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Forgive my ignorance, but how come you guys can't ship wine via USPS? Hypothetically, would I be able to send wine to a friend in the US?

So my father-in-law has decided that he doesn't want to put all the work into his vineyard any more (specifically, he wants to travel and things like that without worrying about his vines). He wanted to rip them all out but I've (hopefully) convinced him to keep them .. on the condition that I...

Lop off the arms that aren't producing - make sure the plant puts all its energy into its healthy limbs! That's awesome that you've found a house with nice mature vines! Was that a factor in your housing choices or are you getting into winemaking based on that fact??

Haha! Sounds pretty emphatic. Next time I'll remember to take an SG reading at the start of the ferment.

Hi all, Just wondering how accurate a vinometer usually is? This sort of style: Tested my Grenache-Shiraz wine at 9% abv - it does taste very light & the Grenache was picked quite early, but even so that seems a very low measurement. Is this the most accurate way to get an alcohol...

For quirkiness, one of my favourites in my neck of the woods is the Sevenhill winery in the Clare Valley. It was established by Jesuit monks in 1851 and remains a monastery as well as a winery ... it's very atmospheric, there are beautiful cellars and ruins of old buildings around the site ...

I tried to make a full-bodied Grenache-Shiraz (co-fermented) but have ended up making something more akin to a rose ... which is weird because the must stayed on skins for 2 weeks. I pressed by hand with a bunch of weird instruments like a coffee plunger & potato masher so I think that's...

that looks awesome cimbaliw, wish I didn't see it while lunch time is still an hour away! This evening I'm handing over my wine to a friend of mine who works in a winery and will bottle it for me under proper screwcap... A bit nervous about my first effort but really looking forward to...

2011 Dyson sangiovese, McLaren Vale. Intense & rustic.. meaty cherries. mmmmmm. Quiet night in with pasta and a movie.

Yep. Here, a free-trade agreement that Australia signed with the EU in the early 1990s has meant that a whole lot of location-based terms that used to be used generically (like 'champagne', 'burgundy', 'hermitage' etc) are now off-limits. For table wines, this mostly means using grape...

So Meritage is a term which was concocted to describe a Bordeaux blend, while avoiding references to Bordeaux itself (as a protected designation of origin). And it's a proprietary name so can only be used under license? Interesting....

As for the apple wine, well there is a commercial cider made in Tasmania named 'Dickens Cider'... I think that perhaps in the interests of good taste you stay away from that one! I like 'Side by Cider', excellent JohnT!

I guess after a few months in barrel you'd get a pretty good idea of how heavy the oaking is and how to proceed from there. Also got to make the choice as to French v American oak ... I don't think Hungarian is common here.

Incredible. :ts Brazil forget samba, ze germans are coming!

That's a good idea ... so get a cheapy commercial wine that is a similar variety / style to the wine you want to make for topping up...

Daft question, but do you use the previous years' wine to top off, or do you put some current wine aside after primary fermentation?

Thanks all, I think I will try to seek out a new, smaller barrel then, so long as cost isn't prohibitive.

Next vintage I am looking to mature a batch of wine in a proper oak barrel. I have been thinking about trying to locate a barrique (225 L / 60 gal) but I may not actually have the capacity of grapes to do this size. My question is this: if I found a new or relatively new smaller barrel (say 30...

This is pretty much exactly what soccer goes through in Australia (and JohnT's response is pretty much that of a large number of Australians too!) Here soccer has three other codes of football to compete with (Rugby Union, Rugby League and Aussie Rules) as well as cricket. It's increasing in...

Game over. Commiserations USA, Belgium certainly deserved the win over the course of the game but your boys played with so much heart to wrestle the momentum back.