WINEMAKING HOBBYISTS ARE A CRAFTY BUNCH! We are passionate about making wine because we derive immense pride and satisfaction from using raw materials to create something with our own hands. Winemaking allows us to express our artistic talent and proudly share the rewards with our family and friends, and that’s why we prefer to build rather than buy. In our pursuit of self-sufficiency, we build all kinds of contraptions — what some call “toys,” but we prefer to call “tools of the trade” — to simplify our winemaking or to solve specific problems or needs.
In addition to building a cellar from the ground up (literally, from foundation to framing to wall finishing and installing cooling units), I’ve been known to build a few contraptions: punch-down tools, barrel racks, and a disgorging freezer. To get extra oak mileage, I’ve even taken barrels apart for reconditioning. Although I researched my projects extensively, most were created from mental plans developed from all the ideas I had gathered. Many were ill-conceived, and so I’ve made a few mistakes along the way. I paid dearly in wasted energy and material.
My biggest frustration was the huge void in the literature, and even on the Internet. There have been countless books written on the art of winemaking, but there are no comprehensive books or reliable Internet resources on building projects for winemaking equipment, that is, until now. This book fills that void. As Steve states, “This book is not about making wine, it is about making your winery.” And it delivers on his objective “to provide effective solutions for the dilemma of obtaining the necessary equipment and maximizing the use of it.” And that’s Steve’s motto: every problem has a solution, and every solution is the result of thorough, careful consideration of alternatives.
Steve brings his craftsmanship as a talented woodworker and hobbyist together with his passion for winemaking and flair for writing in this practical guide that will help you build 43 of the most useful, tried-and-true projects. From the simple to the more elaborate, from building a crusher-destemmer and press to home wine laboratory equipment, and from bottling equipment to building a cool cellar with racks and bins that would be the envy of any wine enthusiast, you’ll find it all here, meticulously detailed with step-by-step instructions, plans, and diagrams.
Even if you are already a craftsperson who has built wine-related projects, you’ll find some gems in this book, such as the “topping up” devices for eliminating ullage and the four-spout bottle filler. I know I’ll be building and adapting the transfer gun (used with a vacuum pump) for racking wine between barrels, and making my own silicone bungs from all those leftover tubes of silicone caulking. Why had I not thought of that?
Steve has thought of everything for aspiring and advanced winemakers alike — he even tells you how to build a simple yet effective fruit fly trap, guaranteed to come in handy when these pests start invading your fermenting grape juice. If you are a vineyardist, Steve has some handy projects for you too. He shows you how to set up a cutting propagation bed and a vineyard trellis with drip irrigation. And for when you’re not making wine, Steve has included some projects, such as the “winedirondack” garden chair and classy winery stool, both built from oak barrel staves to help you relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Steve is a professional building and construction consultant, so you can be sure that his projects are well thought out and cleverly designed for simplicity, usability, efficiency, and durability. How clever are his ideas? Check out the design for the chromatography chamber or rinser-sparger. Rest assured, though, that you need not be a master carpenter or expert craftsperson; you need only basic woodworking skills, a few power tools, materials that are readily available at a good hardware store, and a desire to accomplish fun projects.
If you needed any motivation to dust off those power tools and put them to good use, this book provides the inspiration to energize you and guide you through building exciting wine-related projects. With the high cost of winemaking equipment, you’ll save a bundle in the process and quickly realize how smart an investment this book is.
I just wish I had such a resource when I first started building my home winery; it would have saved me a lot of headaches and aggravation, not to mention wasted time, materials, and money. With The Homebuilt Winery, I’m now equipped to address old winemaking equipment problems that I never got around to fixing and to build new projects that are sure to simplify my work … and impress my friends and family.
—DANIEL PAMBIANCHI
Author, winemaker, and woodworker