The Winemaking Process

Whether you decide to make wine by yourself or with a group of friends, the winemaking process you choose will determine the style of the wine you make.

It’s a fascinating experience to learn and put into practice your understanding of the things that make a difference—oak, aging, fermentation techniques, fining and so forth. We provide all the consultant knowledge and all of the equipment—and we help you to make savvy decisions about your wine, whether it’s a group or individual project.

Your Wine, Your Way

To start the process, we provide a questionnairethat helps you define your choice of grape variety and style, along with information that will help you determine when the grapes are ready to pick, whether to take off all the stems, soak in dry ice, crush all the berries or only some of them, and more. If you’re new to this, some or all of these decisions will promote a certain amount of initial confusion.

Join the club. Everybody starts out that way. But since the winemaker who’s working with you has been through all of this before, often, he or she will give you guidance so you feel comfortable making decisions that closely align with your goal.

Once your wine’s in the barrel—on its way to producing 24 cases, a barrel’s worth—you’ll get more input to help you decide if you want more or less contact with the lees ( yeasty residue), if you want malolactic fermentation to take place, if you want to filter, fine, blend and more.

The final result is a premium wine with your custom label on it and your heart and soul in it.

The final bottle cost, all-inclusive, typically ranges from $20 to $35, depending on grape variety. If you are looking to produce less wine, send us your contact information — syafa@sonomagrapemasters.com—along with your choice of variety, and let us help you find a partner in vino to share the cost and excitement of producing your own wine, start to finish.