MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The Wine Maker's Toy Store®
Bringing family and friends together...One sip at a time!
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
- Christmas Party !
- Call Us!
- Only 10 Days Left to Pre-Order Winexpert Limited Edition 2007 Kits
- Christmas Special
- Online Discussion Forum
- Featured Article - The Magic of Oak
- Toy of the Month
- New Products
- Wine of the Month
- Discounts!
- Customer Referral Program
- Customer Appreciation Program - FVW Growers Club
- Multi-Kit Discount
- Customer Feedback
- Newsletter Specials
- Unsubscribe
WELCOME
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Fine Vine
Wines, LLC, "The Wine Maker's Toy Store". Whether you
need home wine making or home brewing products or just need information, we are here to serve
you. I want to extend my thanks again for making The Wine Maker's
Toy Store your home for your wine making and beer brewing needs.
It continues to be my hope that every time you visit our web
site or retail store, you will find something of value.
As a reminder, 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.
CHRISTMAS PARTY
We are going to have an all-day Christmas party, on Saturday, December 16, 2006. We will have wine to sample, along with various cheeses and crackers. Come and shop or just come and have a glass of wine. Either way, we would love to have you stop by. While here, be sure to look for our Christmas Wine stocking and grab a coupon for next year.
CALL US!
If you have any questions about our products, our service and/or wine making, please call us. We are here to serve you and enjoying assisting you in any way we can. We have an international toll-free line so you WILL call us.
Someone is usually at the store between 9 am and 7 pm, Monday thru Saturday. We always try to answer the phone when you call; however, sometimes, we are unable to answer the phone as we are all on the other lines or we have customers in the store. If you get the voice mail, please leave your name, number, brief message and a best time to call. We will return your call as soon as we can.
If you don't want to call, just send us an email. We usually answer our emails daily. Please remember, we are a resource and we are here to serve you.
FINAL NOTICE - WINEXPERT LIMITED EDITION 2007 PROGRAM AND SPECIAL
This is your last opportunity to pre-order your Limited Edition kits for 2007 (see featured article in the October issue) as the cut-off date is December 10, 2006! These kits are only available for a short period and you are only guaranteed a kit, if you pre-order one. If you do not pre-order, there is no guarantee you will be able to get any of the kits at a later date. Every year, I have customers that want me to obtain these kits after the pre-order date. I do my best to accomodate their wishes, but as several customers will tell you, I am not always successful. By the way, you do not pay for any of the Limited Edition kits until you pick them up in the store or we ship them to you. Because of this policy, only credit card orders will be accepted for pre-orders of the Limited Editions.
We always have a special to go along with the Limited Editions and this year is no exception. If you order any four of the Limited Edition kits, we will double the multi-kit discount to 10% on the all the Limited Edition kits you order. That's right, order any 4 of the 5 Limited Edition kits and save over $40.00 AND if you order all 5 Limited Edition kits, not only will we give you the 10% off on each kit you order, we will also throw in 150 agglomerate corks for free.
For those of you in the FVW Growers Club you will still get your 5% off, so you can save 15% on all of the Winexpert Wine kits that you order with your pre-order for the Limited Editions. For those of you not in the FVW Growers Club, this is your opportunity to qualify. We treat each shipment as a separate order, so if you go over the $500 before we ship all of the kits, any remaining shipments will receive the additional 5% off.
These kits are always outstanding, so I encourage you to pre-order them.
WINE OF THE MONTH
For you Merlot lovers, we are featuring 5 of our outstanding Winexpert Merlot kits as this month's wines of the month! We start with the Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend, an excellent new wine in the Selection Estate line at $15.00 off. Then we move to the Merlot and White Merlot, both from the Selection Original line and $9.00 off. We also have the Vintner's Reserve Merlot at $6.00 off and the Island Mist Strawberry White Merlot at $5.00 off. For those of you that enjoy a full flavored Merlot, here is your chance to save some money!
Part Number |
Image |
Description |
Brand |
Comments |
Regular Price |
Current Price |
Order |
| 3107 |
 |
Washington Columbia Valley Cabernet Franc/Merlot
The nose of this wine holds an intense aroma of plum, black cherries, and vanilla with an underlying hint of pepper and spice. Fruit flavors of plum and currant blended with the silk-smooth taste of chocolate and firm tannins give this medium-bodied red wine a pleasant finish. |
Winexpert Selection Estate |
Wine of the Month |
$117.99 |
$102.99 |
Order |
| 3205 |
 |
Merlot
Full, fruity intensity. Deep in color with black cherry & berry aromas. |
Vintners Reserve |
Wine of the Month |
$60.99 |
$54.99 |
Order |
| 3247 |
 |
Merlot
Deep in color & full of fruit intensity. |
Winexpert Selection Premium |
Stocked |
$85.99 |
$76.99 |
Order |
| 3279 |
|
White Merlot
Medium pink rose' style wine with luscious berry flavors & aromas with a crisp finish. |
Winexpert Selection Premium |
Wine of the Month |
$85.99 |
$76.99 |
Order |
| HAR006 |
 |
Strawberry White Merlot
Concentrate and ingredients, equipment sold separately. Makes 30 - 750ml Bottles. |
Island Mist |
Wine of the Month |
$50.99 |
$45.99 |
Order |
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Got a friend or family member that is interested in home wine making, but can't quite get them started? Well, we have a deal for you! Purchase any one of our over 20 wine making starter packages featuring a Winexpert Wine Kit and we will give you a $25.00 gift certificate. That's right, a $25.00 gift certificate. Not a coupon! Not a discount, but a $25.00 gift certificate redeemable at The Wine Maker's Toy Store. Use the coupon yourself, or save it as a gift for someone else. We don't care how you use it, just use it!
In addition, if you know someone thinking about getting a starter package for themselves, tell them about our offer. If they register, they will get 5% off, then when they are ready for their next kit, they will have $25.00 to use towards that kit.
Here at the "Toy Store", we want to do our best to make sure all of our current and future wine makers have a wonderful holiday season and what better way to start than to get a friend or family member started making their own wine. Next Christmas, you will have more wine makers with which to share your wines.
Due to computer system limitations, this gift certificate can only be used by itself. This is one of those rare instances where you can not use multiple discount codes at the same time. Please note, FVW Growers Club members will still get their 5% off.
FORUM
When you have a question or just want to learn more about wine making, don't forget our forum! We
have over 550 registered members, including some extremely knowledgeable
wine makers with loads of valuable information and willing to assist you in your wine making needs. Responses to most posts are made within minutes. We are also known to have an occassional contest available to forum member only with valuable gifts, savings and coupons!
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, as well as, a great place to meet fellow wine makers. We are also known to have a contest or two only available to forum members.
FEATURED
ARTICLE - THE MAGIC OF OAK
Among the many questions that I receive, a fair number relate to whether or not to use oak, when to use it and which oak to use. In my one of my previous featured articles, I discussed the pros and cons of putting your wine in a barrel versus putting oak in the wine. In this article, we will discuss putting the oak in your wine.
Due to the high cost of purchasing and maintaining oak barrels, most home wine makers, as well as more and more commercial wineries, are avoiding them in favor of oak "additives". These additives come in several forms as follows:
- Oak Powder (sometimes referred as "sawdust")
- Oak Chips
- Oak Cubes (commonly called Oak Beans)
- Oak Infusion Spirals
- Oak Staves
Oak can add flavors and tannins to your wine to give it more body, aroma and flavor. As a general rule, oak is only used on red grape wines and certain white grape wines, as the oak flavor can overwhelm some of the more delicate white grape wines and country wines; however, if used sparingly, oak can firm up any wine! The tannins in the oak add complexity, as well as, flavor and body. For example, if you feel that a particular kit wine is "thin", adding a little oak, even to the whites, will give it a little more body and improve the "mouth feel".
Deciding when to use which type of oak additive is primarily based on the available time and patience you have. Each of the additives listed above have a different surface to liquid ratio. As such, they will give up their flavors and tannins more quickly if the ratio is high. The powder will give up its tannins within one week, while a stave may take one year. Consequently, if you have more time to wait on your wine, additives with a lower surface to liquid ratio will be preferred. If you are in a hurry, then the powder or chips will better suit your needs. Keep in mind that you have more control over the effects of the oak if it takes longer to work. This provides you will more time to taste the wine and judge when to remove the oak.
Oak powder and chips are normally used in primary fermentation and are finished with their job by the time you do the first racking. Using these items early in the process allows them to settle out quickly so they do not interfere with the clearing process and enable you to bottle your wine in short order. This is why wine kit manufacturers use oak powder and chips in their wines.
Oak cubes or beans are added after stablizing and are left in the wine for 2-6 months. When using these products, I sample the wine every month. When the wine has the profile I want, I rack the wine off of the oak into a clean and sanitized carboy. Alternatively, you can put the cubes in a straining bag or hop sock and remove the bag when finished with the oak. Keep in mind that the oak flavor will diminish as the wine ages, so don't remove the oak too soon!
A new product, the Infusion Spiral, is available for those in a hurry. These products do their job in 2-6 weeks, instead of 2-6 months. If carboys are at a premium at your home, then these spirals are an excellent alternative to the cubes. One word of caution, these spirals do work fast. I strongly recommend tasting every week to determine when to pull the oak. You can put these straight into the carboy or use a fishing line to dangle the spiral in your wine.
Oak staves are generally not used in carboys but used in large vessels like stainless steel tanks. The cost of enough cubes or spirals for a 300 liter tank can become expensive. Oak staves offer a more cost effective solution.
No matter which way you decide to go, always remember that over oaked wines can take years to soften enough to drink; therefore, when using oak, always err on the side of caution. As with a lot of home wine making, it may take several attempts to find the flavor profile for you, so always keep good notes so you can replicate your success and not repeat your failures.
I hope you find this article helpful and if you have any comments
and/or suggestions, please send them to geocorn@finevinewines.com.
Remember, a $100 gift certificate is always available to anyone who sends me a featured article that I use in a newsletter.
TOY
OF THE MONTH
Now that you have all of that home made wine, you are going to need a place to store it! Our wooden wine racks offer an excellent value at regular prices, but this month, we are putting them on special for you and your Christmas needs. These upscale wine racks are constructed of solid, natural pine and poplar and can be stained, painted or left natural. These racks are free standing and will hold standard wine bottles, splits and champagne bottles. Only a screw driver is needed for assembly. In addition, they can be stacked on each other to create more storage.
Put one of these rack on your wish list and maybe Santa will put one under the tree, just for you!
Part Number |
Image |
Description |
Regular Price |
Current Price |
Order |
| 3018 |
 |
Wooden Wine Rack - 120 Bottle Rack
12 x 10 (44½ x 10½ x 45) |
$109.99 |
$99.99 |
Order |
| 3020C |
|
Wooden Wine Rack - 42 Bottle Rack
7 x 6 (26 x 10½ x 27) |
$65.99 |
$58.99 |
Order |
| 3022C |
|
Wooden Wine Rack - 30 Bottle Rack
5 x 6 (19 x 10½ x 27) |
$57.99 |
$51.99 |
Order |
| 3022D |
|
Wooden Wine Rack - Shelf Insert for 3022C
(19 x 10½ x 1½) |
$9.99 |
$8.99 |
Order |
NEW PRODUCTS
We don't have any new products this month, but should have some GREAT new products by January! For those of you patiently waiting, we have received out first shipment of Oak Infusion Spirals. To order these, go to our Oak page in our online catalog.
To find out more about these products and all of our new products as they become available, please check out our New Products Page whenever you visit the web site.
If you are looking for a product that I do not carry, my primary distributor is LD
Carlson and you can see their complete product list at their public catalog. If
you find anything you would like me to add, please let me know.
CUSTOMER REFERAL PROGRAM
In case you missed it, we have a customer referral program that provides 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.
We try to watch for all referrals as new customers register; however, we have missed issuing some referral credits mainly due to missing or incorrect referral information. If you think we missed a referral, please do not hesitate to contact us. We appreciate your referrals and want to make sure you are properly rewarded.
CUSTOMER APPRECIATION PROGRAM - FVW GROWERS CLUB
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.
MULTI-KIT DISCOUNT
Order two or more kits and get 5% off all ingredients kits included on the same order. This includes Island Mists, Vintner's Reserve, Selection, Vinoka, Baron's and Brewer's Best.
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.
NEWSLETTER SPECIALS
To reward those of you that take the time to read our newsletter every month, we are adding a newsletter special. We promise to offer an outstanding value each month via this feature and this special pricing will only be available through a link from the current month's newsletter. A link to the newsletter special will appear somewhere in the newsletter.
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