Learn to make better wine at home. Whether you’re making your first batch or are an experienced home winemaker looking to improve your skills, this two-day course offers a hands-on introduction to the art and science of winemaking.
Designed for wine enthusiasts and home winemakers, as well as viticulturists who want to make wine from the grapes they grow, this course provides foundational scientific knowledge and practical skills you can apply to small-scale wine production. Through lectures, demonstrations and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn to make informed winemaking decisions, monitor fermentation and understand the scientific principles behind each step of the process. You’ll also have opportunities to ask questions, share experiences and discuss your own winemaking challenges.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the practical knowledge and confidence to successfully turn grapes into finished wine.
Learning Outcomes
- Calculate appropriate additions of yeast, nutrients and other winemaking inputs
- Inoculate juice and manage alcoholic fermentation
- Monitor fermentation kinetics and interpret changes throughout fermentation
- Evaluate nutrient needs and make appropriate additions
- Perform basic wine analyses and interpret results to guide winemaking decisions
- Manage malolactic fermentation
- Explain the principles and purposes of fining and filtration
- Apply appropriate aging, stabilization and storage practices
- Prepare wine for bottling and apply basic bottling techniques
- Apply essential sanitation practices and properly use equipment for small-scale winemaking
Skills You Will Gain
- Small-scale winemaking
- Fermentation management and monitoring
- Winemaking calculations
- Yeast inoculation and nutrient management
- Basic wine analysis
- Malolactic fermentation management
- Winemaking troubleshooting
- Wine stabilization and storage
- Bottling preparation
- Winery sanitation
Course Format and Pacing
This live, in-person course takes place over two (2) consecutive days. Course materials and an instructor announcement about parking and attire will be provided in Canvas, UC Davis CPE’s learning management system. Students must be at least 21 years old to attend.