My notebook

Homemade wine blog

I share what works here, and above all what goes wrong.

The articles

A glass carboy filled with fermenting must, topped with a stopper and an airlock, on a dark background

Equipment · 9 min

Winemaking equipment checklist: 12 essentials for beginners

Getting into homemade wine without the right equipment leads straight to frustration.

Wine bottles moving along a bottling line

Bottling · 8 min

How to bottle wine at home: 6 tips to avoid oxidation

Bottling is the last key step in making a wine. It’s done fast and with care.

The tops of sparkling rosé bottles, closed with crown caps

Clarification · 9 min

How to clarify wine naturally: 5 techniques, no additives

Store-bought wines are crystal clear thanks to additives. Yet you can do without them.

Bottles of pétillant naturel lined up on a shelf, some clear, some brown

Pét-nat · 10 min

How to make pét-nat at home: a step-by-step guide

Grapes, specific gravity, bottles, caps and disgorging: everything you need to succeed at a pét-nat at home.

Two wine glasses knocked over on a white surface, with red and rosé wine stains

Beginner mistakes · 11 min

Home winemaking mistakes: 7 beginner errors to avoid

Making your own wine isn’t complicated, in theory. Here are the beginner mistakes that can turn it to vinegar.

Yellow and orange native sulphur wrapped in steam, beside turquoise water

Sulphiting · 12 min

Potassium metabisulphite in wine: how much, when and how

When, how much and how to add sulphites, without disrupting malolactic fermentation.

Crushed red grapes in full fermentation, with pink foam around the edge of the vat

Fermentation · 12 min

Wine fermentation: ideal temperature and how to fix problems

Temperature, eliminated yeasts, juice that’s too sweet or too acidic: the causes of a fermentation that stalls, and what to do.

Chronicles of an apprentice winemaker

La Liste · follow my journey · in French

The best of my small-batch winemaking, sent in French every once in a while.

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