From Vines to Wines: The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine (Paperback)

by Jeff Cox (Author) "Being a home winemaker is a lot like being an amateur opera singer..." (more)
Key Phrases: determining ripeness, cluster thinning, renewal spurs, Growing the Grapes, Making the Wine, Making Consistently Fine Wine (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I would recommend this to home winemakers, new vineyardists, and anyone with an appreciation for wine." -- Hermann Wiemer, Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, Inc.

Product Description
Create you own backyard winery!

From breaking ground to savoring the finished product, Jeff Cox's From Vines to Wines is the most complete and up-to-date guide to growing flawless grapes and making extraordinary wine.

Wine connoisseurs, gardeners, and home winemakers will find the latest techniques in this fully revised and updated edition. With thorough, illustrated instructions, you'll learn how to:

-- Choose and prepare a vineyard site

-- Construct sturdy and effective trellising systems

-- Plant, prune, and harvest the perfect grapes for your climate

-- Press, ferment, age and bottle your own wine

-- Judge wine for clarity, color, aroma, body, and taste

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; 3 edition (January 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580171052
• ISBN-13: 978-1580171052
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,140 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent starter book for new grapegrower/winemaker, June 11, 1999

By A Customer

The new revision is an excellent book for anyone putting in a new vineyard, or thinking about winemaking. The two most certainly go hand in hand, however, if you are just interested in improving your knowledge of growing grapes, then it provides much very usefull information. On the other hand, if you are a new or aspiring winemaker, the section on making wine is filled with up to date, smart information, and can also be a stand alone reference to winemaking. By combining the two related fields, grape growing (specifically for winegrapes), and winemaking the winemaker will better understand what he should be looking for in winegrapes for his resulting wine. Conversely, the grape grower will have an understanding of how to grow his grapes to achieve the best possible product for the winemaker. If you are a grower of French Hybrid grapes, or the newer selection of American crosses from Elmer Swenson, David MacGregor, the University of Minnesota, New York Experiment Station named and numbered varieties, et al, then you do NOT want to pass up this book. A.J. Winkler's book "General Viticulture" is a bit outdated and a good revision would help... this one is right on the money.

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great information for the home winemaker, October 17, 2000

By	Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com" - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

As an avid home winemaker, I was thrilled to find this book. It doesn't get bogged down in long technical descriptions and pages of history. Instead, with sections like "Problems in the South", it gets right into what will and will not work for your home winemaking efforts.

The intro has a glossary of terms and a basic overview of winemaking which is very helpful for those new to the fun. Tables list which kinds of grapes work best for different regions, so those who are planting vines have a best-case scenario laid out for them. Clear instructions tell how to plant the vines, how to prune them, what a trellis looks like, and even harvest details.

That's just to start. Now the books goes into the winemaking process, and it shines here as well. The conversational tone makes it easy to follow discussions of pH and brix and pomace. The book offers various normal situations winemakers find themselves in, and solutions to fix them. There is even information on barrel usage and aging techniques.

The back appendix section offers places to buy wine supplies, wine societies, common vine pests and treatment, and much more.

In all, this is a fantastic resource for the home vine grower and winemaker. Grab a copy if you're either one!

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent survey of all aspects of winemaking, April 11, 2001

By	M. Ragen "searagen" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent introduction to the topics of growing grapes or winemaker hobbyist. Cox does an admirable job of providing enough information and tips for the backyard grapegrower or basement/garage winemaker. Other books may go into more detail but this is a comprehensive overview that encompasses each aspect of growing and winemaking.

As a wine enthusiast, I have given thought (more than once) to learning more about the complete wine-making process. Reading this book has given me just enough confidence to try this as a backyard/basement hobbyist. It's not that I believe I can grow and make world-class wine -- rather, I expect to be able to appreciate the effort that goes into making a world-class wine. And, with any luck, I'll be able to make something worth drinking. The sections of the book on choosing grapes appropriate to your region, growing and training tips, fermentation, aging, bottling are all clearly written. The supply sources listed in the back are comprehensive enough to be able to find the basics. All in all, a very solid effort.