Recently I asked Winemaker’s Academy members to share with me their top tips that they learned by making their own wines. In this episode I share those tips with you and supplement them with some of my own experience.
You’ll hear tips from wine makers all over the world! Specifically England, Sweeden, India, and the USA.
Questions Answered
- Can I leave out the oak that came with my red wine kit?
- When should I cold stabilize my wine?
- How do I degas my wine without mixing in a bunch of oxygen?
- How long can I keep a bentonite slurry?
- How do you take up the extra headspace in a carboy or bottle of wine?
Resources Mentioned & Related Topics
- Oak Products Explained
- Beaujolais Nouveau – Wikipedia Article
- Carbonic Maceration
- Fermtech Wine Whip
- Using Bentonite
Photography by: John Holzer
With the two batches of wine I have made to date, I too ended up with awkward amounts of leftover wine that I put into smaller containers. Being a new wine maker, I found it extremely beneficial to put some of this wine into smaller vessels (660ml bottles in my case) with airlocks but with no intention of ever adding it back to the bulk of my wine. These smaller vessels have been GREAT for allowing me to sip a small portion of wine every so often in order to experience how the product changes over time. I could not imagine trying to rack the wine from these smaller bottles, so just happily take it as a bit of a loss from the finished wine, but also as a great learning tool. So far it has been amazing and encouraging to be able to taste how the wine improves every month.
That’s a good point Bliksie. Those odd amounts would be great test bottles to see how things are going while leaving the bulk of the wine undisturbed. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
What size batches do you typically make?
-Matt
Hi Matt, sorry I changed my user name after I posted.
I have made a 6 gallon kit and a 3 gallon batch of wine from fruit so far. My intention this year is to keep making a mix of 6 gallon kit wines and 1 gallon fruit wines. The one gallon batches should be very beneficial for learning.
It’s a great hobby!