Hands on Wine making course from grapes

[CDM]

Hello All

After searching and reading in this forum I have learned alot about wine making and want to thank everybody who has posted this wonderful information. I would like to ask if there are any hands on courses on making wine from grapes starting from picking the grape, crushing, adding yeast, checking for PH level/acidity, fermentation, all the way to bottling the wine. A complete process making of wine. I have made wine in the past but it was done the old fashion way (no chemicals, no measuring, no formulas) and the wine always went bad. I live in Maple, Ontario, Toronto Canada. If there is any available information to be passed on, can you please let me know.

Thanks in advance
CDM

 

[sly22guy]

Best advice i can give you is find a local winery and see about volunteering. Most will always except free labor!

 

[djrockinsteve]

Absolutely find a winery or a vinyard and offer your services in return for knowledge.

We have started the "How To" section to try to help but it's nowhere near seeing and getting your hands dirty. That's an education that lasts a life time.

 

[spinelli01]

I'm from washington state and we have a couple of certificate programs, which provide hands on experience. One is through the community college and the other is through the extension dept of one of the universities. Have you checked your local colleges? They are not cheap programs, but I hear they are worth it. If you have the time, I've heard people volunteering with small start-up wineries, who need help and don't have the funds. Good luck

 

[Wade E]

We have one in thew college near me and they even have a small vineyard on site. They have all aspects of wine related programs there.

 

[JohnT]

There are these "wine schools" that are just a big rip off. You get no real experience and end up paying $12 to $20 per bottle. These places are perfect for yuppies that want to pretend to be winemakers.

The best REAL way to learn is to ..

1) keep comming back to this forum
2) (as wade has said) find a winery and start up some dialog with the winemaker.
3) Read, Read, Read,
4) do a lot of home experimentation.

To my knowledge there is nothing that can take a layperson and make him/her into a top notch winemaker in a matter of days. Winkemaking must involve your own individual pallet, so the education must be a long personal journey.

 

[Runningwolf]

I also agree visit your local wineries. Start by asking about used bottles and a few questions. Then ask if they could use some volunteer work. regardless of what your doing you'll learn a lot by observastion and asking questions. Between that and this site you'll get to where you want to be with an investment only in time and equipment.

 

[ibglowin]

These are my favorite that I own. Each one is excellent in its own way. Much cheaper than any course and loads of information. I used them all in one way or another this Fall when I made my first foray into making wine from fresh grapes.

The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home

From Vines to Wines: The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine

Techniques in Home Winemaking: The Comprehensive Guide to Making Chateau-Style Wines

 

[Runningwolf]

These are my favorite that I own. Each one is excellent in its own way. Much cheaper than any course and loads of information. I used them all in one way or another this Fall when I made my first foray into making wine from fresh grapes.

The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home

From Vines to Wines: The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine

Techniques in Home Winemaking: The Comprehensive Guide to Making Chateau-Style Wines

I would like to add this great book to Mike's list

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0965793648/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 Home Winemaking Step by Step: A Guide to Fermenting Wine Grapes

 

[Manimal]

If you're looking at pursuing wine as a career, Niagara College offers a Winery and Viticulture Technician diploma program. It's a pretty comprehensive program that covers everything from vineyard maintenance and operations, vine biology, winemaking, wine chemistry, sensory analysis, etc. It's also very hands-on and has a co-op component to gain practical winery experience. I'm currently in the second year of the program and am very satisfied with the program. Brock University also offers a BSc degree in Enology and Viticulture.

If you're interested in just gaining more knowledge to further your hobby, both schools offer occasional continuing education courses at night and there are often tastings, lectures, etc. held through both institutions where you can gain more insight into winemaking and viticulture. Check out the school websites for details.

I know it's a bit of a drive from Maple, but if you're serious, it's not that bad... We have a guy from Toronto in our class who makes the drive. I've been driving from Cambridge to Niagara everyday for the past year and a half and while I hope to move down there soon, commuting is the only option for the moment.