Smart Winemaking

If you are getting started in winemaking, you may notice that nearly any set of instructions involves the addition of both potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate. You may then ask... Are these really necessary? What do they do? Will they give me headaches? Like any new winemaker, you may even opt to just skip out on both of these additions, only to later find out that you have a real headache on your hands... exploding bottles and wine that smells like nail polis

Sweetening homemade wine is easy but if done incorrectly can lead to carbonated wine, blown off corks, or worse... blown up bottles and a huge mess. Most classical red wines do not need any form of sweetening but wines made from fruits, native grapes, or white grapes often need additional sugar to achieve balance. Without any form of sweetening, these high acid wines can come across as sour and difficult on the palate. Why Some Wines Taste So Good Dry Red wines generally ha