WineMaker Magazine

06/19/2026

Lots of barrel samples while meeting local winemakers in the Valle de Guadalupe and the Valle de Ojos Negros in Baja California, Mexico during the final three days of our WineMaker Magazine tour. Our group of 20 also had the chance to meet makers of local ports, vermouths, mezcals, and cheeses. Plus plenty of wine-paired meals highlighting local Baja foods. It was a great experience learning over six days about this up and coming wine region from friendly and talented Mexican winemakers. Put Valle de Guadalupe on your wine travel list. Salud!

06/17/2026

Hola from Mexico! It’s been really fun the last three days exploring the exciting wine scene in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe with our WineMaker Magazine group of 20 home winemakers joining us from multiple countries. Great wines made by great people in this hidden gem of a wine region surrounded by beautiful scenery and delicious food: ¡Qué rico! Our experiences have included a very literal blind tasting, lots of personal visits with the local winemakers with winemaking questions getting answered, wine-paired meals highlighting local cuisine, and an impressive range of grapes and styles. 🇲🇽 🍷

06/15/2026

This simple yet elegant liqueur offers a tangible connection to Italy’s mountain kitchens, marrying the accessible flavors of locally sourced sour cherries with the robust body of home-fermented red wine. We explore how to make ratafia at home!

Ratafia is a liqueur that marries the accessible flavors of locally sourced sour cherries with the robust body of home-fermented red wine.

06/09/2026

Join WineMaker Magazine next year in Bordeaux, France for a weeklong wine adventure! From May 30 - June 5, 2027 you’ll taste Bordeaux wines at the source from both the Left and Right Banks. We’ll visit a broad range of wineries from Premier Grand Cru Classé “A” to smaller, family-run operations producing incredible wines. You will hit all the major Bordeaux wine regions including Medoc, Saint-Émilion, Graves, Pomerol, Sauternes, and Entre-Deux-Mers.
Plus you’ll have some incredible food experiences from wine-paired meals in châteaux to fresh local oysters harvested near your table to a cheese-focused dinner in Bordeaux’s leading cheese cave to incredible pastries like the local canelés. We’ll even take a cooking class in Bordeaux preparing a traditional dinner of regional favorites we’ll all enjoy along with some world-class wine.
Our last Bordeaux wine tour in 2022 sold out early so don’t wait to register if you’re interested in this bucket list trip for any wine lover.
Click on the link below for full details on this 2027 Bordeaux wine adventure. Santé!
(All photos from our 2022 WineMaker Bordeaux trip.)
https://www.tastevacations.com/2027-bordeaux-wine-food-adventure-with-winemaker-magazine/

06/02/2026

Not all red wine grapes are destined to make a big, blockbuster wine. But even with the right grapes, a winemaker still needs to consider techniques for power, structure, and balance in that bold red wine. It comes down to how the grapes are treated during maceration and fermentation on through pressing and aging.

A winemaker needs both the right grapes and to consider techniques for power, structure, and balance to craft big, bold red wines.

05/16/2026

Find Out the Top WineMaker Competition Winners!
The results are in! Click on the link below for a downloadable PDF of all this year’s medal winners. Judging notes and any awards are being sent out and should arrive in entrant mailboxes soon.https://winemakermag.com/wp-content/uploads/results2026comp.pdf

05/05/2026

Whether the body of your wine is too thin, fallen out of balance during bulk aging, or has stubborn tannins that resist softening, there are solutions. From tannins, mannoproteins, inactivated dry yeast, gum arabic, glycerol, and fining agents . . . you just need to know which to add to treat what ails your wine.

Whether the body of your wine is too thin, fallen out of balance, or has stubborn tannins that resist softening, there are solutions.

05/01/2026

Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s most widely planted and heralded wine grape, but there are more than 40 varieties Austrians use to make wine. Learn more about how these wines are made from three professional Austrian winemakers so you can try to make your own Austrian-style wine at home this year.

Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s most widely planted and heralded wine grape, but there are more than 40 varieties Austrians use to make wine.

04/26/2026

The 2026 WineMaker Magazine International Wine Competition by the numbers:
1,043 wine entries
40 U.S. states, 4 Canadian provinces, 5 countries (Australia wins farthest distance traveled for an entry received)
312 total judging hours
24 straight years of being world’s largest competition for home winemakers
1 great team!
Thanks to the judges, pourers, score data wranglers, bottle rustlers, cork pullers, and troubleshooters for 3 great days. And thanks to all who entered!
Results will be first announced online on May 15 with scoring sheets and awards shipped out afterwards. Cheers from our judging site in Vermont!

04/25/2026

Sparkling wines, whites, and rosés. Breakfast of champions to kickoff day two of the WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition.