Customer Reviews

Winemaking: Recipes, Equipment and Techniques for Making Wine at Home

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been studying the book now for a couple months and am both impressed with the detail and dissapointed in the inaccuracies. The apple and pear recipies I've tried were way off on volumes and the scrumpy recipe was literally impossibe. You may need some experience to know how to change some of the recipes to make them workable. Other- wise there is wealth of good info and I recommend the book very much in spite of its weaknesses.

Having a mentor to teach you the ropes sure makes mastering a new subject a lot easier. If you want to start the rewarding hobby of winemaking and a mentor is not available, the the Anderson book is the next best thing.

I've now bought six books on the subject, but it is "Winemaking" that I turn to time and again. The Anderson book is the one that's dog-earred, marked up and stained with errant grape juice and young wine.

Indispensible for the beginner.

I'd like to clarify by suggesting 4 stars for a beginner interested in beginning home winemaking and 3 stars for an amateur home winemaker. Regarding beginners interested in winemaking, this is a good starter book with explanations for the ingredients you're using without too much science getting in the way. I feel that this book should be used in conjunction with other books (perhaps Joy of Home Winemaking) to give potential hobbyists a better feel for winemaking. There are numerous recipes for fruits, berries, vinifera & hybrid grapes, and straight concentrates. The reservations I hold against the book is that I suspect it was written more for the west coast hobbyist with better access to some ingredients (ie. certain grape concentrates, brands of yeasts and acids), but that shouldn't prevent anyone from producing wine with this book. (3 stars) Amateurs already familiar with a couple of batches should find this a useful reference because of the variety of recipes and equipement techniques & usage.

You should know right up front that I am one of those individuals that with every visit to the California wine country orders an application from the UC Davis School of Enology (winemaking). But, my departure from the heady Napa or Sonoma valley air usually brings reality back to bare upon me and I am relegated to merely enjoying the bottles I bought. Well, such disappointment is no longer necessary with this spectacular book on do-it-yourself winemaking. The Andersons begin by assuring the prospective alchemist that he or she does not need a sprawling vineyard after all; just a few (ten to be exact) kitchen-grade items and, where applicable, your spouse's indulgence. The recepies read with the ease of a Betty Crocker cookbook and the tantalizing descriptions of the finished products had me conjuring up images of breaking out my holiday bottle of Blackberry Port or a summer Chardonnay. Whatever your poison, the recipies are there as well as the Anderson's assurance that home winemaking need'nt require a total lifestyle change. You may have to read the recipie a couple of times to get it straight but what a small price to pay for your own vintage!!