Welcome to my wine and beer making site!
I made my first batch of wine (a forgettable Rhubarb wine) in May 1981 and my first beer in January 1984. On these pages I record my adventures in these areas:
- wine making records
- beer making records
- liqueur making records
- white papers on wine and beer making
- posts that describe my experiments
- kombucha (new in 2023!)
The above items are accessible through the menus above, and related posts are organized in groups (see links in left sidebar).
Please note that I am an amateur winemaker with no formal training. I’m self-taught and have the experience of making numerous types of wine since my first batch in 1981. I read a lot of research papers, conduct my own experiments, discuss topics with the folks on WineMakingTalk, and continue my self-education. The wine & beer making records are what I have done, including errors and failures. The blog posts and white papers are my take on things, and are open to question. Most things in winemaking have more than one valid answer, and what you read are my choices.
If one post seems to diverge from or disagree with another? Look at the publication dates. My techniques have changed over time, as I learn new things and try different techniques. Winemaking is not a destination, it’s a journey, with (hopefully) good wine along the way.
Note: I get questions regarding distilling. I can’t answer such questions as I have never distilled.
All of the 2023 production is bottled!
Most recent updates
Instead of making people hunt through the following sections, I’ll list the most recent updates here, typically things posted in the last month.
Warning: This list is not guaranteed to be up-to-date, as I have to remember to manually update it!
Whitepapers:
- Added: Basic Kit Making Process, 02/22/2025
- Added: Making a Second Run Wine, 02/22/2025
- Added: Potassium Sulfite in Winemaking, 02/17/2025
- Added: Degassing Wine, 02/14/2025
- Added: Chromatography Test for Malic Acid, 01/20/2025
- Updated: Homogenizing a Must, 01/17/2025
- Updated: Barrel Aging Process, 12/31/2024
- Updated: Handling Hydrogen Sulfide in Wine, 12/22/2024
Mental Meanderings:
- Updated: Successful Red Blends, 10/29/2024
Winemaking in Detail:
- Updated: 2024 Wines in Detail, 03/24/2025
- Updated: 2023 Chambourcin in Detail, 10/26/2024
Whitepapers & Posts
One of the things I find difficult on most blog sites is finding anything. A prolific author will produce dozens or even hundreds of posts, and the blog software lists them in reverse chronological order. Search works, if you know what keywords to search for, and if those keywords are not in dozens of posts.
To address this problem, I created pages that group posts by topic, to (hopefully) make it easier to find things.
Note: Especially during the fall ferment, I don’t always update the dates immediately. It may take a week or three before I remember to do it. The “last updated” date on individual pages is typically correct.
| Area | Description | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| White Papers | A lot of questions on WineMakingTalk are repeats — newcomers ask pretty much the same questions, so I have been taking the time to record detailed answers to common questions. These whitepapers cover numerous aspects of winemaking. | 02/22/2025 |
| Wines … in Detail | These posts provide a deep dive into the winemaking process of selected wines. Each post is intended to address a different facet of winemaking. | 03/24/2025 |
| Mental Meanderings | These posts don’t really fit other categories, are more opinions than facts, and meander all over the place; hence the name. | 10/29/2024 |
| Wine Labels History | My labels are posted in groups by the year the wines were bottled in. This shows the progression of my label making “talents”. This took a big jump in 2021, when I started using a graphic as a background, so there’s no white space. | 04/02/2024 |
| Ongoing Plans | These posts list what I have planned at different points in time, and illustrate how plans can change. | 04/03/2024 |
| Site Updates | I document significant changes in this site, mostly to help me keep track of things. | 06/2021 |
<—— Note that links to these pages are in the left sidebar
Current Updates
This section lists wines currently in production.
| 2024 Vidal | updated 03/24/2025 |
| 2024 Pinot Noir | updated 01/19/2025 |
| 2024 Chelois | updated 02/22/2025 |
| 2024 Chambourcin | updated 02/22/2025 |
| 2024 Chardonnel | updated 03/24/2025 |
Wines in the Racks
These are table wines currently present in my racks:
| 2023 Sangiovese + pomace (Chianti) | updated 11/09/2024 |
| 2023 Merlot (Crimson Trio) | updated 11/10/2024 |
| 2023 Cabernet Franc (Rob Roy Red) | updated 10/27/2024 |
| 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon (Cabearnet) | updated 10/27/2024 |
| 2023 Chambourcin | updated 10/22/2024 |
| 2023 Zinfandel (FWK Ultima beta) | updated 09/19/2024 |
| 2023 Vidal (Orange) | updated 06/10/2024 |
| 2023 Metheglin (Mead) | updated 07/20/2024 |
| 2022 Tempranillo | updated 11/10/2023 |
| 2022 Tempranillo 5% Blend | updated 11/10/2023 |
| 2022 Mélange de style Rhone | updated 11/10/2023 |
| 2022 Grenache | updated 11/10/2023 |
| 2022 Blackberry | updated 10/06/2022 |
| 2022 Strawberry | updated 10/05/2022 |
| 2022 Elderberry | updated 07/18/2023 |
| 2021 Super Tuscan | updated 11/27/2022 |
These are dessert wines currently present in my racks:
| 2023 Port | updated 12/22/2024 |
| 2022 Chocolate / Raspberry Port | updated 10/15/2022 |
| 2018 Coffee Port | updated 03/03/2019 |
| 2018 Black Forest Port | updated 08/18/2018 |
Navigation
Current posts are displayed on the right, with the most current ones first.
Wine Making: Lists of current and finished wines, along with various lists of everything I’ve made.
Beer Making: Lists of current and finished beers. I don’t have an overall list as I don’t make a lot of beer.
Liqueurs: Posts regarding liqueurs I’ve made using commercial vodka, cognac, and EverClear.
Kombucha: Posts regarding kombucha I’ve made.
Posts: Another avenue to the post groupings listed in the left sidebar.
Documents: I host some commercial documentation as a service to fellow winemakers.
Links: The typical page of links that I find useful.
Enjoy!
All content on this site is copyright 1981-2024.
All Artificial Intelligence / AI / Machine Learning / ML are explicitly denied the use of any materials on this site for any purpose.