Learn — winemaking

Acidity in Wine If you remember from back when we talked about why some wines age like George Clooney, and others not so much, acidity is one of the 5 components that make up a wine's structure. Think of structure as the foundation or backbone of the wine. Without solid foundation, nothing can be great. I like to think of the structure as the building itself, and then the aromas and flavors as the furniture and decor.  The 5 components of structure are: Fruit: red fruit, black fruit, exotic/tropical fruit, etc.   Sugar Acidity Alcohol Tannin When these 5 things are balanced in perfect harmony, we're...

Check out our Insta!   Old Vines You often see "Old Vines" touted on labels yet many producers don't actually say how old these vines truly are. Just like "natural wine," there is no legal definition. Man, they sure do make it approachable to be a wine consumer. And you wonder why spiked seltzer sales are booming.     Australia has many of the world's oldest vines. Out of frustration for the lack of transparency, a group of winemakers in Australia joined forces to create the Barossa Old Vine Charter in 2009. Their "definitions" are decently agreed upon amongst the global wine community: old...

  What is Carbonic Maceration? The short answer: put whole clusters of intact grapes into a vessel remove the oxygen from the vessel fermentation happens INSIDE the berries when alcohol reaches a high enough level inside the berries, they explode releasing more Carbon Dioxide gas the weight from the whole clusters on the top press the grapes beneath releasing juice the grapes are pressed off the skins the native yeasts carry out the rest of the fermentation What does carbonic maceration taste like? It creates a light-bodied red wine with fruity aromas and flavors of banana, bubblegum, kirsch, or sometimes...

What is the truth about sulfites and wine? Does natural wine have sulfites? Why do they add sulfites to wine? How do low-intervention winemakers use sulfites? Dive in and find out!