Wine Making Equipment – Winemaker's Academy

Vacuum System for Home Winemaking

admin — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 23:07:04 +0000

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 …

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Always Use Airlocks On Carboys

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:50:20 +0000

It’s a fairly common mistake to use airlocks only during fermentation and switch to a solid plug or bung for bulk aging in a carboy. Why wouldn’t you? After all fermentation is over so there really shouldn’t be anything going on in there. The truth is that there are other forces at work that can …

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Why Synthetic Corks Are Worth Using

admin — Fri, 22 May 2015 10:51:40 +0000

[ Podcast not currently available. Podcast content has been lost. We are attempting to recover them. If you have any of this content saved please contact the site administrator using the Contact Us form on this site. ] Since I started making my own wines I’ve been a bit of a purist when it comes …

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Using Inert Gases in Winemaking – WMA029

admin — Mon, 04 May 2015 09:00:24 +0000

[ Podcast not currently available. Podcast content has been lost. We are attempting to recover them. If you have any of this content saved please contact the site administrator using the Contact Us form on this site. ] Just recently I tested out Private Preserve while bottling a raisin wine. Private Preserve is an aerosol …

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Kurt’s Fermentation Temperature Control System

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 10:27:04 +0000

Recently a Winemaker’s Academy member shared this amazing system, that he developed, for controlling the temperature of a wine fermentation. In this post Kurt shares all of the equipment necessary to build this system. The original email included links to equipment available on eBay, however, given the frequency at which items turn over on that …

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My Airlock Needs Water?

admin — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 03:26:39 +0000

Recently I’ve heard from more than one confused beginning winemaker asking if their wine was ruined because they never put water in their airlock. It’s not all that surprising as a beginner has a lot to figure out with all the steps, additives, and equipment. I’m sure there is wine making shops that forget to …

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Protecting Your Wine with Airlocks – WMA018

admin — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 10:38:13 +0000

Airlocks are your best line of defense against oxidation and spoilage micro-organisms. It is very important that you carefully maintain your airlock and monitor it. This episode is all about how to do just that. By far the most important thing you need to know about airlocks is that they need to have the water …

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Natural Cork Closures for Wine

admin — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 00:47:44 +0000

Natural cork wine have been used to seal and protect wine for the past three hundred years or so. Prior to that more crude methods were employed. Today we are seeing a thriving synthetic closure market crop up and the debate between whether to use natural or synthetic closures is thriving. This article is the …

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Winemaking Corkers – WMA013

admin — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 10:59:49 +0000

Winemaking Corkers There are many different styles of corkers out there. What differentiates them from one another, beyond price, is how easy it is to insert a cork. Smaller, less expensive corkers are convenient for those reasons, however, they often don’t provide the mechanical advantage needed to make it an “easy to use” corker. In …

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Racking Your Wine – WMA010

admin — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 10:37:25 +0000

Racking Your Wine Racking is simply the process of moving wine from one container to another. There are several different ways you can accomplish this, each of which requires different equipment. In this episode we explore four different ways to rack and the equipment involved. In addition to the nuts and bolts of racking you’ll …

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