Last Call: Registration for “Flawed to Flawless Wine” Closing - Registration for our first “Flawed to Flawless Wine” webinar series is set to close on Tuesday, April 30th! If you’re ready to get some of Denise’s protocols for fixing wine flaws, now is the time to join us. All winemaking experience levels are welcome. When: Wednesday, May 1 & Thursday, May 2, 2024; 1:00-2:30pm (EST) […]
The Power of Suggestion… - “Taste Wine with a Pro” Registration Closes November 7th Are you struggling to market wine to the younger generations? Recently, “Business of Drinks” (@bizofdrinks) posted an infographic on the results from the published study, “Millennials and Gen Z: A Comprehensive Study of Alcohol and Non-Alcohol Beverage Purchase and Consumption Behavior.” The findings indicated Millennials and […]
Tips for Successful MLFs - Many winemakers take the malolactic fermentation (MLF) for granted, assuming it has a success rate similar to that of yeast fermentation. However, MLF is tricky! Like primary fermentation, MLF is a fermentation that is carried out by living lactic acid bacteria (LAB): Lactobacillus, Oenococcus, and Pediococcus (Krieger 2005, Iland et al. 2007). All of these […]
Enhancing Quality of Subpar Wines - Did the 2018 vintage leave you with wines that are less than desirable? If so, you’re not alone. Winemakers in hot, consistently dry climates get adjusted to the routine of making wine. But if you’re a winemaker in a region that experiences vintage variation, routine winemaking practices can be your worst enemy. In years that […]
Maintaining Post-Harvest Momentum - Whether you had the harvest season you’ve always waited for, or you’re just now stabilizing those wines from an unideal vintage, maintaining post-harvest momentum is a challenging thing. The crunch time of harvest is draining: physically tiring and emotionally taxing. If you didn’t take good notes through the harvest season, it can be difficult to […]
Beat the Heat with Sangria - We’ve rounded the corner into hot summer days here in Pennsylvania. When it comes to wine, there’s only one way I know how to beat the heat: make some fresh Sangria! Sangria is one of my favorite wine cocktails to make for family, friends, and guests during the hot summer months. I love taking different […]
Preparation to Ease Harvest Chaos - The start of summer is the beginning of the end for winemakers: we know harvest season is just around the corner. That means the grape harvest chaos is ready to unleash itself upon us: the frequent and unplanned grape deliveries, tank space situations causing stress, wondering if correct additions were made, late hours, sore muscles, […]
Creating Hybrid Wines True to Style - Over the years, I’ve noticed that it’s easy for wineries to fall subject to – what I like to call – the “ice cream syndrome.” In this case, one varietal wine is made for each wine grape variety brought into the cellar. Soon, a wine list in a tasting room can feel a bit like […]
Wine Consulting Lectures at 2018 Industry Conferences - In case you missed my last set of presentations on base sparkling wine production, hard cider production, and practical solutions for winery sanitation at the 2018 VinCO Conference, don’t fret! Stay tuned here at DG Winemaking as I will soon review key points from these presentations in up-coming blog posts, fact sheets, and social media […]
Som Series: Dinner with Celebrity Chef, Sara Moulton - A Note about the Som Series There’s something about that 9-letter word, sommelier, which turns your average wine drinker into a sudden beer drinker at the very mention of their presence. Let’s face it: the world of wine can be intimidating. Sometimes I hear wine discussion and judgment within groups of people and I internally […]
Oktoberfest can be more than Food and Beer - With a lot of strong, German background in my heritage, I have to admit that I love a good Oktoberfest celebration. The biergartens, the meat-based dishes, the music, the potatoes… a sweet remainder that we have turned another season and Fall is in full-swing. On a good Fall day, I’m not denying that it may […]