How to Make Wine at Home: A Garage Wine Primer

One of the best parts of making wine in a professional setting is being able to see what wine is capable of – both its negatives and its positives – on a large scale. In some sense a branded wine is one that has achieved more positives than negatives and has therefore carved a niche within the industry for its particular style of winemaking.

In recent years, however, scores of exceptional wines have come from very small producers who literally made their first wines in a garage. Pomerol garage wines, as well as some from California and Washington state have found acclaim in their respective markets, proving that the big producers don’t always turn out the best wines.

But how can great wine be made on a small scale? Doesn’t great wine require a significant financial investment?

Answer: Great wine requires know-how, attention to detail, and great grapes.

I received a question regarding this subject after a recent Wines & Spirits conference in Napa. The specifics involved making an Amarone or white Recioto Italian style wine at home. These are intense wines that derive a lot of their character from an extended drying phase after the harvest. During the drying phase, the water inside the grapes evaporates and the flavors concentrate.