Where to Start in Winemaking

      Perhaps you've decided to start making wine and you've stumbled upon this blog looking for information on the process. My best advice to you is to get a book (or several for that matter) on winemaking rather than get answers online from less than reputable folks (say, maybe I'm one of those folks.) Below is a list of books I've found to be excellent at explaining the process in different ways and at various commitment levels.

The Art of Home Winemaking
This book is great for a beginner who just wants to start with a bucket, carboy and some tubing. It has a nice overview of the process and recipes to get you started. This was my first book when I became interested in making wine, so it's near and dear to me. Plus, for $0.25 on Amazon, it's not a bad buy..

Techniques in Home Winemaking
Once you get a feel for the process, you'll want more in-depth knowledge of testing the various parameters of your must and fine tuning it later in the wine's life. Look no further than this book by Daniel Pambianchi. Everything you need to know to make wine from grapes. This author is essentially the authority on wine making at home and if you're not one of 2000+ members of his facebook group, then you're missing out on a rare opportunity to have access to someone so knowledgeable about making wine. Get this book! I read it yearly to brush up on the process before diving into winemaking for the year. My copy is well thumbed and I'm always referring to it.

Morewine! Guide to Red Wine Making
This is a pdf. guide that should be read yearly before your grapes come in. There is a guide to working with white grapes too. It's the perfect beginning to end outline to the process of red wine making. Did I mention it's free? Download this or order the print version, either way you need this in your winemaker library.

From Vines to Wines
If your plan is to grow the grapes to make your wine, this is a one stop shop for grape growing and winemaking. Jeff Cox lays out what it takes to plant and maintain a vineyard and then turns around and shows you what to do when your grapes finally come in! A must have book.

The Grape Grower
Lon J. Rombough's passion for all things grape really comes across in this book. This could very well be the only book on viticulture you'll ever need to have a thriving vineyard in your backyard. From planting to maintaining and beyond, this book really has it all. Well written with easy to understand explanations, this book really is a page turner compared to other viticulture books I've read.

The Homebuilt Winery
Want to build your winery from the ground up? This is the only book you'll need for that! Forget searching the internet for grainy pictures or plans for a shotty wine rack. Steve Hughes' nicely illustrated book has it all from building a crusher destemmer, to building a wine transfer pump to even planting a vineyard!


Other Greatest Hits
The Way to Make Wine
Home Winemaking: Step by Step
Winery Technology and Operations -For once you move past carboys...