Home Winemaking For Dummies

An informative, fun guide to making your own wine

It's estimated that one million North Americans make their own wine. Relatively inexpensive to make (a homemade bottle costs from $2 to $4), a bottle with your own label (and grapes) is a fantasy even someone with modest aspirations can fulfill. Author Tim Patterson, an award-winning home winemaker, shows how it's possible for anyone to create a great wine. In Home Winemaking For Dummies, he discusses the art of winemaking from grape to bottle, including how to get the best grapes (and figure out how many you need); determine what equipment is required; select the right yeast and figure out if any other additives are needed; and store, age, and test wine. With detailed tips on creating many varieties -- from bold reds and demure whites to enchanting rosés and delightful sparkling wines -- this guide is your ultimate winemaking resource.

Introduction 1

Part I: Motivations, Materials, and Methods 7

Chapter 1: Making Great Wine at Home 9

Chapter 2: Finding Good Grapes 21

Chapter 3: Provisioning Your Home Winery 37

Chapter 4: Obsessing over Temperature, Oxygen, and Sanitation 61

Part II: Phases and Stages 71

Chapter 5: Sorting, Crushing, and Pressing 73

Chapter 6: Letting Yeast Do Its Thing: Fermentation 91

Chapter 7: Doing the Post-Fermentation Tango 111

Chapter 8: Aging and Blending 125

Chapter 9: Finishing and Bottling 145

Chapter 10: Storing, Serving, and Starting Over 159

Part III: Deeper Into Reds 169

Chapter 11: What’s Special about Red Wines? 171

Chapter 12: Bold Bordeaux Reds 185

Chapter 13: Ravishing Rhône Reds 199

Chapter 14: Handling the Hard Cases 213

Chapter 15: Up-and-Comers and Off-the-Radars 229

Part IV: Deeper Into Whites 237

Chapter 16: What’s Special about White Wines? 239

Chapter 17: Fruity, Herbal Whites 253

Chapter 18: Aromatic Whites 271

Part V: Beyond Red and White 289

Chapter 19: Thinking and Drinking Pink 291

Chapter 20: Dessert, Fortified, and Sparkling Wines 299

Part VI: The Part of Tens 315

Chapter 21: Ten Mistakes Most Home Winemakers Make at Least Once 317

Chapter 22: Ten Ways To Save Money (and Make Better Wine) 321

Chapter 23: Ten Differences between Wine(makers) and Beer(brewers) 325

Part VII: Appendixes 329

Appendix A: Glossary 331

Appendix B: Conversions 333

Appendix C: Resources 335

Appendix D: Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) and pH 339

Index 347

Tim Patterson writes about wine and makes some of his own in Berkeley, California. He contributes the monthly "Inquiring Winemaker" column for the industry trade magazine Wines & Vines, digging into winemaking theories and techniques, and he covered home winemaking for several years in the pages of WineMaker. He has won dozens of Gold medals, Double Golds, and Best of Shows from amateur winemaking competitions in California.

Learn to:

• Master every step of the winemaking process
• Select the perfect grapes for your wines
• Craft a delicious range of red and white varietals
• Create sparkling, rosé, and dessert wines

Enjoy making (and drinking) your own first-class wines

Making high-quality wines is fun and easy. This must-have guide gives you easy-to-follow instructions in everything from selecting the right grapes and the proper equipment, to the crush and fermentation, to aging and bottling your wine. Award-winning home winemaker Tim Patterson provides tips on how to make every style of wine — red, white, dry, sweet, and bubbly. Soon, your family and friends will be toasting your delectable creations!

• Equip yourself — get the tools you need and design a functional winery, no matter how small your space
• Choose great grapes — explore your options, from fresh to frozen, and figure out the quantity you need
• Make reds that impress — learn proven techniques for red wines, including bold Bordeaux and ravishing Rhône wines
• Create delicious whites — make Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs like the professionals, thanks to expert advice
• Explore other styles of wine — think pink with refreshing rosé wines and indulge your sweet tooth with delicious dessert wines
• Age your wine to perfection — weigh the merits of storing your wine in glass or barrels, and calculate the ideal aging time

"Tim Patterson is one of the best contemporary writers on wine in the United States. Reading Home Winemaking For Dummies is the absolute best way to tackle the very satisfying process of making your own wine."
— Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible

Open the book and find:

• Winemaking hints and secrets from professional vintners
• Affordable grape varieties that make tasty wine
• How to test and tweak your juice before fermentation
• The yeast strain that's right for your wine
• Mistakes to avoid and trouble-shooting tips
• Minor wines with major appeal
• Whether to use American or French oak — or any oak at all

"Tim Patterson is one of the best contemporary writers on wine in the United States. His easy-to-read, engaging prose transforms even the most complicated aspect of making wine and makes it comfortable and understandable. Reading Home Winemaking For Dummies -- like having Patterson by your side as a personal mentor-is the absolute best way to tackle the very satisfying process of making your own wine."
—Karen MacNeil, Author, The Wine Bible

"A thorough, practical, and entertaining guide, this text takes tips from the pros and brings common sense and approachability to the art of winemaking. Mr. Patterson's vast experience and contagious passion for the subject make Home Winemaking For Dummies an enjoyable read while the format makes it an excellent reference and allows the reader to delve as deep into the subject matter as he or she wishes. Whether problem-solving or pursuing stylistic ideals Mr. Patterson holds the reader's hand when needed but still encourages creativity within safe boundaries. From sourcing fruit to healthy fermentation habits straight through aging, bottling, and even enjoying home-made wine this guide has you covered at every step - I even learned a few things myself! This book would be a welcome addition to any wine enthusiast's library and is equally accessible to novice and connoisseur."
—Ondine Chattan, Winemaker, Geyser Peak Winery

"As a 20-year amateur winemaker with an addiction to winemaking books, I now have a new ‘go-to' book for my first reference! After the excellently accurate coverage of basic winemaking, Tim's tome takes the wonderful turn of emphasizing the subtle, and not-so subtle, differences that make the distinctions between the popular varietals - all in one place! Home Winemaking For Dummies is now prominently on my shelf in front of all the textbooks!"
—Dave Lustig, President, Cellarmasters Home Wine Club Los Angeles

"Tim Patterson is able to express his knowledge and passion of winemaking in a vey understandable, humorous, and practical way. If you follow the advice in this book, you will be able to produce wine that will likely be better than inexpensive commercial wine, and could be as good as any wine ever made. I applaud Tim's effort and wish this book was around when I started making wine."
—Kent Rosenblum, Consultant Winemaker, Rosenblum Cellars, and former home winemaker