updated 01/20/2025
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 | Posted | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Winemaking | ||
| Basic Winemaking Process | 01/20/2022 | 10/27/2024 |
| Expansion in the Carboy | 03/17/2024 | 03/17/2024 |
| Fixing Fruit Wine Recipes | 02/09/2022 | 02/21/2022 |
| How to Make a Yeast Starter | 03/19/2022 | 07/10/2024 |
| How to Make a Yeast Starter, Part 2 | 09/01/2023 | 09/01/2023 |
| Making Quick Wine from Commercial Juice | 01/23/2022 | 01/23/2022 |
| Most Important Question In Winemaking | 07/03/2023 | 08/10/2023 |
| Primary Fermenter Size | 07/30/2024 | 07/30/2024 |
| Racking | ||
| Reducing Headspace in Secondary Containers | 08/13/2023 | 08/19/2023 |
| Reducing Wine Loss | 12/23/2021 | 01/12/2022 |
| The 1-3-3 Rule | 02/02/2021 | 05/06/2021 |
| When to do the first racking? | 05/15/2021 | 02/07/2024 |
| When to do the second racking? | 03/04/2022 | 06/25/2023 |
| Sanitizing | ||
| How to Make K-Meta Solution | 09/20/2023 | 09/21/2023 |
| Sanitizing Bottles and Corks | 09/21/2023 | 09/21/2023 |
| Sanitation in Wine | 08/13/2021 | 09/27/2021 |
| Sanitizing During Winemaking | 03/01/2022 | 03/02/2022 |
| Winemaking Techniques | ||
| Backsweetening Wine | 06/01/1998 | 11/29/2023 |
| Bulk Aging Wines | 10/16/2018 | 05/06/2021 |
| Calculating Chaptalization Sugar | 06/24/2024 | 06/25/2024 |
| Chaptalizing Wine | 06/02/2021 | 01/12/2022 |
| Chromatography Test for Malic Acid | 01/19/2025 | 01/20/2025 |
| Cold Stabilization | 06/22/2021 | 06/22/2021 |
| Determining Initial Brix / Specific Gravity | 01/08/2023 | 01/08/2023 |
| Glycerin in Winemaking | 11/15/2023 | 07/16/2024 |
| Handling Hydrogen Sulfide in Wine | 11/12/2024 | 12/22/2024 |
| Homogenizing a Must | 11/24/2024 | 01/17/2025 |
| How I Blend Wines | 06/07/2024 | 08/13/2024 |
| How Long to Bulk Age Wine | 05/05/2021 | 05/05/2021 |
| Making a Big Red | 04/20/2022 | 08/21/2023 |
| Making White Wine from Red Grapes | 09/30/2023 | 10/10/2023 |
| Using Bentonite in Winemaking | 10/20/2023 | 10/22/2023 |
| Bottling | ||
| Bottling Wine From The Carboy or Barrel | 06/19/2023 | 06/19/2023 |
| Cleaning Wine Bottles | 06/15/2023 | 06/15/2023 |
| Wine Bottling Process | 07/26/2023 | 07/26/2023 |
| Oak & Barrels | ||
| Barrel Aging Process | 04/04/2023 | 12/31/2024 |
| Comparison of Oak Adjuncts | 10/27/2022 | 10/27/2022 |
| Conditioning a Wine Barrel | 10/21/2023 | 10/22/2023 |
| Fermentation vs Aging Oak | 12/06/2021 | 09/12/2024 |
| Why Used Barrels? | 03/15/2021 | 05/06/2021 |
| General Information | ||
| How Long to Keep Sorbate? | 07/22/2024 | 07/27/2024 |
| Oxygen is not the Boogie Man in Winemaking | 05/22/2024 | 05/22/2024 |
| Safe Pressure in Wine Bottles | 07/27/2024 | 07/27/2024 |
| What’s in a Wine Kit? | 12/14/2022 | 01/01/2023 |
| Experiments | ||
| Kieselsol and Chitosan Test Results | 06/18/2023 | 10/11/2023 |
| Making a Twenty Year Kit Wine | 05/25/2024 | 05/24/2024 |
| Oak Stix Experiment | 02/28/2021 | 08/10/2023 |
| Non-Winemaking Topics | ||
| Mead Making Reference Sheet | 12/01/2006 | 08/27/2021 |
| So You Like Beer . . . | 06/01/1994 | 08/10/2023 |