Sources of Knowledge

I'd like to imagine that the viticulture and enology coursework I did as an undergrad was a valuable part of my present knowledge base in wine making. Alas, most of the wine classes I took at UC Davis were very wide brushstrokes and left me with little practical knowledge or experience. Some of the upper level courses may have alleviated this distance, but my inability to pass organic chemistry prevented me from proving or disproving this hypothesis.

Instead my current wine making knowledge comes from more readily accessible sources. Specifically a book uncovered by Luke has been the source of most of my knowledge and my go-to reference for this wine making endeavor. The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home by Sheridan Warrick has been an invaluable resource to helping us get through our first two batches of wine. It's straightforward approach to wine making goes a long way towards pulling away the veil of mystery that shrouded the art. The chapters are well organized and warn you of the various perils and issues you will run into along the way. The book is thankfully equipped with a good index, which is a vital tool when you might read through a process and then need to relearn how to do a specific step months later. The book is also thankfully written with beginners in mind and definitions are included and explained. I can't recommend the book enough as a resource for the first time vintner or someone who has a little more to learn about wine making.