Winemaker's Academy

Questions on Wine Fermentation & More
In this episode of the Winemaker’s Academy Podcast Matt gets back to some listener and reader questions of wine fermentation as well as safety concerns regarding carbon dioxide. Also, Matt shares a bit about his own winemaking adventures and how they...

It’s a fairly common mistake to use airlocks only during fermentation and switch to a solid plug or bung for bulk aging in a carboy. Why wouldn’t you? After all fermentation is over so there really shouldn’t be anything going on in there.
The truth is that there are other forces at work that can cause problems when using a solid plug on a carboy....

Alas, here is the third and final installment of the First Time Winemaker series where Matt walks Academy member Chris through the entire kit winemaking. Start from the beginning here: First Time Winemaker – Part I, or catch up on the second installment...

There’s a lot of discussion around open fermentations. Beginners especially wonder why some recipes call for open fermentations and kit instructions call for an airlock to be placed on the fermenter as soon as you’ve pitched the yeast.
The truth is, you can do it either way....