After my semi-successful attempt with the wine kit, I was ready to try again, but this time interested in kicking it up a notch. What else to do then but to call the 1-800 number on the kit to see if they would sell me some grapes this time. After being put through to someone called the “winemaker,” the conversation went something like this:
“Yeah, I’m interested in making some wine from grapes this time. Is there anything else I would need other than some grapes.”
“Actually, it’s a bit more involved then that, you might try reading a book first.”
So that’s what I did. Several in fact. Here’s a list of the winemaking library I’ve accumulated over the last couple years, most of which I’ve read several times:
Home Winemaking Step by Step – A Guide to Fermenting Wine Grapes by Jon Iverson – A pretty technical review of the entire process, with a focus on the chemistry.
The Backyard Vintner – An Enthusiast’s Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Wine at Home by Jim Law – Sort of like an illustrated intro, but not a lot of detail (technically this book belongs to Drew and Lily, because Kim and I gave it to them as a gift, but I pretty much borrowed it back the next day. Whoops.)
From Vines to Wines – The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine by Jeff Cox – In between the first two in the level of detail, and probably my favorite resource at this point.
The Way to Make Wine – How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home by Sheridan Warrick – Forgot I even had this book until just now. Guess I need to reread it.
Wine Grape Production Guide for Eastern North America by Tony Wolf – A very technical textbook about growing grapes in this region.
Oregon Viticulture by Edward Hellman – Same as above but specific to Oregon
This doesn’t include the dozen or so books I have about wine drinking, wine regions, etc.
So, allow me distill for you what my reading over the last several years has taught me about winemaking: it is a real pain in the ass.
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