of cleanliness and sanitation. Along with sanitizing the wine vessels and processing equipment, ensuring that seals and airlocks are secure and properly filled should be reviewed on a weekly basis.

Proper sanitation practices and SO2 management are the most critical factors in winemaking success and are often covered in any winemaking “basics” articles. Instead, in this article, we will turn our focus to the more detailed techniques used for improving individual characteristics of our wines.

COLOR

As wine ages, we will often observe fluctuations in its pigmentation. Anthocyanins are the compounds within wine that contribute its color. In red wines, they are responsible for the red to purple pigments that we see making up our wine’s appearance. During fermentation, the anthocyanins polymerize with tannin compounds, helping “lock” each other into the wine; the tannin helps to retain color and the color anthocyanins help to retain tannin content. Adding additional oak tannin at the fermentation step can help lock in many anthocyanins and retain excellent color. If this step is omitted, the winemaker may see a lightening of color as the wine ages, as the anthocyanins will bond with other compounds in the wine and can fall out in some of the precipitate, eventually lost in a racking. I have seen this happen to home winemakers, specifically in the more color-sensitive varieties of Sangiovese, Zinfandel, and even Cabernet Sauvignon, due to the higher levels of the red anthocyanins, such as malvin.

For this loss of pigment, there can be two ways to remediate it post-fermentation. The winemaker can either blend in a darker varietal such as Petite Sirah or Petit Verdot, or they can use a product called Grape Skin Extract (GSE). GSE is made of dehydrated, pulverized, concentrated, and then reconstituted grape skins. Applied in milliliters per liter, this highly concentrated, natural pigment will add color to a wine. A very small amount will contribute deep purple pigments, darkening a wine’s hue and helping to contribute to its opacity.

CLARITY

Another issue that is all too common in a young wine is lack of clarity. As the wine ages, lees will flocculate to the bottom of the vessel and form a layer of sediment that the wine will be racked o of. But after about six months of aging, if the wine has not begun to approach any form of clarity (in a white) or has visible suspended solids (in a red), the winemaker may feel at a loss. The winemaker can take one of two major routes to help assist in clarification: Filtering or fining. Both routes are highly e cient ways to clarify a wine and both can have some minor deleterious e ects upon the sensory qualities of the wine.

With both red and white wines, before filtering is considered, I often like to try a bench trial of a few products to see if they help with clarification. Sometimes hazes are

caused by excess pectin in a wine or higher levels of colloids. Filtering enzymes can help to break down some of these colloidal bonds into smaller structures, either allowing for precipitation to form or will greatly ease filtering later and prevent clogging of the filter media. KS enzyme from Scott Labs has been very successful in my own winemaking as a prefiltration enzyme to help break down colloidal bonds and to help retain color while filtering.

For stubborn haze in white and rosé wines, consider conducting bench trials with bentonite. Bentonite is negatively charged clay derived from montmorillonite. When bentonite is hydrated in water and then mixed into wine it is highly effective at clearing excess proteins from the wine, both clearing up hazy residue and preventing new proteinaceous hazes from forming later in the aging process. Bentonite should not be used on red wines as it can strip out color in its clarification process.

I have occasionally witnessed suspended solids in the wine that look like shining swirls when viewed in clear glass during the red wine maturation process. In my experience, aging alone will not remove these solids and they can easily clog filtration media. They are caused by both positive and negatively charged sediments repelling off of one another and therefore causing each other to stay suspended due to their molecular charge activity. A double fining treatment is necessary to remove both the positive and negatively charged solids and have them flocculate and settle to the bottom of the vessel. Chitosan and kieselsol provide the double fining needed with very gentle results. This treatment can also be used on white and rosé wine with gentle results. If there is concern over potential allergens contributed by the shellfish ingredients often used in chitosan, there are producers who make chitosan products using Aspergillus niger fungal growth in place of shellfish, or gelatin can also be used with kieselsol. Gelatin can bind with excess tannin in the wine, therefore altering its flavor, so bench trials must be con-

ducted to evaluate its overall effects on the wine, not just clarification.

LACK OF AROMA

When that critical time comes, when the winemaker’s curiosity gets the best of them and they simply must try the young wine, they will draw out a sample and put it in a glass. A swirl, a sniff, and then sometimes not a whole lot greets their nose when it meets their glass. While I often consider aroma to fall on a wave-like curve as a wine matures; the aroma sometimes fading slightly and then bouncing back with new exciting smells, a wine can easily lack aroma as it matures. If a wine is fermented at very high temperatures some of the esters will volatilize and “burn off” as the wine ferments. Fermentation temperatures can easily skyrocket in a fervent ferment. Without the assistance of cooling jacketed tanks, inserted cooling devices, or moving the warm must to a cooler area to continue its fermentation, wine aromas can suffer greatly from these hot fermentations, and often are lost before the winemaker even realizes.

Luckily, there are a few options that can help to bring back this lost aroma or add to it. Blending is always a good option for adding a desired characteristic to wine. If you have another wine in your cellar that has a much more fruit-forward nose, consider adding a small portion of it to the wine that is lacking. Sometimes a 10–20% addition is enough to revive a dull nose. Bench trials are a simple, fun, and hopefully rewarding way to test out some of these improvement methods. Use small samples of each wine to create different percentage blends in sample sizes and discover if this method helps to improve the aroma of the lacking wine.

There are many products that can help to improve aroma quality if the winemaker doesn’t have an appropriate wine for blending. Winemaking supply and research firms have many different tannin options that boast aroma-enhancing attributes. A simple perusal of their catalogs can give you a bevy of options. I will suggest being cautionary to the techni-

cal data sheets of these tannins, and be sure that they are a cellaring and maturation tannin, rather than a fermentation tannin. In this instance of trying to improve aroma quality of the already fermented, young wine, only the former will be of assistance. Some personal favorite products that I have found highly effective and useful for enhancing aromas and flavors of red wine are Enartis’ Unico #2 tannin and BSG’s Liquid Fruit Enhancer Plus tannin. Both may be used in the maturation and aging process. The Unico #2 is tannin derived from the wood of red fruit trees and imparts aromas of cherry, plum, and currants to the red wine. Small doses of even 2–5 grams/ hL can freshen up fruit aromas and also provide enhanced fruit flavors to the wine. The tannin is a fine powder that will need to be suspended in a small amount of water or wine before being mixed in thoroughly to the wine. Again, bench trials are imperative to ensure a good result and not to waste excess product. While some immediate effects may be observed, aging of 6–8 weeks will reveal the tannin’s true contribution and potential.

BSG’s Liquid Fruit Enhancer Plus is liquid tannin that is applied in milliliters per liter and can provide instant results. It contributes big aromas of blackberry, currant, and plum to the red wine upon application. The results are immediate, although better integration will come with time. This product is incredibly handy if you are getting close to bottling time and can’t afford the time to allow powdered tannin to work its magic.

Another, more traditional way to improve aroma is the use of oak. The winemaker can choose from an array of oaks in different species, toasts, and physical forms to enhance their wine. The oak will contribute to the bouquet complexity and can revive an aroma overall with its contribution. Bench trials with numerous different toast levels of different oaks or a medley of different oaks can give the winemaker a lot of great inspiration as to how to improve their wine overall. Neutral oak can also help to improve fresh fruit notes in a dull wine.

BITTERNESS/ASTRINGENCY

Now that we have covered ways to improve appearance and aroma of wine, onto discussing improvements on the taste. Sometimes in our early maturation tastings, we will be greeted with some off-putting bitter or astringent flavors. These flavors may coincide with aggressive, grippy tannins that negatively impact mouthfeel. There are quite a few products and fining agents that are easy to use and will successfully diminish bitter off-flavors and coarse tannins in young wine. Noblesse is a non-allergenic, yeast-derived product that can greatly help in reducing bitterness and the “heat” associated with the flavors perceived from high alcohol. It can be used on white, rosé, or red wines. Typical application rate is 0.3 grams per liter. Mix it into a 10% suspended solution before adding to the wine. Mix very well with the entire volume of treated wine. Allow to settle for two weeks and rack or coarse filter off of the remaining sediment. Bitter flavors will be removed and the wine will have less astringency. Fresh fruit flavors are often able to shine through after removing the bitter flavors. I have used this with great success on many wines and have not noticed a significant decrease in perceived color or aroma.

Another way to relieve aggressive, bitter flavors contributed more specifically by tannins is to use a gelatin-based fining agent. Gelatin can be sourced in granule or liquid form. Gelatin works well with a compaction agent such as silica gel. Granular gelatin should be dissolved according to its particular manufacturer’s specifications. There are different Bloom strengths of gelatin and the lowest Bloom strength required to still be effective should be used. I prefer to use 100 Bloom granular gelatins as it is gentler on the wine. Bloom strength will have a great effect on the application rate, so manufacturer’s directions are critical. An added benefit of using gelatin in conjunction with silica gel, aside from the added compaction of the lees, is the reduction in the risk of over fining. This will reduce the risk of loss of color and aroma. Bench

trials should always be conducted prior to application to ensure that there is not detrimental color or flavor loss, often by using too much or too strong of a Bloom strength. The liquid preparations of gelatin provide very gentle results on the organoleptic qualities of the wines.

OXIDATION

As many home winemakers have discovered, life gets busy and sometimes causes us to not visit and check in on our wines as often as we intend to. Sometimes we can have an accident and seals deflate on tanks, airlocks are knocked over or allowed to dry out, or barrels are not topped off. Each of these will lead to oxidation. While major oxidation cannot really be repaired, very slight oxidation can sometimes be repaired or tastefully covered up. There is not a specific amount of time or circumstance that one can pinpoint as a critical tipping point in oxidation and its potential for recovery. If the wine has only suffered slightly and perhaps lacks bright aroma and flavor, there are quite a few opportunities for rejuvenation. Sulfur dioxide concentration is a critical factor for a wine that has been exposed excessively to oxygen. If testing is available, a free sulfur dioxide concentration should be taken and the wine should be dosed appropriately based upon its pH factor. It will be worthwhile to recheck after two weeks as the free sulfur dioxide will quickly bind to the oxygen and the level will drop. Another dose will likely have to be administered.

Further treatments can be evaluated in bench trials to discover their potential for rejuvenating the wine once the free SO2 level has stabilized. A compound known as polyvinylpolypyrrolidone, or PVPP, has excellent potential ability to remove some negative oxidative effects. There are various formulations of PVPP, so always be sure to follow the manufacturer’s specific instructions for rehydration. PVPP is an incredibly fine powder, giving it a high surface area that allows it to work quickly in the wine. It will precipitate to the bottom over two weeks, but the wine will have to

be filtered to 2 microns to properly remove all of the PVPP from its suspension. PVPP can remove some mild brown color tones that are imparted to white wine that has been mildly oxidized. It can really revive aromas and bring back a fresh fruit character to them. While it cannot reverse major damage, it can give a damaged wine its best fighting chance at redemption.

There are other means to refresh a wine that has been damaged due to oxygen contact. Often the aroma compounds volatilize in this process and many are lost. After prolonged oxygen exposure the fragrance of a wine can lack fruit and smell of dried fruit rather than fresh. I would always suggest using PVPP as a first attempt to try and remove the unwanted aromas before administering any other treatments that may cover up smells from oxidation. Using oak to help to regenerate an aroma can be a success. Neutral oak often helps to amplify the perception of fresh fruit with a wine and can contribute mild cedar or floral characters. It can be very helpful in pepping up the aroma and flavors of a white wine. Of course traditional toasted oak can also help to mask some of the oxidized characters of a white or red wine and can help to contribute positive bouquet and flavor elements. Small samples of oak chips can be obtained from barrel and chip manufacturers to help conduct an array of bench trials to evaluate possible remediation.

Fermentation is one of the more exciting and active parts of winemaking; the maturation process is a time of diligence and critical observation. While we always long for each cellaring phase to go smoothly, with the wine consistently improving in quality and complexity, sometimes we are presented with a wine that has some hurdles to overcome on its journey to greatness. With some careful bench trials and the remediation techniques discussed, perhaps some wines will have a better chance at success. Herein lies the relationship of art and science in winemaking: Applied skill marries thoughtful creativity, crafting a delicious glass of wine.

BENEFITTING FROM AGING ON THE LEES

by Alex Russan

Photo by Daniel Pambianchi

There’s a lot one can do with lees! Lees can add aromatic complexity, soften tannins, enrich mouthfeel, protect your wine from oxygen, feed malolactic bacteria, and add long-term stability. They’re prized, especially in sparkling wines, to add bready, yeasty, nutty aromas, and in wines around the world to add weight and richness. There are lots of ways and points in time during the winemaking process that lees can be utilized. They don’t come without their risks, but these are minimal, especially if managed properly. Aside from what they can do, they’re a lot of fun to work with, and are a unique “additive” to winemaking, in that they actually come from the wine itself!

LIFE CYCLE OF LEES

Lees are dead yeast (and to a lesser extent bacteria) cells. Yeast cells ferment your wine, die at some point, and eventually settle to the bottom of your wine vessel as fermentation slows. Once a wine has fermented, what settles out of it is known as the gross lees, and includes these dead cells, as well as grape bits, bugs, dirt from grape surfaces, tartrate crystals, and whatever other solids made it into the fermentation. As we’ll discuss, gross lees can be refined into fine lees, which are mostly just the dead cell bodies. Wines aged “sur lie” or “on the lees” typically refer to wines aged on just the fine lees, however some adventurous winemakers choose to age on the gross lees.

Inside of the dead yeast cells are compounds called mannoproteins. These mannoproteins are what add aroma, add mouthfeel, coat tannins, and provide other benefits. However, it takes time

for the lees to release the mannoproteins. Lees do very little in their first six months or so in a wine to directly affect wine character. In this early period, they scavenge oxygen and can be a food source for malolactic (ML) bacteria. Their oxygen scavenging can be helpful in whites, rosés, and lighter reds, warding off and delaying oxidation, though may not be ideal in this early period for structured, tannic reds (more on this later in “Lees and Red Wines”).

Things start to get more interesting at the six-month point, when the membrane of the dead yeast cells — forgive my graphic imagery here — begins to decay in your wine, slowly and increasingly releasing their guts (mannoproteins) into the wine until they rupture, spilling more mannoproteins into the wine. This rupture, known as autolysis, begins at around a year, though can be sped up some through bâttonage (lees stirring) and warmer temperatures. The longer the wine is aged on the lees, the more of an impact the lees will have on that wine’s character.

DO I WANT TO USE LEES?

Before getting into all things lees, make sure they’re something you want influencing your wine. Do their effects fit with your stylistic goals? I worked with them for many years, as they’re so interesting, but realized that while I wanted the potential for increased longevity and stability they offer wines, they often didn’t make sense for what I wanted stylistically, which is leaner, lighter wines. If you are looking to make fuller, rounder wines, they probably make sense to use. There are other stylistic factors to consider, of course (their effect on diacetyl levels, for example), as well as practical ones (lees as nutrients for malolactic bacteria).

KEEPING LEES HAPPY

Like oxygen, if not tended to, especially early on, lees are prone to cause reduction (hydrogen sulfide production). Healthy lees smell great, yeasty, bready, floral, or fruity (I had lees once that smelled just like fresh mango). Bâttonage is not inherently

necessary, but it’s a good idea, especially for the first few months of aging. Bâttonage suspends the lees into the wine, giving them access to some oxygen (which the bâttonage itself introduces), and doesn’t allow them to compress under their own weight, which encourages reduction, and is the primary risk in lees aging.

A safe regimen would be bâttonage every couple weeks for the first few months of aging. If aging in barrels, kill two birds with one stone: Doing bâttonage before topping can save you the need to remove a little wine to make space for the lees stirrer, and minimizes how many times you open the barrels. Every couple weeks is usually enough to keep lees from reducing, and also coincides with malolactic fermentation, if you’re carrying it out. More frequent (and vigorous) bâttonage encourages earlier autolysis, and thus speeds up access to the direct effects of lees mentioned earlier.

Bâttonage (baton is the French word for stick, which was traditionally used) is usually done today with a stainless steel rod with an oblong, loose flipper attached to one end. Some winemakers use golfing putters, which I’ve heard are gentler on the inside of barrels. However, anything long enough to reach the bottom of your vessel, rigid enough to stir with, and that has the ability to

be sanitized will work; for carboys, I’ve used the hard plastic racking wand. The goal is simply suspending the lees: Just insert the instrument of your choice into the vessel and stir long enough to suspend the lees — it’s easiest in carboys as you can see when they reach the top.

A trick with carboys: You can gently angle the carboy to one side and roll it circularly on its base to whisk lees into suspension, thereby avoiding opening the carboy to stir, introducing oxygen and dealing with sanitization, etc. It’s not as effective as stirring, but saves a lot of hassle. Be extremely careful if doing this — carboys are delicate, their glass thick, and breaking one can lead to serious injury. If a carboy falls or breaks, do not try to catch or save it. This is best done slowly and gently on a soft surface, like carpet or mat.

SEPARATING THE FINE FROM THE GROSS LEES

As mentioned, some winemakers do like to age on the gross lees, and this can lead to interesting, reductive, funky aromas, but it also ups the risk of winding up with too much reduction or introducing spoilage bacteria that may be on grape bits and lees themselves. Thankfully, separating the gross from the fine lees is simple. After fermentation has stopped and the lees have settled, stir everything

When a wine settles the gross lees will fall from suspension first (dark layer on the bottom) and then the fine lees (lighter layer on top of the gross lees).

Photo by Alex Russan

vigorously to suspend them in the wine. Wait 24 hours for the heavier stuff (gross lees) to settle to the bottom of your vessel, then rack. The fine lees take days to settle, so the cloudy, leesy wine you rack will contain just the fine lees.

If you want to get rid of your fine lees too, either right after fermentation, or at any point during aging, simply let them settle for five or so days after fermentation has stopped or your last stirring and rack the clear wine off of them. If your wine is clear (i.e. not opaque from being full of suspended lees — obviously easier to gauge with whites), you’ll carry over little or none of what is in the originating vessel. It’s best to move vessels as little as possible prior to this racking, as movement disturbs and suspends lees. For reds after pressing where I don’t want to use lees, I usually let the wine settle for two days before racking to barrel, and months later when I rack I usually have very little in the way of lees.

LEES AND ML

Lees do cool things when it comes to malolactic fermentation; they can provide nutrients for the malolactic bacteria to feed on, which is especially helpful if you choose not to use commercial nutrients. Another benefit is lees scavenge oxygen and ML bacteria also prefer reductive environments. As mentioned, early bâttonage is good to keep the lees from reducing, but it also suspends them, allowing them to disperse these nutrients and scavenge oxygen in the full mass of wine, not just at the bottom of the vessel. Bâttonage does introduce some oxygen, so it may be a bit of a wash at the end of the day, but, especially so early in a wine’s life, some oxygen isn’t going to do any damage.

LEES AND DIACETYL

The increased mouthfeel from lees aging might be desirable to winemakers who are also interested in diacetyl’s buttery character, commonly sought in certain styles of Chardonnay. However, the buttery characteristic is actually diminished by lees aging (and many of the world’s most

revered Chardonnays are left on the lees for extended periods until it is time to bottle). Diacetyl is produced from ML bacteria as a byproduct of their activity. Different ML strains produce different amounts. Lees aging diminishes what’s produced. If you want to age on the lees and want that buttery character, choose a high diacetyl producing strain like EnartisML MCW or Scott Lab’s Beta and PN4, and hope you don’t lose too much during lees aging. Also, inoculate for ML after alcoholic fermentation is over, as active yeast eat diacetyl. Conversely, one way of lowering diacetyl levels is to age on the lees, as well as inoculating for ML a couple days into alcoholic fermentation with a low diacetyl producer, like VP41 or O-Mega.

LEES AND STABILITY

Lees aging discourages protein colloids (protein haze) from forming when a wine is exposed to heat. It also discourages tartrate crystals from forming. This adds a degree of protection against these happening, especially if you choose to skip fining or cold stabilizing. This doesn’t

mean that lees aging nullifies the need to do these if you want to ensure a clear, tartrate crystal-free wine, but helps some.

It’s somewhat theoretical, but lees aging is associated with wine longevity. The thought is that compounds from the lees in a wine, over the years in bottle, sacrificially oxidize in place of the wine itself. This may lead to the wine having a longer life, during which it can evolve more than it may have without lees aging.

LEES AND RED WINES

Although usually associated with white wines, lees can be beneficial in red wine production too. They can increase mouthfeel as well as coat and soften harsh tannins. However, timing is critical! Early in a red wine’s life — especially a structured red wine (high tannins and color) — lees can cause problems in two ways. They consume oxygen, which suppresses color/tannin polymerization, and thus may lead to less than ideal polymers. Lees also adsorb monomeric (unbound) color, creating a smaller pool of anthocyanins to bond with tannins. Both of these factors can

Lees being stored in a carboy topped up with wine: (Left) prior to stirring, (right) after stirring.

Photo by Alex Russan

lead to longer tannin/color polymers, which (though contrary to common lore) increase astringency, make wines less soft, and may shorten the life of your red wine.

So, how do you avoid these drawbacks and still reap the benefits? Simply remove the lees after fermentation and put them back once most of your polymerization has completed. Once color has bound with tannin, it is safe, and the lees can’t adsorb them any longer. Rack your wine off the fine lees (as described earlier), but instead of throwing the lees out, scoop them in a carboy and top with wine to fill the container. Lees, because they eat so much oxygen, are very stable (more so than wine), so storing them is no problem — just be sure to stir them every week or so to avoid compacting/reducing. If they do reduce and get stinky, don’t use them.1 The carboy tilted rolling trick won’t work here, as lees are so thick that removing the bung and stirring will be necessary.

How do you know when it’s time to put them back in? A safe bet is to add them back after about six months, but you can play it safe by testing to see if your color has polymerized/stabilized. Little monomeric color is visible at wine pH (for example, 25% is visible at 3.7 pH), however by lowering the pH we can see it all. Take two small samples of your wine in clear glasses, add 10% sulfuric acid into one of the samples (i.e., if you have a 50 mL sample, add 5 mL of sulfuric acid). Compare the rim (meniscus) of the two samples for color density. Soon after fermentation, the acidified sample should show more color density. Try this again at six months, if most color has polymerized, there will be a negligible difference between the two samples. Note: The acidified sample will change hue, getting brighter or pinker, ignore this, as we are only concerned with color density for this test.

Once you add the lees back in you can do bâttonage from time-to-time to help them integrate into the wine. In fact, in Postmodern Winemaking, Clark Smith states: “In big wines, this process may actually allow the wine to

take up the entire mass of fine lees after two or three years in barrel.” Smith also cautions that it’s important that lees “be matched to the wine involved, as Cabernet lees will ruin a Pinot, while Pinot lees will deplete a Cab.”

LEES FROM LAST YEAR

After you rack off the lees to bottle, you don’t have to throw away your beloved lees! You can keep them for use in your following vintage. Lees can be stored as described earlier and then added to the following vintage after fermentation. The previous vintage’s lees will already be in the process of autolyzing, so this is a shortcut to lees character allowing you to skip waiting for the new vintage’s lees to autolyze. This way you can bottle earlier if you want, with lees character — you can have your lees and drink them too! Similarly, but in the opposite direction, if aging older vintages that are “drying out . . . lees from the current vintage can prove useful for freshening and softening older wines on the verge of collapse.”1

WHEN TO SKIP THE LEES

You can see there are a lot of reasons and ways to use lees, but when might you want to skip or get rid of them? They may simply not fit your stylistic goals. If you want a lighter, leaner white wine, you’d want to remove them by around six months, which is when they will start to leak mannoproteins and begin to fatten up the wine. Before that, you may want them around to help scavenge oxygen and maintain a reductive environment, especially if working with low SO2, or to feed ML bugs.

Microbes can latch onto lees cells — including spoilage microbes — so, especially if fermenting spontaneously and/or working with low SO2, where you likely have a larger population of more diverse microbes, keeping the lees adds an additional risk factor. Thousands of wineries do this

with no problem, but it does add a degree of risk. So, if fermenting spontaneously and/or working with low SO2, this is one more reason to taste regularly and, if you want to be extra safe, monitor bacterial populations with a microscope from time-to-time to catch lactic acid bacteria problems as early as possible.

If you are aging your wine on the lees and it starts to taste overtly or increasingly reductive (like hydrogen sulfide, stinky, metallic, oniony, or fecal) you want to rack off the lees and get rid of them. The racking should dissipate some, or all, of the reductive aromas (unless they’re turned into dimercaptans) and if the lees were the problem, removing them avoids increasing reductive character.

Lees are an extremely versatile tool in a winemaker’s toolbox; in fact, I’m hard pressed to think of anything else in the winery that can serve so many purposes. Depending on your stylistic goals, the benefits of use may be many, and the risks quite low. Whether inspired by Champagne or Muscadet, round, soft reds, or by the more theoretical longevity-related aspects, lees can help you achieve many goals.

REFERENCES:

1 Smith, Clark. Postmodern Winemaking. 2014. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

Photo by Alex Russan

Lees can be collected and stored for later use, which is particularly useful in red wines where you don’t want the wine on the lees early in the wine’s life during color/tannin polymerization.

GROWING PAINS

Aging and packaging big batches

If you make your wine in one or just a few 5- or 6-gallon (19- or 23-L) carboys, “bulk” aging is not a big problem. As they rest for a few months, those carboys can be under a workbench in the garage, inside a little-used closet, or even under the kitchen sink. When it comes time to bottle, you can lift the carboy onto a countertop and bottle by gravity using a racking cane and bottle filler wand.

Many home winemakers have bigger dreams, though. Some are even building their skills and experience toward going pro and moving from a few cases per year to a thousand or more. They may want to see the family name on the labels and send wine out to buyers all over the country. If you find yourself moving up from 5 gallons (19 L) toward 200 gallons (760 L), everything about your hobby is likely to change. At that U.S. legal limit for home winemaking (with two or more adults in the household), you will find yourself bulk-aging a volume greater than three standard wine barrels and bottling on the order of 1,000 bottles or 84 cases. The storage space under the sink won’t work anymore and a spare closet is not going to act as a case-goods wine cellar.

Beyond using makeshift space around the house or garage for a carboy or two, you will need to address facility requirements when you move into a mid-range production of perhaps 50 gallons (189 L) per year. A major consideration is that you need to leave aging containers in place for at least a few months for white wines and up to a year or more for reds. That 50+ gallons (189+ L) may represent ten 5-gallon (19-L) or eight 6-gallon (23-L) carboys, four 14-gallon (53-L)

demijohns, or one or two barrels in the 30- to 60-gallon (114- to 227-L) range. Even in the garage, that kind of months-long storage will get in your way if you don’t have a dedicated space. A small room partitioned off in a garage or basement or a small freestanding shed or outbuilding is ideal at about this size of winery for storage and then bottling. If you move up toward the maximum legal limit or contemplate going pro, you will need more space than that. A large room and entire garage, or a medium-size outbuilding is going to be needed. My own wine building at 13 ft. x 17 ft. (4 m x 5 m) easily accommodates my usual annual production of about 60 to 100 gallons (227 to 379 L).

Some years, though, my wife and I have purchased enough grapes and brought in a good enough crop in the home vineyard to go over that level and then I find the space crowded and less efficient to work in. For instance, the room that is my year-round cooled wine cellar is 5 ft. x 9 ft. (1.5 m x 2.7 m) and has 1-ft. (0.3-m) deep wine racks along both long walls. The floor of the aisle that is left in the middle can accept two of the 1-hectoliter (100-L, 26-gallon) barrels that I use when barrel aging. If I need to use my third barrel, and for any carboys and demijohns of additional wine, I have to put those outside of the 55 °F (13 °C) temperature-controlled room. My typical solution is to put inert vessels (glass or PET plastic) in the adjacent room, store them through the winter, and then bottle in the spring before weather in my area warms up too much. Having one wall shared with the cooled space — and with heavy insulation — the room stays reasonably cool and constant, but it is less

BY BOB PEAK

Having the ability to move loaded pallets around transitions from a convenience to a necessity as your wine production grows.

The storage space under the sink won’t work anymore and a spare closet is not going to act as a case-goods wine cellar.

Photo by Blue Balls Wine Co.

desirable than a true temperature-controlled space like found in my wine cellar. It is not too often that you will run into a winemaker complaining about having too much space in their winery.

When it comes time to bottle your wine, larger volumes make further demands on your facilities. While the bulk wine to be bottled is occupying its space, you need to have enough room nearby to rack it one more time off of the final sediment before you bottle. If you are going to filter, you need that space as well. While I have had no problem coming up with those spaces in my little winery, I was surprised by another demand the first time I made more wine than usual: I needed twice the bottle space. That is, after identifying a space to stack the filled cases, I realized I needed an equal space for the cases of empty bottles just before filling. I typically buy new bottles rather than reusing, so I wait until just before my bottling date to bring them home. I prefer to stack them in the third room of my winery, but if I am short on space I will stack them temporarily outside in the shade — I don’t want to fill my wine into warm bottles. So keep in mind that on bottling day the

bulk wine has to go from here to there, and the cases of bottles do, too.

Equipment needs in this arena step up with winery size also. At mid-range and larger you will probably need a pump to move your wine in bulk storage. I can easily move my hectoliter barrels by hand when empty, but not when they are full. That means that when I rack the wine during aging, I pump it into my 200-L (53-gal.) stainless steel tank. After rinsing the barrel, it is time for the pump again to move the wine back for further aging. While you can lift up a carboy or even a demijohn to bottle by gravity, that isn’t easy with a barrel. One solution I have found for bottling larger batches is to place my empty tank on a hydraulic ATV lift, like those sold for lifting ATVs or motorcycles for service or oil changes. I can pump from a barrel or carboys into the tank in the lowered position then raise it up about 19 inches (0.48 m) to fill bottles by gravity on the floor. With a 1,500-lb. (680-kg) capacity, the lift more than handles the 200-L (53-gal.) tank that would weigh just over 450 lbs. (200 kg) completely full. Other alternatives include using a bottling system with a built-in pump, pumping up

If you instead wash and reuse bottles, make sure you have planned enough space in your winery to accumulate a pallet’s worth of cases if you want to bottle in those volumes.

Wine storage can become a major problem if you are not properly prepared. When designing a wine cellar/storage, make sure to account for growth — especially for bulk aging and bottles (filled and empty) — because having extra storage room is rarely seen as a problem by any winemaker.

to a PET carboy on a raised platform and bottling out of that by gravity, or using a combined vacuum-driven filter and bottler. One way or another, some mechanical equipment is going to be needed.

Cellaring supplies are typically not very bulky and you probably won’t notice much change up to about 200 gallons (760 L). Sulfite additions, finishing tannins, or backsweetening sugars will still be in compact packages. Corks take up a bit more space, but you are still only dealing with grocery-bag size quantities. The bottles themselves, though, are another matter. At 200 gal. (760 L), you need just over 1,000 750-mL bottles or about 84 cases. Since wine bottles are handled at wholesale in pallets of about 90 cases, you can envision the size of bottle handling capability you will need. If you live in an area with commercial wineries, your local home winemaking supplier may deal in pallets of bottles and you might find it cheaper to buy a full pallet rather than by the case. Of course, you need to arrive at the store with a vehicle or trailer that can carry that many bottles home. Easiest is either a pickup truck with sufficient width between the wheel wells for a pallet or a low-bed utility trailer. The pallet will probably be wrapped in plastic, but be prepared to strap or tie it securely so you don’t lose any cases on the drive home.

If you don’t live in such an area and want to use new, matching bottles for your wine, you additionally face shipping costs. It can be quite expensive to ship bottles in quantities of 20 or 30 cases and you may find it economical

to order a full pallet to be shipped by truck. If you do that, keep in mind that you need a way to unload the shipment when it gets to your home winery. If you do not have a forklift (or a forklift attachment for your tractor), try to arrange for the delivery truck to come equipped with a lift gate so you can at least get your pallet of bottles set down in your driveway. From there, a pallet jack is useful for moving the bottles to your bottling space, providing your pavement is smooth and level enough for such a device. If not, you will need to unstick the pallet in the driveway and move a few cases at a time with a dolly or cart. If you instead wash and reuse bottles, make sure you have planned enough space in your winery to accumulate a pallet’s worth of cases if you want to bottle in those volumes.

Finally, consider your labor needs. Throughout the aging period, you probably won’t need much help. Adding sulfites is easy. Racking with a pump is a bit trickier and I like to have one helper for that. You want to control both ends of your hose setup and still be able to turn the pump on and off. For bottling just a carboy or two, you can easily do it yourself in a fairly short time. When you get up to barrelsize batches, you can make very good use of a helper or two. My preferred bottling crew is three or four people: Two filling by gravity and the third, and possibly fourth, corking the bottles and moving the cases. It’s hard work, but dozens of cases can be filled in less than half a day. Then treat your crew to a nice lunch out while your new wine begins working its way through bottle shock.

BACKYARD VINES

BY WES HAGEN

DEAR WES

I asked for questions and you listened!

Afew months back, about 150 home winemakers attended a WineMaker magazine Backyard Vineyard Online Boot Camp I hosted. The Q&A for the event was great and I offered those that attended the opportunity to reach out with pictures and data of their vineyard problems — a one-question bonus consultation for those that attended. I received a number of inquiries and I will share a selection of the questions, answers, and insight in the following pages. I tried to choose the questions that I thought would have the most benefit for anyone growing grapes on a small scale.

But instead of answering 5–6 short questions, I wanted to take two letters I received and give them the time, space, and love they deserve, as I think this kind of narrative understanding will be more helpful to the readership.

FROM KATHY IN VIRGINIA:

Hello and thanks in advance Wes. I had just a couple questions on the topic of my spray program that I wanted to ask after our class yesterday:

1) I have been told not to spray nutrients in the same spray as my fungicides. When do you like to spray the following:

- Borosol (I have heard just before bloom)?

- Utilize

- Megafol

- Elemax CA

- Elemax MG

Wes: Foliar nutrients are easy to apply if they can be “saddled” in with fungicide sprays. Before you do this, make sure they are compatible by looking at the label or asking a professional agronomist, university, or a local agricultural extension office.

Foliar applications are best used between 6–10 in. (15–25 cm) of new

shoot growth, right up to the first appearance of flowers. Zinc can increase fruit set by as much as 10% if sprayed a few weeks before bloom or right when you see the first flower in the vineyard, so watch for cap fall.

It seems that a weekly/10-day fungicide program would give all five of these products a single spray over the 50 days or so between 6-in. (15cm) shoot growth and bloom. I might suggest using a single product, in order, with each spray, and take notes on how the vines respond; correlating weather and rainfall.

Also, use science to determine optimal nutrient status! The moment of greatest nutrient need (NPK, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium being the macronutrients) is at bloom and the best way to determine how close to perfect the vineyard is for said status is to take leaf petiole samples (follow the agricultural lab’s instructions). Take leaves adjacent to flowering clusters. This will show how the vine’s real-time nutrients are impacted at the time of the vine’s greatest need.

2) When is it best to start spraying?

Wes: There is no reason to start applying fungicide until the vine rows show stripes of solid green along the bursting buds. The bud shield needs to open all the way up, and not only do the first leaves need to emerge, there needs to be a growing tip and perhaps a proto-cluster or two. I have included a photo, found on page 51, of where I would apply the first copper/sulfur mix in my family’s vineyard in California’s Santa Barbara County. Also, follow the label instructions exactly; don’t apply at a higher rate or more frequently than the label suggests. If it says 7–10 days between sprays, spray at seven until you have complete control, and then the next year, go to eight days. Pay attention

Zinc can increase fruit set by as much as 10% if sprayed a few weeks before bloom or right when you see the first flower in the vineyard, so watch for cap fall.

Photo courtesy of Kathy Dunn

to the sporulation conditions for your target fungus/rot: (e.g. black rot, powdery mildew, downy mildew, Botrytis, etc.) and make sure you are using a sprayer that is penetrating the outside leaf layers and dousing the fruit and interior of the vines.

3) I have an issue with my leaves seemingly every year (see photo on page 50). It starts with yellowing in late July and ends like the photo shows. I sent them to A&L Crop Solutions for analysis and they were negative for: Grapevine leafroll associated viruses 1,2 and 3, GVB (Grapevine Virus B), fanleaf, and red blotch.

Wes: First, good on you for sending some tissue for lab analysis. Science helps our vineyards thrive and improve, and getting help from professionals should never feel like you’ve failed. It means you want to learn and want to know the truth. Faith does little to improve wine.

Taking out the major viral diseases in grapevines, as you did, I will agree that this is likely environmental marginal foliar necrosis/burn. Looking through all the pictures it is clear that the problem is not systemic, in fact it appears to be ‘patchy’ and focused on areas that might have been sprayed strongly by underpowered equipment (backpack sprayer), and then burned in a summer heat spell. The timing (July) can hint at sulfur toxicity in very hot weather, which can trigger it. You may see about switching from sulfur after bloom (and before hot weather) to a “strobe” or other synthetic fungicide like Rally or Flint, but make sure to rotate the materials, as the mildews and rots can develop a resistance to them. Products like sulfur or copper, or even stylet oil, are elemental by scientific definition, which gives them the benefit of never being resisted by natural selection in the fungus’ mutations.

To recap:

• Start spraying at 4–6 in. (15–25 cm) of average shoot growth after budbreak.

• Use one foliar spray recommended per early spray, and don’t fertilize after set.

• Take petiole samples at bloom for best insight into the

vine’s nutrient status.

• Follow all concentration and interval instructions on label.

• Move to a non-sulfur spray during summer/hot weather/ post-bloom.

• Watch to see if the marginal leaf scorch persists with non-sulfur spray.

Don’t worry too much about hints of red leaves or any type of damage that is just on the margin of the vine or vineyard (under 5%). This happens in many, many vineyards.

FROM MATT AND CARRIE IN CALIFORNIA:

We are in Carmel Valley of California, Cachagua to be more precise. Nearest to us is Tira Nanza (formerly Gilante), Joullian, Marinus (Bernardus), and Massa (formerly Heller) wineries. In 2016 we purchased the property next door to us that had an existing 1-acre hillside vineyard. The vineyard was originally planted in the 90s with Georis Merlot but the vines were neglected for years and thus very sad. In 2017 with the help of a friend, we took out the old vines and planted four blocks, 1,000 vines total, of Syrah from Duarte Nursery.

• Syrah 05 (French 174) (UberVine) / 5BB

• Syrah 07.1 (French 877) (2010P) (UberVine) / 5BB

• Syrah 08 (Durell) (UberVine) / 5BB

• Syrah 10 (UberVine) / 5BB

Right off the bat things did not go well. Our vines arrived much later than expected and we acclimated our new baby vines in too much shade. Then, less than a week after planting, we had one of the hottest spells of the year with temperatures spiking over 100 °F (38 °C) for several days. Then the following February temperatures were in the 90s °F (mid 30s °C) for a week and the babies began bud break. Then less than two weeks later we had a hard freeze with temperatures around 25 °F (-4 °C) in the vineyard. We lost over 600 vines. However we were still committed to making this work. We ordered more vines to replace the ones we lost and started anew last year. Unfortunately the nursery somehow lost our 05 so we are expecting those this year. This time around we did create a small nursery in the beds above the vineyard. We evacuated during the Carmel fire with no time to prepare and when we finally came back our vineyard was without water for about a week during some very hot days.

Wes’ summary after a three-hour site visit: The site is a small production winemaker’s dream, but there’s a lot of work to be done. It’s so much easier to imagine the property, the soil, the weather, aspect, challenges, and advantages of your property now that I’ve seen it firsthand.

Details/Action Items: Vineyard

• Sandy soils, expecting good drainage.

• Excellent frost drainage at bottom.

• Low to mow/medium vigor seen and expected. ~2.5 ft. (0.76 m) average cane growth in 2020.

• Looking to up water and fertilization, especially in struggling vines. Suggestion is a 15-15-15 fertilizer (small hand-

Timing and proper application of your first round of copper/sulfur mix will greatly increase your chances of keeping mold issues at bay as the spores try to gain a foothold in the vine’s young shoots.

Photo courtesy of Wes Hagen

BACKYARD VINES

ful for all vines under emitter two weeks after budbreak), one cup for stunted vines and replants. Second fertilization May 1st.

• Basic water requirements will start at 5–8 gallons/plant/ week (20–30 L/plant/week) depending on heat; less water in cool, more in hot. This can go to 10 gallons/plant/week (38 L/plant/week) in heat spikes or if the vines show water deficit status.

• Replant UberVine right after Mother’s Day, or when frost chances are zero.

• Nursery has about 75 very healthy and consistent replants. These should be planted before they wake up. Dig them up carefully, give the roots a ½-in. (13 mm) trim all around, and plant like an Uber.

• On replants, give each vine a mycorrhizae root dip, and pour a little in the wet hole before putting the vine’s roots into the ground. You may want to talk to local nursery if there’s a type of mycorrhizae more suitable for your area.

• PRUNE! You need to get 25–50 vines pruned every day (33 average) to get the vineyard pruned before April 1st. It would be better to do 60–70 to get it done in two weeks.

• Prune stunted but live vines back to the way the vines looked from the nursery, with just a single spur, or two at most, two buds on pencil thick, one bud on smaller wood.

• Prune for hand’s width between upright, vertical spur positions. If cordon arm is sparse or crooked or wrong, you can lay down a new cane as long as the spacing of the buds looks good and the cane is long enough to make an arm.

• Leave two buds per spur (+1 whorl) on robust spurs, one

bud (plus whorl) on less vigorous spurs.

• CUT THE SPURS AS LOW AS POSSIBLE to keep most upright and vertical spurs. Don’t let spurs creep higher each year.

• Observe, take pictures, and share. Let me know when you see cotton on the pushing buds and when you first see budbreak, etc.

• Continue/start trapping and gassing gophers and squirrels, shooting them, etc. (Be careful of ricochet towards your other house!) If deer pressure persists, let me know. I love venison and have a 30.06 rifle.

CONCLUSION

Answering questions via email (Virginia) can be a challenge, but if I get enough data, location, and pictures it can often work and make reasonable improvements in cultural practice and wine quality. Combining email questions with a remote meeting though ZOOM helps a lot to get on the same page and make an action plan, but still has some limitations. (Am I working the crowd for a trip to new destinations? Well, of course. I’m not stupid.) But, as we can see from the correspondence, the combination of email outreach, ZOOM meetings, and possibly a site visit, really opens my eyes to the weather, soil, total vineyard health, as well as doing one hour+ of pruning demonstration, which can’t be done over a laptop. I hope these examples will give you some ideas about your own grape farming, have taught you something, and if you are ever stuck, do feel free to send some pictures, location, and good beer (or wine!) to me here in California. I’ll answer eventually! whagen@jwilkes.com.

PORTOFINO JUICE & WINE PRODUCTS 9 1-866-513-2982 or 416-740-4411 www.portofinowines.com info@portofinowines.com

WINEMAKER BACK ISSUE BINDERS 7 www.winemakermag.com/shop

3 1-800-823-0010 www.morewine.com info@morewinemaking.com

NAPA FERMENTATION SUPPLIES .... 9 707-255-6372 www.napafermentation.com napafermentation@aol.com NOONTIME LABELS 49 561-699-0413 www.noontimelabels.com customerservice@ noontimelabels.com

PARDO WINE GRAPES 22 813-340-3052 www.pardowinegrapes.com vince@pardowinegrapes.com

PLANTRA, INC. 29 651-686-6688 www.plantra.com info@plantra.com

STOKES VINEYARDS 7 209-327-5552 www.stokesvineyards.com info@stokesvineyards.com

VADAI BARRELS 19 626-289-8250 www.vadaiwinebarrels.com www.vadaibarrels.org vadaiworldtd@sbcglobal.net

VINMETRICA 1 760-494-0597 www.vinmetrica.com info@vinmetrica.com

THE VINTAGE SHOP 12 604-590-1911 www.thevintageshop.ca info@thevintageshop.ca

WALKER’S WINE JUICE 15 716-679-1292 www.walkerswinejuice.com

WATERLOO CONTAINER COMPANY 1 1-888-539-3922 www.waterloocontainer.com

WINEMAKER HARVEST BOOT CAMP ONLINE Cover 3 www.winemakermag.com/ HarvestBootCamp

WINEMAKER STORE 5 802-362-3981 ext. 106 www.winemakermag.com/shop store@winemakermag.com

WINEMAKER’S ANSWER BOOK 29 802-362-3981 ext. 106 www.winemakermag.com/shop

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WYEAST LABORATORIES, INC. 23 Fermentation Cultures: Beer, Wine, Cider www.wyeastlab.com customerservice@wyeastlab.com

XPRESSFILL 15 805-541-0100 www.xpressfill.com

ALABAMA

WERNER’S TRADING COMPANY

1115 Fourth St. SW

Cullman 35055

1-800-965-8796

www.wernerstradingco.com

The Unusual Store.

THE WINE SMITH

6800 A Moffett Rd. (US 98)

Mobile 36618 (251) 645-5554

e-mail: winesmith@bellsouth.net

www.thewinesmith.biz

Home Winemaking and Brewing Supplies.

ARKANSAS

FERMENTABLES

3915 Crutcher St. North Little Rock (501) 758-6261

www.fermentables.com

Complete wine, beer and cheesemaking shop.

CALIFORNIA

THE BEVERAGE PEOPLE

1845 Piner Road, Suite D Santa Rosa 95403 (707) 544-2520

www.thebeveragepeople.com

Fast Shipping, Great Service, Cheesemaking & Brewing too.

BREHM VINEYARDS®

www.brehmvineyards.com

grapes@brehmvineyards.com

Phone: (510) 527.3675

Fresh grape pick-up in Petaluma, CA

Frozen grapes in Richmond, CA

Ultra-premium grapes for home winemakers for over 40 years! Sold at harvest or shipped frozen across N. America year-round. Over 30 varieties from Carneros, Napa, Sonoma, Washington and Oregon.

CURDS AND WINE, LLC

7194 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego 92111 (858) 384-6566

www.curdsandwine.com

Winemaking & cheesemaking supplies, make wine on site!

DELTA PACKING CO. OF LODI, INC.

6021 E. Kettleman Lane

Lodi 95240

(209) 334-1023

fax: (209) 334-0811

bcostamagna@deltapacking.com

www.grapesofgold.com

We offer premium California wine grapes & juice. Please call for a supplier near you.

MOREBEER! & MOREWINE!

995 Detroit Ave., Unit G Concord 94518 (925) 771-7107

fax: (925) 671-4978

srconcord@moreflavor.com

www.morewinemaking.com/ showrooms

Absolutely Everything! for Wine-Making

MOREBEER! & MOREWINE!

991 N. San Antonio Rd. Los Altos 94022 (650) 949-BREW (2739) srlosaltos@moreflavor.com

www.morewinemaking.com/ showrooms

Absolutely Everything! for Wine-Making

MOREBEER! & MOREWINE!

1506 Columbia Ave. #12

Riverside 92507 (951) 779-9971

fax: (951) 779-9972

srriverside@moreflavor.com

www.morewinemaking.com/showrooms

Absolutely Everything! for Wine-Making

MOREBEER! & MOREWINE!

2315 Verna Court

San Leandro 94577 (510) 351-3517

srsanleandro@moreflavor.com

www.morewinemaking.com/showrooms

Absolutely Everything! for Wine-Making

NORCAL BREWING SOLUTIONS

1768 Churn Creek Rd. Redding 96002 (530) 243-BEER (2337) or (530)-221-WINE (9463) www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com

Full line of wine, beer, & distilling supplies, hardware, and ingredients. Manufacturers of lees filters, punchdown tools, and custom solutions.

VADAI BARRELS

604 W. Las Tunas Dr. San Gabriel 91776 (626) 289-8250

vadaiworldtd@sbcglobal.net www.vadaiwinebarrels.com

www.vadaibarrels.org

LOWEST FACTORY PRICE IN THE USA. FRENCH & HUNGARIAN STYLE BARRELS. From 1/2 to 5000L Sizes. Wine press various sizes, Vinegar Barrels, Pickle Barrels. This Zemplen Oak won the highest recognition in the Italian Competition for the Best Tasting Wine!

VALLEYVINTNER, LLC

(925) 217-0058 or (866) 812 WINE (9463) Toll Free info@valleyvintner.com

www.valleyvintner.com

75+ years wine making expertise! Owned & Operated by winemakers serving the winemaking community. “The Vine, The Time, The Wine”

COLORADO

THE BREW HUT 15120 East Hampden Ave. Aurora 80014 (303) 680-8898

www.thebrewhut.com

Complete Winexpert line! Fresh fruit, equipment & chemicals! We Rent Equipment Too!

LIL’ OLE’ WINEMAKER

516 Main Street Grand Junction 81501

(970) 242-3754

Serving Colorado & Utah winemakers since 1978

CONNECTICUT

BREW & WINE HOBBY

Featuring Winexpert & RJ Spagnols Kits. Area’s widest selection of wine kits, beer making supplies & equipment

12 Cedar St.

East Hartford 06108

(860) 528-0592 or Out of State: 1-800-352-4238

www.brew-wine.com

Specializing in European juices (not concentrate) And world-wide juice varietals.

MUSTO WINE GRAPE CO., LLC

101 Reserve Road

Hartford 06114

1-877-812-1137

sales@juicegrape.com

www.juicegrape.com

www.winemakinginstructions.com

Your one stop shop for all of your winemaking needs - year-round. Premium fresh grapes, juices, and kits from CA, NY, WA, Italy, Chile, South Africa, and Australia. Plus equipment, online learning, onsite crushing/destemming, and hands-on winemaking classes. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff is ready to help make your next wine your favorite wine.

NORTHEAST WINEMAKING

10 Robert Jackson Way

Plainville 06062 (860) 793-2700

www.northeastwinemaking.com

New Year-Round Showroom Open in Plainville with 2nd full service location in Hartford, CT and satellite location in Chelsea, MA. Your one stop shop for fresh grapes, juice, equipment and accessories!

FLORIDA

PARDO WINE GRAPES

16901 Cedar Bluff Drive

Tampa 33618 (813) 340-3052

vince@pardowinegrapes.com www.pardowinegrapes.com

Distributors of quality California (fall) and Chilean (spring) wine grapes and fresh juice to Florida winemakers for over 70 years.

GEORGIA

OPERATION HOMEBREW

1142 Athens Hwy #105 Grayson 30017 (770) 638-8383

Operationhomebrew.com

Best darn winemaking supply store in Georgia!

ILLINOIS

CHICAGOLAND WINEMAKERS INC.

689 West North Ave. Elmhurst (630) 834-0507

info@chicagolandwinemakers.com

www.chicagolandwinemakers.com

Complete line of home winemaking and brewing supplies & equipment since 1971.

WHAT’S BREWING?

335 W. Northwest Highway

Palatine 60067 (847) 359-2739

info@whatsbrewingsupply.com

WhatsBrewingSupply.com

Supplying beer and winemakers with the best equipment and freshest ingredients. 10% Club discount. Let’s make it! Wine and Beer.

INDIANA

THE BREWERS ART SUPPLY

1425 N. Wells Street Fort Wayne 46808 (260) 426-7399

BrewersArtSupply@gmail.com

www.BrewingArt.com

Your hometown Wine Supply with friendly expertise! facebook.com/ BrewersArtSupply

GREAT FERMENTATIONS

Indianapolis 5127 East 65th St. Indianapolis 46220 (317) 257-WINE (9463) or toll-free 1-888-463-2739 info@greatfermentations.com www.greatfermentations.com

GREAT FERMENTATIONS WEST 7900 E US 36, Suite D Avon 46123 (317) 268-6776 info@greatfermentations.com www.greatfermentations.com

QUALITY WINE AND ALE SUPPLY/ HOMEBREWIT.COM

5127 E. 65th St. Indianapolis 46220

Phone: (574) 295-9975

customerservice@homebrewit.com

Online: www.Homebrewit.com

Quality wine making supplies for beginners AND experts. Bottles, Corks, Shrinks, Chemicals, and Professional Equipment. Largest selection of Winexpert Kits. Fast Shipping. Expert Advice.

IOWA

BLUFF STREET BREW HAUS 372 Bluff Street

Dubuque (563) 582-5420

e-mail: jerry@bluffbrewhaus.com

www.bluffbrewhaus.com

Complete line of wine & beermaking supplies. In operation since 2006.

KANSAS

BACCHUS & BARLEYCORN, LTD. 6633 Nieman Road

Shawnee 66203 (913) 962-2501

www.bacchus-barleycorn.com

Your one stop supply shop for home wine, cider, mead, beer and cheese makers for over 30 years.

HOMEBREW PRO SHOPPE, INC.

2061 E. Santa Fe

Olathe 66062 (913) 768-1090 or 1-866-296-2739 (BYO-BREW)

Secure ordering on line: www.homebrewproshoppe.com

Complete line of wine & beer making supplies & equipment.

WINEMAKER DIRECTORY

KENTUCKY

WINEMAKERS & BEERMAKERS SUPPLY

9475 Westport Rd.

Louisville 40241

(502) 425-1692

www.winebeersupply.com

Impeccable line of wine & beer making supplies. Superior grade of juice from Winexpert. Quality malt from Briess & Muntons. Family owned store since 1972.

MARYLAND

THE FLYING BARREL

1781 North Market St. Frederick (301) 663-4491 fax: (301) 663-6195

www.flyingbarrel.com

Maryland’s 1st Wine-On-Premise & large selection of homewine supplies! Wine judge on staff!

MARYLAND HOMEBREW

6770 Oak Hall Lane, #108 Columbia 21045

1-888-BREWNOW

www.mdhb.com

We carry the VinoSuperiore frozen Italian must along with Winexpert Kits. Everything you need to make your own wine & cheese. Visit us in-person or online. We ship everywhere

MASSACHUSETTS

BEER AND WINE HOBBY, INC.

85 Andover St.

Danvers 01923

1-800-523-5423

e-mail: bwhinfo@beer-wine.com

website: www.beer-wine.com

Brew on YOUR Premise™

For the most discriminating wine & beer hobbyist.

THE WITCHES BREW INC.

12 Maple Ave.

Foxborough 02035 (508) 543-0433

steve@thewitchesbrew.com

www.thewitchesbrew.com

You’ve Got the Notion, We’ve Got the Potion

MICHIGAN

ADVENTURES IN HOMEBREWING

6071 Jackson Rd.

Ann Arbor 48103 (313) 277-BREW fax: (313) 583-3294

e-mail: wine@homebrewing.org

Visit us at www.AdventuresinHome brewing.com

Premium Wine Kits, Fruit, Honey, Fruit Presses, Apple Crushers, and Fermentors. Everything for the beginner and the seasoned winemaker.

ADVENTURES IN HOMEBREWING

23847 Van Born Rd. Taylor 48180

(313) 277-BREW

fax: (313) 583-3294

e-mail: wine@homebrewing.org

Visit us at www.AdventuresinHome brewing.com

Premium Wine Kits, Fruit, Honey, Fruit Presses, Apple Crushers, and Fermentors. Everything for the beginner and the seasoned winemaker.

BREWERS EDGE HOMEBREW SUPPLY, LLC

650 Riley Street, Suite D Holland 49424 (616) 399-0017

www.brewersedgehomebrew.com

e-mail: brewersedge@gmail.com

Your local Winemaking & Homebrewing Supply Shop...get the Edge!

CAP N CORK HOMEBREW SUPPLIES

16776 - 21 Mile Rd. Macomb Twp. (586) 286-5202 fax: (586) 286-5133

www.capncorkhomebrew.com

info@capncorkhomebrew.com

The home winemaker’s source for Winexpert wine kits and Oregon Fruit & Vintner’s Harvest fruit-based concentrates.

MACOMB VINTNER SUPPLY

44443 Phoenix Dr. Sterling Heights (248) 495-0801

www.macombvintnersupply.com

Purveyor of grapes and grape juices for the winemaker. L’uva Bella, Mosto Bella & Chilean Bello Brands, and Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.

MID-MICHIGAN VINTNER SUPPLY

Grand Rapids & South Lyon (517) 898-3203

www.Mid-Michiganvintnersupply.com

info@Mid-Michiganvintnersupply.com

Purveyor of fresh grape juices for the winemaker. L’uva Bella, Mosto Bella & Chilean Bello Brands.

MORGAN VINEYARD

15775 40th Avenue Coopersville 49404 (616) 648-3025 morgangrapes@gmail.com MorganVineyard.com

Supplier of high quality wine grapes conveniently located in West Michigan.

SICILIANO’S MARKET

2840 Lake Michigan Dr. N.W. Grand Rapids 49504 (616) 453-9674

fax: (616) 453-9687

e-mail: sici1@sbcglobal.net

www.sicilianosmkt.com

Largest Wine Making inventory in West Michigan. Now selling beer and winemaking supplies on-line.

TAYLOR RIDGE VINEYARDS

3843 105th Ave.

Allegan 49010 (269) 521-4047

bctaylor@btc-bci.com

www.taylorridgevineyard.com

18 Varieties of Wine Grapes and Juices. Vinifera, New York State, Minnesota and French hybrids. Providing wine grapes and juices for over 30 years.

MISSOURI

HOME BREWERY

1967 West Boat St.

Ozark

1-800-321-BREW (2739) brewery@homebrewery.com

www.homebrewery.com

Since 1984, providing excellent Service, Equipment and Ingredients. Beer, Wine, Mead, Soda and Cheese.

ST. LOUIS WINE & BEERMAKING LLC

231 Lamp & Lantern Village St. Louis 63017 (636) 230-8277

info@wineandbeermaking.com

www.wineandbeermaking.com

Making the Buzz in St. Louis.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

KETTLE TO KEG

123 Main Street Pembroke 03275 (603) 485-2054

www.kettletokeg.com

Winemaking, homebrewing and soda ingredients, supplies and equipment. Located conveniently between Concord and Manchester.

NEW JERSEY

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS (U-VINT)

25 Kearney St. Bridgewater 08807 (732) 764-9463 fax: (732) 764-0655

email: justmygrapes@aol.com

www.GrapeExpectationsNJ.com

Produce your own Favorite Wines at Our 8,000 sq. ft. Winery with Grapes from S. Africa, California, Chile and Argentina as well as Juice from Italy. Our winemakers have won over 100 medals in the last 18 years. Also full inventory of supplies and equipment for the Home Winemaker.

NEW YORK

DOC’S HOMEBREW SUPPLIES

451 Court Street Binghamton 13904 (607) 722-2476

www.docsbrew.com

Full-service beer & wine making shop serving NY’s Southern Tier & PA’s Northern Tier since 1991. Extensive line of Winexpert kits, supplies and equipment.

FULKERSON WINERY & JUICE PLANT

5576 State Route 14 Dundee 14837 (607) 243-7883 fax: (607) 243-8337 www.fulkersonwinery.com

Fresh Finger Lakes grape juice available during harvest. Large selection of home winemaking supplies. Visit our website to browse and order supplies. Open year round 10-5, extended seasonal hours. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @fulkersonwinery.

MAIN STREET WINES & SUPPLIES

249 Main St. Arcade 14009 (585) 492-2739 fax: (585) 492-2777

mainstwines@yahoo.com

Plenty of wine kits available to make your own wine. Full line of winemaking supplies and accessories for your convenience. Tue-Fri 10-6; Sat 10-3 or by appt. Like us on Facebook.

NIAGARA TRADITION

HOMEBREWING SUPPLIES

1296 Sheridan Drive Buffalo 14217 (800) 283-4418 or (716) 877-8767

www.nthomebrew.com

We feature a complete line of supplies for making wine, beer, mead, cider and cheese.

PANTANO’S WINE GRAPES & HOMEBREW

249 Rte 32 S. New Paltz 12561 (845) 255-5201 or (845) 706-5152 (cell)

pantanowineandbeer@yahoo.com

www.pantanosbeerwine.com

Find Us On Facebook. Your source for wine & beer making supplies and equipment. Grapes and Juice from California, Italy & Chile in season, wine kits and all juice pails (6 gal) year round. Classes available. We now carry Distilling Products and Stills.

PROSPERO EQUIPMENT CORP.

123 Castleton St. Pleasantville 10570 (914) 769-6252

fax: (914) 769-6786

info@prosperocorp.biz

www.prosperocorp.biz

The source to all your winemaking equipment.

SARATOGA ZYMURGIST

112 Excelsior Ave. Saratoga Springs 12866 (518) 580-9785

email: szymurgist@gmail.com

www.SaratogaZ.com

Let us be your guide into the world of Zymurgy. Reaching the Adirondack Park, Capital District, Southern Vermont and beyond! Great online store.

TEN THOUSAND VINES WINERY

8 South Buffalo St. Hamburg 14075 (716) 646-9979

mike@TenThousandVines.com

www.TenThousandVines.com

Wine supplies, juice and advice.

WALKER’S WINE JUICE

2860 N.Y. Route 39 – Since 1955 Forestville (716) 679-1292

www.walkerswinejuice.com

Over 50 varieties of “Hot-Pack”

Grape, Fruit and Berry Juice, Requiring No Refrigeration, shipped by UPS all year. Supplying over 300 wineries in 37 states!

NORTH CAROLINA

ALTERNATIVE BEVERAGE (BELMONT) 1500 River D., Suite 104 Belmont 28012

Advice Line: (704) 825-8400

Order Line: 1-800-365-2739

www.ebrew.com

44 years serving all home winemakers & brewers’ needs! Come visit for a real Homebrew Super Store experience!

ALTERNATIVE BEVERAGE (CHARLOTTE)

3911 South Blvd.

Charlotte 28209

Advice Line: (704) 825-8400

Order Line: 1-800-365-2739

www.ebrew.com

44 years serving all home winemakers & brewers’ needs! Visit our stores to learn how we can help you make the best wine you can make.

WINEMAKER DIRECTORY

ALTERNATIVE BEVERAGE (CORNELIUS)

19725 Oak St.

Cornelius 28031

Voice Line: (704) 527-2337

Fax Line: (704) 522-6427

www.ebrew.com

44 years serving all home winemakers & brewers’ needs! Visit our stores to learn how we can help you make the best wine you can make.

AMERICAN BREWMASTER

3021-5 Stony Brook Dr. Raleigh 27604 (919) 850-0095

www.americanbrewmaster.com

Supplying wine makers with the finest wine kits, ingredients and supplies since 1983. Winemaking is fun with American Brewmaster!

ASHEVILLE BREWERS SUPPLY

712-B Merrimon Ave. Asheville 28804 (828) 358-3536

www.ashevillebrewers.com

Value. Quality. Service. Since 1994.

CAROLINA WINE SUPPLY

329 W. Maple St. Yadkinville 27055 (336) 677-6831

fax: (336) 677-1048

www.carolinawinesupply.com

Home Winemaking Supplies & Support.

OHIO

THE GRAPE AND GRANARY

915 Home Ave. Akron 44310 (330) 633-7223

www.grapeandgranary.com

Concentrates, Fresh juice, Wine on Premise.

LABEL PEELERS BEER & WINE MAKING SUPPLIES, INC.

211 Cherry St. Kent 44240 (330) 678-6400

info@labelpeelers.com

www.labelpeelers.com

Specializing in winemaking/ homebrew supplies & equipment. Free monthly classes.

Hours: Mon-Sun 10am-7pm

MIAMI VALLEY BREWTENSILS

2617 S. Smithville Rd. Dayton 45420

Next Door to Belmont Party Supply (937) 252-4724

chad@schwartzbeer.com

www.brewtensils.com

Beer, wine & cheese making supplies. Monthly classes.

OKLAHOMA

HIGH GRAVITY

6808 S. Memorial Drive Tulsa 74133

(918) 461-2605

e-mail: store@highgravitybrew.com

www.highgravitybrew.com

Join our Frequent Fermenters Club!

OREGON

F.H. STEINBART CO.

234 SE 12th Ave. Portland 97214 (503) 232-8793

fax: (503) 238-1649

e-mail: info@fhsteinbart.com

www.fhsteinbart.com

Brewing and Wine making supplies since 1918!

HOME FERMENTER

123 Monroe Street Eugene 97402 (541) 485-6238

www.homefermenter.com

Providing equipment, supplies and advice to winemakers and homebrewers for over 40 years.

VADAI BARRELS 326 N. 2nd St. Drain 97435 (626) 289-8250

vadaiworldtd@sbcglobal.net

www.vadaiwinebarrels.com

www.vadaibarrels.org

LOWEST FACTORY PRICE IN THE USA. FRENCH & HUNGARIAN STYLE BARRELS. From 1/2 to 5000L Sizes. Wine press various sizes, Vinegar Barrels, Pickle Barrels. This Zemplen Oak won the highest recognition in the Italian Competition for the Best Tasting Wine!

PENNSYLVANIA

BOOTLEGGERS BREW SHOP, LLC

917 Pleasant Valley Blvd.

Altoona 16602

(814) 931-9962

http://bootleggersbrewshop.com

bootleggersbrewshop@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook! Central PA’s

LARGEST homebrew supplies store! We carry seasonal cold pressed wine juices from around the world. Special orders welcome!

KEYSTONE HOMEBREW SUPPLY

435 Doylestown Rd.

Montgomeryville 18936 (215) 855-0100

sales@keystonehomebrew.com

www.keystonehomebrew.com

Huge selection of ingredients and equipment for home winemakers and starting wineries. Fresh grapes and juice in spring and fall!

LANCASTER HOMEBREW

1551 Manheim Pike

Lancaster 17601 (717) 517-8785

www.lancasterhomebrew.com

info@lancasterhomebrew.com

Your source for all your wine making and beer brewing needs!

NITTANY VALLEY TRUE VALUE

1169 Nittany Valley Drive

Bellefonte

(814) 383-2809

fax: (814) 383-4884

Supplies - Equipment - Classes. Fresh grapes & juice in season.

PRESQUE ISLE WINE CELLARS

9440 W. Main Rd. (US Rte. 20) North East 16428 (800) 488-7492

www.piwine.com

Your one stop shop! Complete service since 1964, helping you make great wines. We specialize in small winery and amateur wine supplies and equipment. Check out our website www.piwine.com or stop by and see us. Fresh grapes and juice at harvest.

SCOTZIN BROTHERS

65 N. Fifth St. Lemoyne 17043 (717) 737-0483 or 800-791-1464

www.scotzinbros.com

email: shop@scotzinbros.com WINE and Beer MAKERS PARADISE!

RHODE ISLAND

SILVER LAKE BEER AND WINE MAKING SUPPLY

65 Moorefield Street

Providence 02909 (401) 944-4320

silverlakebeerwine.com

Your complete supplier for more than 40 years, helping you make the finest wines and brew the first time...and every time.

TEXAS

AUSTIN HOMEBREW SUPPLY

15112 N. Interstate Hwy 35 Austin 78728 (512) 300-BREW email: hops@austinhomebrew.com

Visit us at www.AustinHomebrew.com

Premium Wine Kits, Fruit, Honey, Fruit Presses, Apple Crushers, and Fermentors. Everything for the beginner and the seasoned winemaker.

HOMEBREW HEADQUARTERS

300 N. Coit Rd., Suite 134

Richardson

Toll free: 1-800-966-4144 or (972) 234-4411 fax: (972) 234-5005

www.homebrewhq.com

Proudly serving the Dallas area for 30+ years!

WASHINGTON

BADER BEER & WINE SUPPLY

711 Grand Blvd.

Vancouver, WA 98661

1-800-596-3610

Sign up for our free e-newsletter @ Baderbrewing.com

THE BEER ESSENTIALS

2624 South 112th St. #E-1 Lakewood 98499 (253) 581-4288

www.thebeeressentials.com

Mail order and secure on-line ordering available.

BREHM VINEYARDS®

www.brehmvineyards.com

grapes@brehmvineyards.com

Phone: (510) 527.3675

Fresh grape pick-up in Underwood, WA

Frozen grapes in Portland, OR

Ultra-premium grapes for home winemakers for over 40 years! Sold at harvest or shipped frozen across N. America year-round. Over 30 varieties from Carneros, Napa, Sonoma, Washington and Oregon.

JON’S HOMEBREW AND WINE SUPPLY 1430 E. Main Ave., #1430C

Puyallup 98372 (253) 286-7607

jon@jonshomebrew.com

jonshomebrew.com

Puyallup’s home for Home Beer and Winemaking supplies!

WISCONSIN

THE CELLAR BREW SHOP 465 N. Washburn St. Oshkosh 54904 (920) 517-1601

www.thecellarhomebrew.com

cellarbrewshop@outlook.com

Beer & Wine ingredients and equipment. Extensive inventory at Competitive prices, bulk discounts. Great service and free advice from experienced staff.

HOUSE OF HOMEBREW 410 Dousman St. Green Bay (920) 435-1007

staff@houseofhomebrew.com

www.houseofhomebrew.com

Beer, Wine, Cider, Mead, Soda, Coffee, Tea, Cheese Making.

WINE & HOP SHOP

1919 Monroe St. Madison 53711 (608) 257-0099

www.wineandhop.com

wineandhop@gmail.com

Madison, WI’s locally owned homebrewing and winemaking headquarters for over 40 years. Fast, affordable shipping to anywhere. Use promo code WineMaker at checkout for discounts. Free expert advice too!

CANADA ALBERTA

BREW FOR LESS 10774 - 95th Street

Edmonton T5H 2C9 (708) 422-0488

brewforless.com

info@brewforless.com

Edmonton’s Largest Wine & Beer Making Supply Store

GRAPES TO GLASS 5308 -17th Ave. SW

Calgary T3E 6S6 (403) 243-5907

www.grapestoglass.com

Calgary’s largest selection of brewing, winemaking & distilling supplies. On-line shopping available with delivery via Canada Post.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

BOSAGRAPE WINERY & BREW SUPPLIES 6908 Palm Ave.

Burnaby V5J 4M3 (604) 473-WINE fax: (604) 433-2810

info@bosagrape.com

www.bosagrape.com

Ingredients, equipment, labware & supplies for brew & winemaking. Still Spirits, Hanna, Stavin Oak, Brehm Vineyards, Mosti juices, Brewcraft, Marchisio, Accuvin, Chemetrics, Vintner’s Harvest, Lalvin, Buon Vino, Vintage Shop.

DRY FINISH

BY HANNAH CAMPBELL

ROSEHIP WINE

My crown of thorns

Rugosa roses (Rosa rugosa) line the cliffs and trails of Bailey Island, Maine bringing a sweet and peppery scent that wafts and wanes in the salty air. They peek out like polka dots in thorny green hedges along the popular attraction known as Giant Stairs. Wedding white and Popsicle pink blossoms are mother nature’s gifts of June and September. I cup them into my hands and admire their resilience and perfect creation.

For years I’d heard that locals made rosehip jelly and rosehip tea from their fruit. So when I asked if anyone made rosehip wine, no was the only reply. When I searched online for a recipe, I Iearned that rosehips are a great source of vitamin C. When children in England couldn’t obtain fresh oranges during World War II, they consumed rosehips.

My husband, Mike, said I was crazy to make a wine no one ever heard of — which made me even more determined. One day, I left him sleeping in our cabin while I geared up for battle armored in a long sleeve shirt, long pants, and kitchen gloves, with a plastic trashbag and a spaghetti lifter in hand to gather my “loot.” Tourists stopped me and asked what I was doing with the gorgeous cherry tomato-like hips. When I answered making wine, they started taking my photo and I gladly posed as if I were the editor of Bon Appétit

Finding hedges full of the rosefruit was like looking at a goldmine. My recipe stated I needed 12 lbs. (5.4 kg) of hips for two gallons (7.6 L) of wine. Little did I know how tiring it would be to wade in among the thorny brush to grasp the few that didn’t fall to the ground. Patting myself on the back for my can-do spirit slowly morphed into unladylike expletives and “This better be good!” Eventu-

ally I returned to our cabin and I ran for the shower. Mike eyed the sack on the table with trepidation. Satisfaction ensued and I was again proud of my Irish stubbornness. “I’ll show him!”

When we returned home to Pennsylvania, our son, Andrew, agreed to share his beermaking equipment for my winemaking effort. He had everything, right? Well, you learn quickly that there are always more items to need and your “free” investment is going to cost you. Andrew suggested that it might be better for the wine process if each hip were cut in half to dry out the seeds. I sat at my dining room table cutting 12 lbs. (5.4 kg) of things I now came to hate — one by one.

With the rosehips and seeds in the mesh bag the fermentation finally kicked off and we stirred it for a number of days. A pungent apple-like fragrance rose to my nose each time; almost like a light Sherry. I was becoming more and more excited.

I created my label design using a photo of the roses along the island trail. I called her “Bailey Rose.” Once bottles were filled and corked, they went to the dark basement (directions said not to touch for at least six months). That night, I began to dream that Mr. Dom Perignon himself would call me for cases and cases of it. But alas, after six months when I gathered friends for a sampling party and passed around the Waterford crystal goblets for the tasting, their faces winced in pain. One said she felt lightheaded, while another suggested it may make a nice salad vinaigrette. My rosehip wine could dissolve the rust off a moth-balled Navy destroyer.

I poured the pretty pink demon into drains that will never clog again. Give up on winemaking? Nah, maybe I’ll now go looking for . . . dandelions?

The rugosa’s rosehip is seen in lower center of the picture with its flower at the top.

Tourists stopped me and asked what I was doing with the gorgeous cherry tomato-like hips.

Photo by Hannah Campbell

MAKE 2021 YOUR BEST HARVEST YET!

Join WineMaker Magazine columnists live online on Friday, August 13 to cover strategies you can use to make your 2021 harvest a winemaking success! You’ll have the chance to learn and get your harvest winemaking questions answered by WineMaker’s expert columnists during this fivehour live online experience.

AUGUST 13, 2021 SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ARE PACIFIC)

9 AM – 10 AM: Harvest-Time Troubleshooting with WineMaker’s “Wine Wizard” Columnist Alison Crowe

10 AM – 11 AM: Harvest Wine Style & Technique Decisions with WineMaker’s “Varietal Focus” Columnist Chik Brenneman

11 AM – 12 PM: Columnist Q&A with Attendees – Bring your best harvest winemaking questions and have the opportunity to ask them live with WineMaker Magazine Columnists: Chik Brenneman, Alison Crowe, Wes Hagen, and Bob Peak.

12 PM – 1 PM: Backyard Vineyard Harvest Tips with WineMaker’s “Backyard Vines” Columnist Wes Hagen

1 PM – 2 PM: Harvest Ready: Prepping Equipment & Supplies with WineMaker’s “Techniques” Columnist Bob Peak

2 PM – 2:30 PM: Top winners announced from 2021 WineMaker Competition with WineMaker Publisher Brad Ring – Find out first the top Best of Show winners from this year’s judging that took place July 23-25. A full PDF of all winners will also be made available for download online and judging notes will be mailed to entrants separately.

This workshop will be recorded so you can still learn with video replays even if you can’t join us live on August 13.

WineMakerMag.com/HarvestBootCamp

Juicy black cherry and blackberry flavors with notes of vanilla oak, violet, licorice and spice. Rich and round with a characteristic almond note on the finish.

Available this June for a limited time.

winexpert.com