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

This is absolutely a great book for the novice winemaker. Not only does it give dozens and dozens of recipes that can be done at home, it gives history, theory, technique, a glossary - even trouble shooting. It's very well organized. I bought the book for myelf 3 or 4 years ago and was so happy with it that this year I bought 3 of them to give to my siblings. Now they can make their own wine (and stop giving their grapes to me)!

A friend over seas, living in a country where one must make their own, recommended this gem to me last year. Since then, although possessed of no previous knowledge or experience, I succeeded rather easily in making good wines. I also compared the wine from the recipes in Anderson book with highly recommended kits from Vino Del Vida. Although much easier and quicker, the kit product, while very satisfactory according to those who have tasted it, did not measure up to the superior wine made from Anderson's recipes.Practical suggestions for equipment, where to purchase it and techniques are explained in a straightforward fashion. With a relative small cash outlay and this book, you can be well on your way to an interesting hobby.

Some books are meant to be read, and others are meant to be used. This one definitely falls into the second category. Spiral bound, this falls neatly open to whichever wine recipe you are currently working on. There are recipes for apricot wine, kiwi fruit wine, ruby port, sparkling wine, and everything in between.There are also photos and descriptions of winemaking equipment, explanations of how to fortify wine, troubleshooting techniques, and much more.True, not all ingredients are readily available everywhere. Many recipes require trial and error before they become perfect for your palate. That's the same for any recipe, though. Find out what raw materials you have available, open the book to the recipes which match your fruits, and have at it. You'll find that using this book as a springboard, you'll soon be amazing your friends and pleasing your palate with a product made right in your own basement.

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