Whitepapers

updated 11/12/2024

I record my understanding and processes for numerous winemaking activities as whitepapers. Originally I started these musings to help me remember things, but this has morphed into recording answers to common questions on WineMakingTalk. After answering the same question a dozen or more times, it’s far more efficient to write a well thought out answer, and post the URL.

Note that I am an amateur winemaker — this is a lifelong hobby, not a vocation. While I don’t have professional training, I have 40+ years of winemaking experience, and read practical winemaking guides and research papers, so my musings are based upon practical experience along with knowledge gleaned from professionals and my fellow winemakers on WineMakingTalk.

Also note that the ideas I present are not the only valid answers. Most things in winemaking have more than one possible solution, and I present what has worked for me.

Some of my whitepapers are geared towards beginners, but some of the more advanced topics require background and experience. If you are a beginner, start with the items under Basic Winemaking.

 

Whitepaper Name Updated
Basic Winemaking
Basic Winemaking Process 01/21/2022
Expansion in the Carboy 03/17/2024
Fixing Fruit Wine Recipes 02/21/2022
How To Make A Yeast Starter 04/20/2024
How To Make A Yeast Starter, Part 2 09/01/2023
Making Quick Wine From Commercial Juice 01/23/2022
The Most Important Question In Winemaking 08/10/2023
Racking
Reducing Headspace in Secondary Containers 08/10/2023
Reducing Wine Loss 01/12/2022
The 1-3-3 Rule 05/06/2021
When To Do The First Racking? 02/07/2024
When To Do The Second Racking? 03/04/2022
Sanitizing
How To Make K-Meta Solution 09/20/2023
Sanitizing Bottles and Corks 09/20/2023
Sanitation in Wine 09/27/2021
Sanitizing During Winemaking 03/02/2022
Winemaking Techniques
Backsweetening Wine 11/29/2021
Bulk Aging Wines 05/06/2021
Calculating Chaptalization Sugar 06/24/2024
Chaptalizing Wine 01/12/2022
Cold Stabilization 06/22/2021
Determining Initial Brix / Specific Gravity 01/08/2023
Glycerin In Winemaking 07/16/2024
Handling Hydrogen Sulfide in Wine 11/12/2024
How I Blend Wines 08/13/2024
How Long to Bulk Age Wine 05/06/2021
Making a Big Red 08/21/2022
Making White Wine from Red Grapes 09/10/2023
Using Bentonite in Winemaker 10/22/2023
Bottling
Bottling Wine From The Carboy or Barrel 06/19/2023
Cleaning Wine Bottles 06/15/2023
Wine Bottling Process 07/26/2023
Oak and Barrels
Barrel Aging Process 04/06/2023
Comparison of Oak Adjuncts 10/27/2022
Conditioning a Wine Barrel 10/21/2023
Fermentation vs. Aging Oak 05/06/2022
Why Used Barrels? 05/06/2022
General Information
How Long to Keep Sorbate? 07/07/2024
Oxygen is not the Boogie Man in Winemaking 05/22/2024
Safe Pressure in Wine Bottles 07/27/2024
What’s in a Wine Kit? 01/01/2023
Experiments
Kieselsol and Chitosan Test Results 06/18/2023
Making a Twenty Year Kit Wine 05/25/2024
Oak Stix Experiment 01/21/2022
Non-Winemaking Topics
Mead Making Reference Sheet 08/27/2021
So You Like Beer . . . 08/27/2021