Home Winemaking Step-by-Step [Paperback]

Jon Iverson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2000

Written expressly for beginning and advanced amateurs, this guide explores home winemaking in practical terms, focusing on the latest fermentation techniques of both red and white wine grapes. Detailed information on equipment, supplies, and mistakes to avoid will make getting started easy. Advanced winemakers will appreciate full explanations of sophisticated topics such as malolactic fermentation, extended maceration sparkling wines, and chemical testing. Also included in the new edition is information on the use of oak barrels. Unlike other winemaking manuals, this is devoted entirely to wine made with grapes instead of fruit wines.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Filled with strong basic knowledge for beginners and techniques and tricks for more experienced vintners."  —Time magazine

From the Author

My goal in writing this book was a reference book containing all of the information that a home winemaker needs from beginning to end. The first 7 chapters describe the basic procedures for the fermentation of both red wines and white wines. The first chapter, the table of contents and index can be read on the Internet. The book is devoted entirely to fermentation, with no effort having been made explore different wine regions, wine appreciation or wine lore in general. The book is unique in that its scope is restricted to grapes and it assembles in one source all pertinent information about the latest fermentation techniques. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Stonemark Publishing; 3rd edition (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096579363X
• ISBN-13: 978-0965793636
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The single best resource I've found for making grape wines., November 23, 1998

By 

Jack B. Keller, Jr. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Winemaking: Step-By-Step (Paperback)

If you've never before made wine from grapes but want to try it, or if you've been making it for years but simply want to improve your skills and your wine, "Home Winemaking Step by Step" is the single best resource for that task.

Jon Iverson has written a book anyone can use with confidence. His writing is straightforward, concise and lay-oriented, and both beginner and advanced winemaker will feel this book was writen for them. For the beginner, it is refreshingly complete. For the advanced winemaker, it contains nuggets of technique and insight that will prove valuable and useful.

Iverson's treatment of acidity, cold soaking and stabilization, extended and carbonic macerations, malolactic fermentation, sparkling wine methods, fining, and oaking are pregnant with value. While most would agree these are advanced topics, Jon works them into the overall process so effortlessly that the beginner might never know he is being ushered through a collegiate. Similarly, the appendices are loaded with procedures, tables, insights, and resources all will find useful.

If you make or want to make grape wines, you really ought to have this book.

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book for home winemakers for fermenting grape wines, January 14, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home Winemaking: Step-By-Step (Paperback)

The is a clear and concise book about making wine from grapes, the best overall book for beginners and serious home-winemakers. It covers the entire process step-by-step with practical and useful advices. It is simple and yet does not neglect the underlying scientific and technical aspects. Quanities of chemicals and additives are all clearly outlined and adjusted to the volumes typical for home winemaking. The chapter on the use of oak additives is the best in print. It also contains excellent coverage on sanitation, the use of sulphites, racking and fining.

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great how-to for the beginner winemaker, January 29, 2001

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Home Winemaking Step-by-Step (Paperback)

This is a great book to sit down and read through before you begin making wine from grapes. It goes through each step a winemaker follows, from the equipment to the yeast, from fining to fermenting.

It would have been helpful to have more photos and high quality illustrations in the book - you are restricted to simple line drawings when reading about the various things going on in the description. Usually they suffice, though, and you can figure out what to do.

This might not be the best 'only one' book for an all-around winemaker - it concentrates on making wine from grapes, while most home winemakers foray extensively into fruit winemaking. Also, it doesn't have recipes in it, so you'll need a companion book to figure out what you're making. Still, this is a very valuable book and should be on the shelf of any home winemaker.