The Wine Maker's Toy Store™
Welcome to Pressing News, the monthly newsletter
published by Fine Vine Wines, LLC, designed exclusively to assist
the home vintner in the pursuit of their hobby!
THIS MONTH ON THE VINE!
- Welcome
- Retail Store Information
- Price Increases and Trip to LD Carlson (primary distributor)
- New Trademark
- Online Discussion Forum
- Tim Vandergrift is coming to Dallas!
- Wine Making Log
- T-Shirt Contest
- Helpful Tip #1
- Featured Article -
How to Make a Simple Country Wine
- Toy of the Month
- Helpful Tip #2
- Free Wine Ingredients Kit
- New Products
- Call Us!
- Wine of the Month
- Customer Appreciation Program
- Customer Referral Program
- Customer Feedback
- Unsubscribe
WELCOME
I would like to thank each one of you for visiting our site.
I hope it was an enjoyable experience and you were able to find
everything for which you were looking. As I indicated on our
web site, we started this business in 2003, so unlike big business,
we are extremely flexible and nothing we have done so far is “etched
in stone.” As a result, being an early user of our site
and subscriber to our newsletter gives you the ability to influence
the future of our site and our company!
We continue to add products and content to
the web site; therefore, if you have any special requests, please
let us know. We like to hear what you have to say about our
site, our products and/or our customer service, good or bad.
Please send your comments and/or suggestions to winemaster@finevinewines.com.
I want to extend my thanks again for making
finevinewines.com your home for your wine making needs. It continues
to be my hope that every time you visit finevinewines.com you
have an enjoyable experience and you find everything for which
you are looking.
RETAIL
STORE INFORMATION
Information about our retail store, including
hours, location and a map can be found on our Retail
Store Information page.
PRICE INCREASES AND
TRIP TO LD CARLSON
In case you have not noticed, I have had some
significant price increases lately, 5-10%. I really did not want
to do this, but the cost of my products has gone up by the same
percentage. Almost everything I sell is imported, wine kits from
Canada, glass items from Mexico and a lot of the equipment from
Italy. With the recent decline in the dollar and the increase
in fuel costs, importers have been forced into increasing their
prices to US customers, while the transportation companies are
passing on a portion of the higher fuel costs. I really did not
want to do this, but it was too much for me to absorb. Thank
you for your understanding.
I just got back from visiting LD Carlson, 1
of 2 Winexpert distributors in the United States and my primary
distributor. You should see all of the neat toys they have, presses,
table corkers, shrink wraps in almost every color and much more.
Over the next several months, we will be adding a lot of these
items to our online catalog. We discussed
a lot of topics, including ways to keep my freight cost down
and some special package items just for us. They are an outstanding
group of people committed to Home Wine Making and Home Brewing
market.
NEW TRADEMARK
On March 11, 2005, the trademark "The Wine Maker's
Toy Store" was issued to Fine Vine Wines, LLC. Over time, we
will be using the trademark more and more and less of the name,
"Fine Vine Wines". We are extremely happy with the trademark
and feel that it better identifies who we are. In addition, have
you ever tried to say Fine Vine Wines, three times in a row?
TIM
VANDERGRIFT IS COMING TO DALLAS!
That's right! Tim Vandergrift is coming to Dallas.
Tim is the Technical Services Manager for Winexpert and his job
is to design and test all of the wine kits made by Winexpert.
Before joining Winexpert, Tim held a comparable position with
RJ Spagnols for 10 years. In addition, if you have ever picked
up an issue of WineMaker Magazine, you will have found an article
by him. He is one of the home wine making gurus!
Since I now sell the Winexpert line of wine
kits, Tim has graciously agreed to come to Dallas for a one day
event. During this event, Tim will make a presentation of the
Limited Edition series for 2006. We will also try to work in
a question and answer session, as well as, a wine tasting.
Although I do not have a date yet, it will be
sometime in October or November and most likely, during the week.
As soon as I have more information, I will post in on the web
site and in the monthly newsletter.
WINE MAKING
LOG
If you are serious about being a home wine maker,
then you need a log to track the ingredients, progress and results
of each batch of wine you make. That way if something goes wrong,
you can review what you did and make changes for the next time.
If you wind up with a great wine, you will have a record of how
you did it, so you can repeat your success.
Based on a lot of feedback from our knowledgable
wine makers in our forum, we are proud to publish our Wine Maker's
Log. It is free to everyone, so if you don't have a log or just
want to look at ours, please download your free copy at Fine
Vine Wines' Wine Makers Log. It is in Adobe format, so if
you don't have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download
it for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
T-SHIRT CONTEST
The Winemaker's Toy Store is in desperate need
of some apparel for you home winemakers and we thought a T-Shirt
would be the best place to start. Since we are always trying
to be unique, we would like out T-Shirt to be unique as well.
Because of this, we want to allow you to design our T-Shirt and
in exchange, the person submitting the winning design will receive
a $100 gift certificate from Fine Vine Wines.
Please use the following guidelines for your
submission:
- Somewhere in the design use the phrase "The Winemaker's Toy
Store".
- Center your theme on the home wine making hobby.
- Do not use anyone else's copyrighted material.
- You can design a front or a front and a back.
- Email your design to me at geocorn@finevinewines.com or
mail it to: Fine Vine Wines, 1410 Dunn Dr., Carrollton, TX
75006
- Submit your design by May 25, 2005 (I want to publish the
winning design in the June newsletter, in conjunction with
the beginning of our third year in operation.)
Helpful Tip #1
When using any of the drill mounted
stirrers, use a variable speed drill, if possible. In addition,
stir for about 10 seconds and stop. Then, let the foam die down
and stir again. If you are not careful, you can create so much
foam that will overflow your carboy and make a mess.
Carl - New York
FORUM
In March, we had the March Forum Madness contest
in the Discussion Forum in
which we gave away $100 in gift certificates. If you want to
find out what the winners did to receive their certificates and
what you have to do this month to qualify for one for yourself,
you will have to visit the forum. We now have 137 registered
users, including some extremely knotweed wine makers and loads
of valuable information. Whether you are an expert or a
novice, it is an excellent place to ask questions, exchange ideas
and meet other home wine makers.
If you haven't logged into the forum, try it sometime. I think you will find it most informative and enjoyable.
FEATURED
ARTICLE -
HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE COUNTRY WINE
This is a "no-frills" walk through for making your
first country wine. There are more involved features in making
wine (checking acid, etc), but if you're just starting out,
or just want to try something you have in your garden, this
will work.
Now, the hardest part for a country wine is to decide what
fruit/herb/petal you want to use. This is where your own personal
creativity can rule. Please make sure, however, what you are
using is edible. What’s Cooking America (http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm)
is a good resource to double check. Rather err on the side
of caution, if you aren’t sure. This is very important.
- Normally, about 2-3 pounds of fruit per gallon is needed.
However, if you like heavier bodied wines, you can add more.
- You can crush or blend fruit such as berries.
- De-juicers are helpful for “harder” fruits
such as apples or crabapples.
- You may wish to put the fruit in a fine mesh straining
bag for convenience.
- For herbal or flower petal wines, 4-6 cups are used per
gallon.
- For dried herbs/flowers, 2-3 cups are recommended. It
is better to err on the lower end, since dried herbs/flowers
can be very strong in smell and taste.
Depending on the temperature, sugar and yeast you use, it
can take as little as 3 months from start to finish.
The type of yeast you decide to use is basically up to you.
Some prefer Montrachet yeast; some prefer Lalvin’s D47
and 71B-1122 for fruitiness.
General Country Wine Recipe
- Either 2-3 pounds of fruit, 4-6 cups of fresh herbs, or
2-3 cups of dried herbs
- 2 pounds of white sugar
- 1 crushed Campden tablet, or one-eighth tsp. K-meta
- 1 tsp acid blend
- 1 gallon water
- 1 package of wine yeast
- 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient (vitamins for the yeast)
- 1 teaspoon powdered pectic enzyme (helps break down the
haze)
- If using the liquid enzyme, follow directions on bottle.
If you’ve got the ingredients, you’re ready to
go!!!!!
Dissolve the sugar in half the water on the stove. No need
to boil unless you suspect microbes or bacteria in the water.
Sanitize your equipment with a good sanitizing agent. Please
read the instructions of the sanitizing materials. **Note:
don’t use any scratchy things to clean out your equipment.
Pour the hot sugar water over your fruit/herbs/dried herbs.
Let everything cool. Once it’s cool enough to touch,
add the crushed campden tablet, the acid blend, the yeast nutrient,
and the pectic enzyme. Do not add the yeast at this
time. Stir the contents in the pail thoroughly and
let the must cool to room temperature.
When the wine is room temperature, this is when you should
take a hydrometer reading. Remember, optimally, it should be
around 1.085- 1.090. If it’s okay, sprinkle the yeast
on top of your must. If it's too low, add some sugar. If it's
too high, add some water.
As soon as fermentation starts (as little as one day but
could be up to 5, depending on the temperature and other factors),
CO 2 is released, and you may see this in your must. You will
see how there’s a foamy layer on top of your must – this
is basically just the meat of the fruit you used (depending
on what you used) and proteins that are suspended. Don’t
worry about it – it is perfectly normal. Stir your wine
everyday, for 3-4 days. Remove the straining bag at this time,
and take your clean hydrometer and measure the SG once again.
It should be around 1.040. Don’t worry if it’s
not. Just let it sit there a day or two longer if it’s
still higher. If it’s lower, it’s time to rack!!
Racking is what as known as siphoning your wine from one
container to another. Remember, make sure they are cleaned
and sanitized before you do this.
It’s okay if you get a lot of the yeast that’s
at the bottom of your pail. It’s not so critical in this
step. Put the bung in place and put in the airlock. Fill the
airlock with water (best with a little campden tablet solution).
After some time, the fermentation will have slowed down or
stop completely. A hydrometer reading of about 0.990 for 2
weeks is a good indication that your wine is finished.
Rack the wine into another clean and sanitized gallon jug
with a crushed campden tablet added (or one-eighth tsp. of
K-Meta). Add one-quarter tsp. potassium sorbate if you plan
on sweetening the wine.
Rack again when you see a layer of sediment at the bottom
of your carboy. This process may need to be done more often
than in kit wines. Top off with water or an appropriately colored
wine.
Keep doing this until the wine is free of sediment and is
clear.
Some country wines benefit from filtering. If your wine is
not as clear as you wish, it is recommended that you filter.
You can bottle and cork in clean and sanitized wine bottles
or in beer bottles with new crown caps, or leave it in the
jug if you plan on drinking it soon. Know that too much airspace
above the finished wine can cause oxidation.
And that’s it. That’s all you have to do to make
your first gallon of country wine!
By: Glenvall Harris and Martina Paetzel
Editor's Note: Both Glenvall and Martina have been making
wines for years, one in Arkansas and the other in Ohio. They
met in the Fine Vine Wines online discussion forum and, after
finding out about each other's wine making knowledge, decided
to collaborate on this article. They are always ready to share
their knowledge, so if you have any questions about country
wines, please post it on our forum. Somebody is sure to have
the answer you need. You can see more of Martina's wines and
recipes at http://quitobee.paetzel.info/.
---If you would like to offer your comments
and/or suggestions, please send them to geocorn@finethevinewines.com.
TOY
OF THE MONTH
This month's toy is the Bottle Rinser/Vinator.
This toy makes sanitizing your bottles a breeze. Just fill the
plastic bowl 1/4 full with your sanitizing solution, put your
bottle on the squirter and press down 3 times to shoot the sanitizing
solution into your bottle. That is all you have to do.
This month's special pricing is listed below:
Part
Number |
Description |
Regular
Price |
Current
Price |
Order |
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4818 |
Bottle Rinser Vinator |
$14.99 |
$12.99 |
Order |
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Repeat1__numRows=Repeat1__numRows-1
rsJuice.MoveNext()
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%>
Helpful Tip #2
If you plan to bottle your wine 7 days after adding the stabilizers and you plan to store your wine for more than six months, add your extra sulfite when you add the rest of the stabilizers. Otherwise, when you add the extra sulfite and stir your wine, you will have to wait several days for the wine to settle before you can bottle.
Jim - Texas
FREE WINE INGREDIENTS
KIT
This month we are giving away a free wine ingredients
kit from Winexpert. Every Winexpert wine ingredients kit you
order during in the month of April 2005 will automatically enter
your name into the hopper. At the end of the month, we will have
a drawing and the lucky customer will get a free wine ingredients
kit of their choice equal in value to the highest dollar kit
ordered. If you order a Vintner's Reserve kit and win, you will
get a free Vintner's Reserve, if you order a Selection Estate,
you can choose any Winexpert kit, including a Crushendo!
NEW PRODUCTS
Among the new products added recently are screw
cap 750ml bottles and the corresponding 28mm white screw caps.
To see a complete list of all our new products, click
here.
I have just returned from my distributor, LD
Carlson and, as a result, I will be adding more products
over the next several months. LD
Carlson carries thousands of items and deciding which ones
to stock is a real chore. If you have anything you would like
me to add, please let me know. You can see LD
Carlson's complete product list at http://www.ldcarlson.com/public%20catalog/ptoc.htm.
CALL
US!
If you have any questions about our products,
our service and/or wine making, please call us. We are not Corporate
America! We are here to serve you. I bring this up, because a
number of my callers apologize for bothering me or using my toll-free
line. You are definitely not bothering me and I have a toll-free
line so you WILL call me.
Sometimes, I am unable to answer the phone.
If you get the voice mail, please leave your name, number, brief
message and a best time to call. I will return your call as soon
as I can. I now have the Company Line forwarded to my cell phone
when I am not in the store. As a result, I am now available almost
24-7. I do need to sleep!
If you don't want to call, just send me an email.
I usually answer my email daily. In addition, your emails and/or
calls do not have to relate to wine. I will discuss any topic
you like, so please remember, I am your resource and I am here
for you.
WINE
OF THE MONTH
This month we are featuring 2 Italian Classics:
- Amarone - This wine is unique
to the Valpolicella region of Italy and is packed
with rich raspberry, blackberry and cassis flavors. Deep,
dark and inviting, the finish is long, lingering and full of
ripe tannins.
- Luna Rossa - This is a bold,
robust and intense wine and Winexpert's
largest, most full-bodied red wine ever released! A dark,
inviting co lour and rich, bold oak-enhanced aromas suggest
at what is to come: an abundance of mouth-filling, chewy
berry flavors.Luna
Rossa is complex, with rich layers of fruit and solid
supporting tannins, capped by a long oak finish. A powerful
wine matching startling flavors and aromas with elegance
and finesse.
Click
here to find out more.
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION PROGRAM
Please check out our FVW
Growers Club. You can get all of the details on our web
site, but the bottom line is we want to buy your loyalty!
Once you spend
$500 with us, you get a 5% discount on everything you buy from
us. Find out more on the web site.
CUSTOMER
REFFERAL PROGRAM
Effective March 1, 2004, we have a customer
referral program that provides for additional discounts to registered
users.
We will give you a coupon worth 10% of the first order placed
by any person that you refer to our web site. The stipulations
are as follows:
- You must be a registered user of finevinewines.com,
- The person placing the order must register and provide your
name in the appropriate field on the registration screen, and
- The discount is only good for future orders with finevinewines.com
and is not redeemable for cash.
That's all you have to do to get another discount from finevinewines.com.
CUSTOMER
FEEDBACK
We appreciate all of your comments, whether
good or bad. To demonstrate our commitment to outstanding customer
service, I have created a web page with your feedback. As we
receive emails that comment about our service, I will post them
on this
page.
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Vine Wines.
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