You may be curious about a way of making wine intermediate between using fresh fruit and making kit wines. Increasingly popular, the hobby of making wine from grape juice comes in two formats: sterile and frozen.

After crush and before you add the yeast, you need to test the must to determine if any additions/corrections are needed. Very rarely will you get a grape that naturally has the required balance of acids, sugars, and pH necessary to create a harmonious wine. When one or more of these elements are out of their ideal ranges, the quality of the wine suffers.

Many home winemakers are uncertain on whether or not to have their wines go through malolactic fermentation (MLF). This is not surprising since there is no “one size fits all” approach to the decision and using MLF depends on the type and style of wine that you are trying to make. MLF has a big effect on the flavor and stability of a wine and therefore it is important to fully understand how it works and what it does so you can make the correct winemaking decision in your cellar.