At Winemakers Academy our Goal is to help you learn to make a better bottle of wine no matter where you are on your wine making journey. Everyone is welcome no matter what your experience level. Our group includes everyone from new beginners to professional winery and vineyard owners. To learn more about wine making browse this website for in depth articles. If you have questions to ask or experience to share or if you just like talking about wine join our Facebook Group.
3 x 3 in 3 Kit Wine Making by William Forsch
Winemaker’s Academy is built on members helping each other make a better bottle of wine. One of our members provided a very helpful presentation for the beginning kit wine maker. As the title states you only need a 3′ x 3′ space and 3 hours of time to start your wine making experience.
Bill has been a kit wine maker for 9 years and has completed over 150 kits including all styles – red, white, and dessert. He has also conducted full kit wine making classes for four years including almost 100 students. After retirement five years ago, he began making wine from grapes. Bill is an avid golfer, tennis player, chef/cook, and supporter of the Orange County Wine Society – Winemaker’s group and a member of their “leadership team”. Bill’s Home Wine label is: Lolita’s Claw Wines, named after the nasty calico cat that resides with him that tends to claw everything and everyone!
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Vacuum System for Home Winemaking
A vacuum system for amateur home winemaking
David W. Vehar
There are a number of pre-built vacuum systems available for the home winemaker, and there is no reason to disparage any of these. However, during my 40-year career as an engineer making equipment work in a laboratory, I have found it considerably more satisfying to design and build something myself than to purchase it. Besides, after said 40-year career, I prefer to avoid heavy lifting. So, a few years ago when my wife presented me with a home winemaking kit, I immediately started to think of ways to make the material handling easier. Continue reading “Vacuum System for Home Winemaking”
Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 2
Winexpert kits from smallest to largest. Each kit makes 6 gal. of wine
In part one of this article (Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 1 Overview) we discussed the characteristics that differentiate one size/price range of kit from another. In part two we are going to look at how each of the product lines in the Winexpert family compare to each other using these characteristics. Just by way of reminder, the aging times provided in this article are based on our experience, numerous customer reviews of various wines and a great deal of online research. However, many people are comfortable drinking their wines earlier than we recommend. Ultimately it’s your wine. It’s up to you to decide when it’s ready to drink. Continue reading “Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 2”
When and How Often Should I Degas My Wine?
This is a seemingly straight forward question I get asked quite often. The answer, however, depends a lot on your wine making methods and what tools you use to degas.
I recommend degassing a wine only once. It’s a lot of work, especially if you use the agitation method (with a drill attachment), 
and there’s really no reason to degas in the middle of fermentation as you’ll only wind up with more suspended carbon dioxide anyway. Degassing through agitation can introduce oxygen into your wine so it’s best to keep that to a minimum.
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