cover image The Homebuilt Winery: 
43 Projects for Building and 
Using Winemaking Equipment

The Homebuilt Winery: 43 Projects for Building and Using Winemaking Equipment

Steve Hughes. Storey, $19.95 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-1-60342-990-0

This isn’t so much about technique, formula, or protocol, but about building—literally—a winery in your home, right down to installing drywall and finishing a floor for the chosen area, which can be the garage, basement, or an empty-nest bedroom. Hughes, a building designer, contractor, and winemaker, starts with equipment lists so beginners can make up to 30 gallons per year, including everything from the eight-gallon fermenter to felt-tip marker. A one-to-five–bottle scale signals the degree of difficulty for each project. The reader is hand-held from backyard grape growing to glass tipping, so this might be suitable for beginning winemakers but not beginning woodworkers. Some knowledge of the latter craft and its tools are pretty much a prerequisite for those considering home vinting the Hughes way, which is also the frugal way. Additional steps, with plenty of diagrams, show how to make white wines into sparkling ones, how to build your own wine rack, and even how to construct the “winedirondack’’ chair for sipping the fermented fruits of one’s labors. (July)