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Wrong answer... Wine Quiz Answer: D. It fermented in a big glass jug in the kitchen.
All the reasons are likely culprits on why the wine may not be good, but fermenting in a glass jug (its proper name is a “carboy”) is the principle culprit. Even if you had a new oak barrel, the best grapes, and didn’t add sugar (chapatalization), a home winemaker still cannot make a professional-quality bottle of wine without some way to control the fermentation temperature. To get those pure & deep fruit flavors we expect in even the least expensive bottles, winemakers have to be able to keep the fermentation going for as long as several weeks without any unexpected spikes in temperature. Otherwise, one will get the “canned prunes meets gasoline” taste of nearly all home made wines.
Contributor: Keith Wallace
Keith is the director of the Wine School of Philadelphia and a guest lecturer
for several universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel
University, and Thomas Jefferson University. He writes about wine & culture
for several Philadelphia magazines, and has been cited in many national
publications, including the Wall Street Journal.
Wine School of Philadlephia |