The Encyclopedia of Home Winemaking: Fermentation and Winemaking Methods. Rev. ed.

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

Pierre Drapeau and André Vanasse write with authority. The former has an academic background in chemistry, some 28 years of experience as manager of a winemaking supply centre, and over 40 years of winemaking experience. The latter had been making wine for a decade when he proposed that they collaborate on this book, which was first published in French in 1998. This later version has been updated to cover the improved musts and concentrates which have come onto the market recently.

This handbook introduces readers to the composition and properties of grapes, the nature and processes of fermentation, as well as the role that chemistry plays in risk management. These chapters are followed by two on equipment and its use, and very useful and up-to-date advice on the choice of musts, including concentrates made of a variety of methods, semi-concentrated musts, sterilized musts, fresh musts, and musts from whole grapes. They offer advice on blends, getting value for money and the maturation prospects for wines made from the various kinds of musts. After these introductory and foundation chapters they offer a thorough examination of the winemaking process, followed by a technical discussion of measurements, scales, and tests. The last chapter examines 50 wine grape varieties, weighing their merits and shortcomings.

The Encyclopedia is a superb manual not only for home winemakers, but for wine consumers whose interest in the product may be enhanced by knowledge of what transpires in the processes which turn grapes into wine.