Product Description

A complete reference for the home winemaker. From getting started with the very first batch to advanced techniques for making wines from grapes, this book covers it all. Includes detailed instructions and helpful hints for using concentrates, kits, juices, fruits, and herbs to create a wide variety of homemade wines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #191299 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-03
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .83" h x 8.04" w x 8.08" l, 1.14 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From the Back Cover
Few pleasures are more gratifying than pouring a glass of fine wine, admiring its clarity and color, savoring its rich bouquet, raising it to your lips, and knowing that you made it yourself. With this complete guide to home winemaking, such pleasures can be yours with little fuss and lots of fun. The Home Winemaker's Companion will guide you as you progress from making your very first batch of kit wine to mastering advanced techniques for making wine from fresh grapes. Included are Gene Spaziani's tried-and-true recipes for 115 delectable wines -- even port and champagne! Making consistently great wine at home is easy; the hardest part is being patient while your wine ages!

About the Author
Author Gene Spaziani has been a home winemaker for over 40 years. He shares his knowledge by teaching wine courses in New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut. He is a charter member of the Society of Wine Educators, president of Amenti del Vino-The Wine Society, and a past president of the American Wine Society. Together with Ed Halloran, Gene has co-written the Storey book, The Home Winemaker's Companion. Their book is a complete guide for the beginning or advanced winemaker, with instructions for using concentrates, kits, juices, fruits and herbs to create a wide variety of homemade wines. In addition, Gene is a writer for New England Wine Gazette, WineMaker Magazine, and the American Wine Society Journal. At the sixth annual Connecticut Amateur Home Winemakers Competition, Gene took home the show's highest award. He won Best of Show for his 1996 Cabernet Franc, as well as gold, silver, and bronze medals for other entries. He has also won gold medals for his entries in the American Wine Society Amateur Competition, the Indiana State Fair Amateur Wine Competition, the Connecticut Amateur Wine Competition, and the Pittsburgh Amateur Wine Competition. Gene lives in Connecticut with his wife, Isabel. He has four children and five grandchildren.

Author Ed Halloran is a freelance writer, a radio and television commentator, and a college marketing professor.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1 Getting Started Our goal is to assist you in the process of making wine. We will present a simple method for attaining quality results with easy-to-understand recipes. Although experienced winemakers rarely use recipes, people who are just starting out find that if they follow instructions carefully, they will make good wines from the outset. Modern technology makes it easy to make high-quality wines, as new methods for preserving freshly crushed grape juices, either by blast-freezing or through various pasteurization processes, enable them to remain stable and usable for a long period. Wine, by the way, can be made from any number of things besides grapes, including a variety of other fruits and vegetables. Depending on where you live, many of the raw materials for winemaking may be available locally from vineyards, farms, wholesalers, and retailers. Whether you make your wine from scratch or a kit, from juices or concentrates, you'll find that making your own wine is easy and fun! Novices have produced excellent wines by using kits. These provide the necessary ingredients and instructions, and make it a simple matter for first-timers to create delightful wines. We'll explore this approach in chapter 3. Using juices or concentrates also will enable you to produce wonderful wines. Thanks to the preservation techniques we mentioned earlier, it is possible for home winemakers to make wines from all of the world's great grape regions. There are separate chapters devoted to these methods. Of course, the ultimate experience comes when you make wine from scratch. This requires more work, but the satisfaction you'll get makes it worth the effort. Don't Be Afraid! The process of making wine is simple, and we'll walk you through it one step at a time. This book is designed to meet the needs of many people - from novices to experienced winemakers eager to learn a few new techniques. Some people will discover that they already know a great deal about the process, because they've learned how to brew their own beers and ales. Winemaking is the logical next step for home brewers, because they already have a lot of the equipment they will need and have learned the importance of cleanliness and patience. Cleanliness is critical when you're making wine, and you'll find that if you follow our suggestions for keeping your work area, equipment, and bottles squeaky clean, you'll avoid many of the problems caused by unwanted bacteria and foreign matter. Patience is also important. It's quite natural to want to taste your wine as soon as possible, but Mother Nature needs to be allowed time to work - alone! Often, the best thing to do is simply to stay away from your wine and let it develop on its own. In fact, oftentimes all you have to do is step back and let nature take its course. Eight Steps to Winemaking Winemaking is a fairly simple process and can be accomplished in eight steps: 1. Choose grapes. 2. Crush grapes. 3. Strain ju