Formula Wine Production, Regulatory Challenges, and Yeast Selection As many of you know, I regularly attend the Eastern Winery Exposition (EWE) Conference. The conference gives me a chance to see what’s new among tradeshow vendors and catch up with many familiar faces. You’ll usually find me at the American Society of Enology and Viticulture – […]
pH Explained
A Winemaker’s Journey to Understanding Acid Chemistry One of the most common mistakes I hear winemakers make is when they reference a wine’s pH in response to someone else’s comment on how sour the wine tastes. We’ve all heard it. Someone: “The wine is a bit tart.” Winemaker: “Well, the pH is 3.24.” This simple […]
Don’t Forget! “Creatively Perfecting Wines in Challenging Vintage Years” Webinar on March 26th
Early in March, I presented options for how to use wines produced from disease-heavy fruit at the annual Grape Expectations conference in New Jersey. However, given many winemakers could not attend this conference, I’m going to review some of these core concepts in the March Darn Good Winemakers session. If you need help getting something […]
Enhancing Quality of Subpar Wines
Did the 2018 vintage leave you with wines that are less than desirable? If so, you’re not alone. Winemakers in hot, consistently dry climates get adjusted to the routine of making wine. But if you’re a winemaker in a region that experiences vintage variation, routine winemaking practices can be your worst enemy. In years that […]
Create, Sip, Serve
Producing Formula Wines Wines that require TTB formula approval are hitting grocery store and wine shop shelves: Sangria, Margarita wine, Pre-Bottled mulled wine, pumpkin spice wine, grape wine with natural flavor. These wines are “alcoholic beverages that use ingredient additions or processing alterations outside of the Standard of Identity (SOI) for wine.” The options surrounding […]
Off to the Races! Monitoring Malolactic Fermentation
Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a common deacidification technique used to biologically convert malic acid retained in grapes and wine to lactic acid and carbon dioxide (Krieger 2005). MLF is conducted through proliferation of native lactic acid bacteria (LAB) or by inoculation of commercial LAB strains. The three existing genera of LAB in wine are Lactobacillus, […]
