Fining and Fining Agents By Bill Collings Most winemakers employ fining agents before filtering, primarily for clarification purposes. However, fining serves additional functions including “colour,…

Winemaker Log A template for documenting the winemaking process from start to finish. Wine Name/ID:   Wine Type:   Grape Source:   Production Start Date:…

Malolactic Fermentation By Bill Collings What Is It? Malolactic fermentation is “the conversion by bacteria of malic acid into CO2 and lactic acid.” Approximately one…

Wine Score Sheet A standardized scoring system for evaluating wines in competition or personal tasting. APPEARANCE (1 pt) Pts Description 1 brilliant, star-bright and/or crystal;…

Acid/pH Adjustments By Bill Collings (Revised August 1, 2007) Overview Winemakers frequently encounter challenges with grape acid and pH balance. Adjustment may be necessary when…

Hydrogen Sulphide and Its Derivatives By Bill Collings (January 28, 2002, modified April 15, 2007) Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) has been known to plague winemakers for…

The Proper Use of Corks Bottling Techniques CORK STORAGE: Corks need cool, dry storage away from chemicals. They should be “sealed in plastic bags and…

Why are pH and Titratable Acidity (TA) not “proportional”? By Charles Plant In wine chemistry, pH and TA measurements operate independently because they measure different…

SO2 Additions Table By Charles Plant Sulphur Dioxide Additions Using Potassium Metabisulphite This reference table provides guidance on dosing sulphur dioxide in winemaking. It indicates…

pH Without Pain By J. E. Underhill This article was published in the October 1989 Grapevine. It has taken all the years since Granny was…