Winemaking 101

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One of the greatest satisfactions in our business is helping our customers make the best wine possible. In addition to providing our quality raw materials and products, we strive to make wine and winemaking information and education readily available to our commercial and home winemakers. We have assembled information and guides on various aspects of wine making that we hope you will find helpful. We will be adding to and improving this library regularly, so please re-visit and check in often.

Basic Home Wine making Information

  • Home Wine making Beginner's Checklist
  • Home Wine making Basics with Fresh Juice Pails and Drums
  • Glossary of Basic Winemaking Terms & Tips
  • Home Wine making Basics
  • Weights and Measures Info & Conversions  

Home Wine making with Fresh Juice Instruction Sheets

  • Home Wine making with Italian Juice Pails
  • Home Wine making with Chilean Juice Pails

Wine making Class Outlines

  • Winemaking 101 - Basic Winemaking Class Outline
  • Winemaking 201 - Intermediate Winemaking Class Outline
  • Winemaking 301 - Advanced Winemaking Class Outline
  • Balancing & Blending Course Outline

Chemicals and Additives

  • Introduction to Anti-Oxidants and Preservatives
  • Using Sulfur Dioxide in Wine
  • Better Wine Through Chemistry
  • Specialty Tannins and Polysaccharides
  • Usage Rates for Specialty Tannins

Yeast and Cultures

  • Yeast Selection Chart: Deciding Which Yeast Strains to Use
  • Yeast Strains Presque Isle Wine Cellars Uses In its Wines
  • Wine Yeast Usage Information and Tips
  • Introduction to Malo-Lactic Cultures
  • Instruction for Chris Hansen's Lab Malo-Lactic Cultures

Enzymes

  • Using Pectic Enzymes
  • Using Zyme-O-Clear Liquid Pectic Enzyme
  • Using Zyme-O-Color Plus Liquid Pectic Enzyme  

Acid and Sugar Adjustment

  • Ameliorating Wine
  • Wine Amelioration with Water
  • Acid Reduction Using Calcium Carbonate
  • Lowering Sugar Content of Juices  

Testing and Analysis

  • Testing Free SO2 by Aeration Oxidation
  • Diluting NaOH to Tenth Normal
  • Standardizing NaOH Using Potassium Acid Pthalate (KaPH)
  • Determining Total Acidity

Filtering and Clarifying

  • Clarifying Your Wine
  • Filter Media Explained
  • Use and Care of PIWC Filter Units
  • Using Bentonite
  • Using Sparkolloid
  • Using PVPP as a Fining Agent
  • Comparative Field Testing of PIWC and Pall Filter Cartridges 

Filter Cartridge Use and Care

  • Filter Cartridge Selection and Usage Chart
  • Filter Cartridge Compatibility Chart 
  • Cleaning and Storing Filter Cartridges
  • Graver Filter Cartridge Regeneration Procedures
  • Cleaning and Sanitizing Procedure for Graver Filter Cartridges
  • Graver Filter Cartridges: Pre-wetting Hydrophilic Membranes for Integrity Testing

Barrels and Barrel Alternatives

  • Barrel Use and Care

Cleaning and Sanitizing

Vineyard and Grafting

  • PSU Selecting Vine Material and Nursery Sources
  • Using Chinosol and Grafting Wax

Tasting Wine

  • The Wine Aroma Wheel - An Aid for Tasters
  • How to Taste Wine Course Outline
  • Wine Tasting Cribsheet- How to Taste Wine