Advanced Winemaking Strategies for Fine Wines: The Series

 Red Wine Enology, Tannin & Redox Management of Red Wines. $89.95: ISBN 978-1-935879-15-2

White Wine Enology, Optimizing Shelf Life & Flavor Stability of White Wines. $69.95; IBN978-1-935879-14-5

Acidity Management in Musts & Wine. 2nd Edition. $50; ISBN978-1-935879-25-1

A series of essential enology enology guides and textbooks by world renowned winemaking consultant, Volker Schneider. 

"Volker Schneider’s excellent tutorial-style series exemplify his unique approach to consulting and academic work: a balance of leading-edge theory and practice. Compared to the depth of Advanced Winemaking Strategies for Fine Wines, other enology texts barely scratch the surface of the topic or neglect its practical implementation in the winery."--Dr. Davit Chichua. Professor of Enology, Agricultural University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia

Red Wine Enology - Tannin and Redox Management in Red Wines - addresses the very heart of red winemaking, which is the extraction of tannins and colored compounds as well as the subsequent measures of balancing oxygenation and reduction throughout elevage to achieve their optimal sensory expression. In a broad-ranging discussion of redox management, the authors address in a single volume the most important and yet the most controversial aspects of red wine enology. The reader is guided through basic phenol chemistry and analysis to the broadly accessible total phenol measurements facilitating appropriate redox management decisions. Building upon these foundations, the authors discuss the entire process of vinification - from maceration options through elevage and stabilization to bottling, clearly defining what measures to take and those to avoid. Barrel aging, oxygenation, and the role of yeast lees and SO2 are presented as part of a holistic approach to elevage as a multidimensional process. Where appropriate the text encompasses closely associated issues including oak alternatives, micro--oxygenation, control of spoilage microorganisms, adjustment of pre-bottling free SO2 to compensate for post-bottling SO2 losses, and the issue of the so-called natural wines. Due to the shear complexity of tannin chemistry, this book has a strong focus on sensory analysis throughout discussing appropriate redox strategies to preserve fruit in low-tannin wines and to optimize the ageability of high-tannin wines.

White Wine Enology is dedicated exclusively to the enology of unoaked white wines, which constitute the largest component of the global white wine market. In contrast to standard literature, it deals with flavor preservation rather than with those vinification strategies which seek to obtain short-lived quality benefits. In doing so, it addresses one of the key issues of white wine enology that most wineries are concerned with, but has hitherto never been covered in a single volume, which is the limited shelf life and poor aroma stability of most of these wines. Ultimately, it also shows that the enology of white wines is quite different from that of red wines. The chemical process of white wine aging comprises much more than the commonly known oxidative aging [premox], which is why the various kinds of aging are differentiated according to sensory criteria. Thus, this book has a strong sensory focus throughout: the flavor-active compounds responsible for aging-related faults are specified, and the chemical mechanisms of their formation are identified. Building upon these foundations, Schneider guides the reader through the entire process of vinification—from the crush pad, through all the phases of juice processing, wine stabilization, bottling and storage—clearly defining what measures to take, and what to avoid in order to mitigate aging reactions and to improve flavor stability. While this book is a deep treatment of the scientific fundamentals of wine aging, it also examines typical engineering issues common to the practice. Numerous practical hints and technical details of hands-on winery work round out the picture, and provides a valuable insight into the inherently cross-disciplinary nature of fine white winemaking and a holistic view of one of the most fascinating fields of contemporary enology. Last, but not least, they constitute a picture of a life’s work, drawing upon some 40 years of the author's experience in wine production, research, quality control, and troubleshooting.

Making balanced quality wine is a complex procedure, with a myriad of control processes. Chief among them is acidity management. Though this topic is an essential component of all winemaking texts, covered in lesser to greater degree, Acidity Management in Musts and Wines is the first exhaustive treatment of the subject in print. It is the definitive guide to arguably one of the most delicate operations in the development of a fine wine. This revised and expanded second edition includes additional chapters such as on acidification by biological means, new material on malolactic fermentation, and a critical discourse on the notion that pH must be lowered ‘at all costs’. The authors first examine the acids’ individual characteristics, their interaction with mineral cations, and the sensory experience resulting therefrom. Then they describe acidification and deacidification procedures and how to conduct preliminary sensory trials. Lastly, the book delves deeply into the principles of crystal stabilization. Volker Schneider was a lecturer of enological chemistry at Geisenheim University (Germany) and founder of the international consulting firm Schneider-Oenologie, which specialized in quality control, industry consulting, and research. He has authored several scientific papers and more than 450 technical articles. Sarah Troxell is a chemist accredited by the American Chemical Society and for more than two decades has been the winemaker at Galen Glen Winery, where they specialize in aromatic white wines – Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer.

Volker Schneider was a lecturer of enological chemistry at Geisenheim University (Germany) and founder of the international consulting firm Schneider-Oenologie, which specialized in quality control, product development, and research. He has authored several scientific papers and more than 400 technical articles.

Mark Tracey is an emeritus professor of engineering at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) with an applied research interest in new winemaking technologies. He collaborates with Italian producers in experimental winemaking.

Sarah Troxell is a chemist accredited by the American Chemical Society and for more than two decades has been the winemaker at Galen Glen Winery, where they specialize in aromatic white wines – Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer.

“Volker Schneider’s excellent tutorial-style series exemplify his unique approach to consulting and academic work: a balance of leading-edge theory and practice. Compared to the depth of Advanced Winemaking Strategies for Fine Wines, other enology texts barely scratch the surface of the topic or neglect its practical implementation in the winery. As a professor of enology from the birthplace of winemaking, I like to use these books in my teaching and have added them to the list of recommended literature in our syllabus.” --Dr. Davit Chichua. Professor of Enology, Agricultural University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia

“As a quality conscious winemaker I try to follow new oenological research developments which I believe can allow my wines to further evolve, however its sheer volume and the quite often contradictory terroir and cultivar-specific nature of results make much of it very difficult to apply with confidence. In my view these books address this issue and are unique in holistically combining Volker Schneider's deep theoretical insight with real-world data born of his research-winemaking and consultancy to illustrate its practical application. At points this holistic approach sometimes focusses on areas that are the subject of widespread and embedded misconceptions. Importantly, the author understands the reality of small to medium scale producers and proposes practical techniques within the resources of the winery to base their decision-making upon.”--Gunther Strub, Weingut Walter Strub Winery, Germany

“Acidity Management has been a milestone of my technical background about acidity. I’ve read it many times and still I can find great advices in it. The text is fluent and it is really a book I recommend for all winemakers and enology students. White Wine Enology is my guide for white winemaking, I tend to re-read the book a month prior to harvest in order to refresh winemaking protocols and techniques. The part about phenols in whites is amazing. This trilogy should represent the solid background for every winemaker around the world. It is modern, fluent, and practical.”--Alberto Guolo, winemaker, Casas del Bosque, Casablanca, Chile