I was fiddling through a bookshelf here at the office the other day when a stumbled across a copy of the book, First Steps In Winemaking. We’ve been selling this book since the ’60’s, but I haven’t really opened it and looked through it for quite some time.
What hit me as somewhat extraordinary was how relevant this book still is today. This wine making book is either a testament to how little the craft has changed over the last 4 decades or how forward-thinking the author, C.J.J. Berry, was when writing this book.
Compared to other wine making books, this one has a lot of great wine making tips that still apply today: like how to prevent your wines from being cloudy, or how to accurately read a gravity hydrometer. These are all issues that are sill being dealt with today by beginning home winemakers.
The other great thing about this book are the recipes. If I remember correctly there are well over a hundred of them–everything from apricot to apple wine is covered. It’s really a treasure-trove of information for someone just starting out.
It has the wine recipes broken down by the month it is best to make them. The idea being you can make wine all throughout the year, winter and summer, if you plan things right.
If you’re new to wine making or not even sure if you want to make wine, I would strongly urge you to at least get First Steps In Winemaking. It will give you a great overview of the home wine making process and let you see what all is involved in this rewarding past time.
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.
