About
From planting vines to savoring the finished product, Jeff Cox covers every aspect of growing flawless grapes and making extraordinary wine. Fully illustrated instructions show you how to choose and prepare a vineyard site, build trellising systems, select, plant, prune, and harvest the right grapes for your climate, press, ferment, and bottle wine, and judge wine for clarity, color, aroma, and taste. With information on making sparkling wines, ice wines, port-style wines, and more, this comprehensive guide is an essential resource for every winemaker. Join the journey from grape to bottle in the fifth edition of this classic guide to winemaking. Covering the entire process and including solutions for problems, this is a must-have for current and new winemakers alike.
Jeff Cox is the author of 21 books on food, wine, and gardening, including Gardening with Biochar, From Vines to Wines, and Cellaring Wine. He was the managing editor of Organic Gardening for many years, and currently serves as a contributing editor to The Tasting Panel, SOMM Journal, Clever Root, and Horticulture magazines, and writes a monthly garden feature for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. He has been the host of the PBS television series Your Organic Garden and Grow It! on HGTV. Cox lives in Sonoma County in California. Take It from Grape to Glass
In this classic guide to winemaking, Jeff Cox walks you through the entire process, from selecting the vines and growing the grapes to fermenting and bottling - and finally, tasting - your wine. The fifth edition includes profiles of successful home winemakers, as well as sections on ice wines, port-style wines, late-harvest or dessert wines, cold-hardy grapes for northern states, and sparkling wines. List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Tim Mondavi
Preface
Introduction: Making Wine
Part 1: Selecting the Vines
The Secrets of Good Wine
The Origin of Classic Wine Grapes
A Self-Education in Wine
Vinifera in the United States
Part 2: Growing the Grapes
Parts of the Grapevine
How Much Wine to Make
Finding a Favorable Site
Grape Trellises
Constructing a Trellis
Ordering and Planting Grapestock
Managing Vineyard Rows and Aisles
Irrigation
Pruning in the First Two Years
Establishing a Training System
Pruning Mature Vines
Cluster Thinning
Training Systems Illustrated
Pest Control Strategies
Fertilization
Tending Grape Crops
Determining Ripeness
Harvesting
Part 3: Making the Wine
Crush Immediately after Picking
Decisions of the First Few Days
The Primary Fermentation
The Secondary Fermentation
The First Racking
Cold Stabilization
Using Barrels
Further Racking and Aging
Wine Disorders
Filtering
Fining
Blending
Final Measurements before Bottling
Bottling
Corking
Labeling
Making Sparkling Wine
Cellaring the Wine
Wine Accoutrements
Sensory Evaluation of Wine
Appendix 1. The Home Winemaker's Record Book
Appendix 2. For More Information
Appendix 3. Sources of Supplies
Appendix 4. Sources of Grapevines
Appendix 5. Grape Pests and Diseases
Index.
Jeff Cox is the author of 21 books on food, wine, and gardening, including Gardening with Biochar, From Vines to Wines, and Cellaring Wine. He was the managing editor of Organic Gardening for many years, and currently serves as a contributing editor to The Tasting Panel, SOMM Journal, Clever Root, and Horticulture magazines, and writes a monthly garden feature for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. He has been the host of the PBS television series Your Organic Garden and Grow It! on HGTV. Cox lives in Sonoma County in California. Take It from Grape to Glass
In this classic guide to winemaking, Jeff Cox walks you through the entire process, from selecting the vines and growing the grapes to fermenting and bottling - and finally, tasting - your wine. The fifth edition includes profiles of successful home winemakers, as well as sections on ice wines, port-style wines, late-harvest or dessert wines, cold-hardy grapes for northern states, and sparkling wines. List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Tim Mondavi
Preface
Introduction: Making Wine
Part 1: Selecting the Vines
The Secrets of Good Wine
The Origin of Classic Wine Grapes
A Self-Education in Wine
Vinifera in the United States
Part 2: Growing the Grapes
Parts of the Grapevine
How Much Wine to Make
Finding a Favorable Site
Grape Trellises
Constructing a Trellis
Ordering and Planting Grapestock
Managing Vineyard Rows and Aisles
Irrigation
Pruning in the First Two Years
Establishing a Training System
Pruning Mature Vines
Cluster Thinning
Training Systems Illustrated
Pest Control Strategies
Fertilization
Tending Grape Crops
Determining Ripeness
Harvesting
Part 3: Making the Wine
Crush Immediately after Picking
Decisions of the First Few Days
The Primary Fermentation
The Secondary Fermentation
The First Racking
Cold Stabilization
Using Barrels
Further Racking and Aging
Wine Disorders
Filtering
Fining
Blending
Final Measurements before Bottling
Bottling
Corking
Labeling
Making Sparkling Wine
Cellaring the Wine
Wine Accoutrements
Sensory Evaluation of Wine
Appendix 1. The Home Winemaker's Record Book
Appendix 2. For More Information
Appendix 3. Sources of Supplies
Appendix 4. Sources of Grapevines
Appendix 5. Grape Pests and Diseases
Index.