Every single wine kit that I’ve ever purchased comes with a package of potassium sorbate. The instructions that come with the wine kits tell us to add sorbate at the same time that we are to add potassium metabisulfite. However, many winemakers balk at adding sorbate to their wine and don’t always follow instructions. Why [...]
Sacramento, California (Vocus) April 20, 2010 Briar Patch at Loehmann?s Plaza, the area?s newest destination location for premium cigar and pipe smokers, will celebrate the grand opening of its exclusive Diamond Crown Lounge on Thursday, April 29. Loehmann?s Plaza is located at 2529 Fair Oaks Blvd in Sacramento, California. Owner Ron Michelson is staging [...]
With the number of wines coming from different regions of the world, Spain, France and Germany through to Australia, Chile and South Africa, it’s not surprising there are a lot of names that we struggle with. So when you’re trying to sort your Beaujolais from your Gewürztraminer, or your Chateauneuf-du-Pape from your Puligny-Montrachet our handy [...]
In an earlier article about making wine for free, we discussed the basic equipment costs you will have to budget for when making wine and discovered that for about $35.00, you can get yourself ready to start fermenting juice. You can of course spend much more than that on other equipment and chemicals, but you [...]
Everyone who has ever purchased a wine kit and read the instructions probably know that degassing wine is an important step before adding clarification ingredients. At the same time, many have questions about this process. But first, what is this gas and where does it come from? All home winemakers likely know that in order [...]
I’ve seen a number of advertisements online suggesting that you can make wine for free. There are “experts” who apparently claim they can tell you how to make wine at no cost to yourself. Can you really do this? Well… yes and here’s how: First, let’s assume you have a vessel of some sort like [...]
New home winemakers often get confused between potassium metabisulfite and sodium metabisulfite. Some winemaking guides only refer to sulfite and it’s up to the reader to try to understand which form of sulfite the author was referring to. What’s the difference? And does it really matter? Both potassium and sodium metabisulfite are used as sanitizing [...]
Are you one of the many people who enjoy drinking red wine but find that you get headaches after drinking it? You don’t get them after drinking white wine but those reds really seem to bring the ache on. Have you like others blamed it on sulfite? If you have, consider that the majority of [...]
Home winemakers will often come across an ingredient or additive called “Campden Tablets.” What are they exactly, and when should you use them? Originally developed in Campden, England at a laboratory that does food safety research, Campden Tablets are used for precise measurement of the preservative sodium metabisulfite. They have been used for decades in [...]