I am always looking for new, different or easier ways to make wine and beer. Recently I was reading the Question and Answer area of a winemaking site on the internet.

YES – Add marbles to the carboy until the appropriate level of liquid is reached.

There is always a loss of liquid whether you are making wine from kits or from fresh fruit. Most wine kits have a built in allowance for the loss, however, it has been my experience some wine kits seem to loose more liquid than others due to a larger amount of sediment. During the Basic Winemaking Class we notice a major difference in sediment between the Chianti and the Chardonnay. We added Chianti wine due to the volume loss, but only a small amount of water was needed for the Chardonnay. The marbles are an easy and inexpensive solution to keeping the liquid level at the neck of the carboy without having to purchase wine or add water to the product.

If you have another suggestion or solution, let us know.

Wine bottles should be kept lying on their side to keep the cork wet. The reason for this is to prevent the cork from drying out and permitting air to enter the bottle, causing the wine to oxidize and thus spoil.

Storing wine in areas with high temperature can damage wine by making it taste cooked. Try to keep the area for storage below 77 Degrees F or 25 Degrees C. The ideal situation would be to keep your wine at a constant temperature. Just like the three bears – not too hot and not too cold – just right.

Light affects your wine – leave it in bright sun for a long period of time and it will deteriorate. A wine tends to MADERIZE and acquires a cooked, stewed flavor.