The Wine Maker's Toy Store™
Beginning Our 3rd Year!
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
- Customer Appreciation Program - FVW Growers Club
- Retail Store Information and Expansion!
- Registered Users Survey
- Online Discussion Forum
- Tim Vandergrift is coming to Dallas!
- T-Shirt Contest
- Featured Article -
The Sulfite Solution
- Toy of the Month
- Free Wine Ingredients Kit
- New Products
- Call Us!
- Wine of the Month
- Customer Referral Program
- Customer Feedback
- Unsubscribe
WELCOME
As we start our 3rd year in operation, I would like to thank each of you, once again, for visiting our site.
I hope it was an enjoyable experience and you were able to find
everything for which you were looking, whether it was a specific product or just information. We continue to be extremely flexible and nothing we have done so far is “etched
in stone.” As a result, being a user of our site
and subscriber to our newsletter gives you the ability to influence
the future of our web site, retail store 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.
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 that once you spend $500 with us, you get a 5% discount
on everything you buy from us. Find out more on the web site.
RETAIL
STORE INFORMATION - WE ARE EXPANDING
We are happy to annouce that we are going to
double our retail store floor space. For those of you that have
visited our store, you know how badly we need more space!
Not only will this give us more room to display our products,
it will also allow us to offer wine making and beer making
classes, as well as, tasting parties. We hope to complete our
expansion by Labor Day 2005. Watch the web site and listen to
WBAP in Dallas to learn more.
Information about our retail store, including
hours, location and a map can be found on our Retail
Store Information page. Please note, our retail store will be closed the weekend of June 9th thru June 12th.
REGISTERED USER SURVEY
On May 25th, we sent an email to all of our registered users giving them an opportunity to receive a $10 off coupon. To receive this coupon, all the user had to do was answer a short survey. This survey was designed to find out how we were doing and how we compared to other home winemaking web sites. To those of you that have participated, so far, we want to extend our thanks. To those of you that have not participated, there is still time. Follow the link in your email, complete the survery and, you too, will receive a $10 off coupon.
I wish I could publish the complete results;
however, I know that other home wine making stores read my newsletter
and I don't want to share some of the information you have so
generously shared with me. I will tell you that over 75% of the
respondents felt that our web site was "better than most" and
that our committment to customer service is important in deciding
where to spend your hard earned money. I was surprised to learn
that almost 40% of the respondents did not know about our rewards
program, the FVW Growers Club. Obviously, I need to do a better
job in this area.
I would also like to thank you for all of the
comments you provided. In the July newsletter, I will share some
of them with you.
FORUM
The discussion forum continues to grow. We
have over 170 registered users, including some extremely knowledgable
wine makers with loads of valuable information, that have contributed
over 5,500 posts. Whether you are an expert or a novice, it is
an excellent place to ask questions, exchange ideas and meet
other home wine makers. It is rumored that even Tim Vandergrift
makes an occassional post!
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.
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 it on the web
site and in the monthly newsletter.
T-SHIRT CONTEST
We only received one entry for this contest,
Lorrie Dooley of West Milford, New Jersey, so she will receive
the $100 gift certificate. Her submission was very good and original.
Unfortunately, we probably will not be able to use it at this
time unless we can reduce the number of colors. It seems that
the cost to silk screen her design would make the T-Shirt too
expensive. We are not giving up on this idea, so stay tuned for
further developments.
FEATURED
ARTICLE -
THE SULFITE SOLUTION
In the May issue of “Pressing News” Scott Irwin provided readers with an understanding of sulfite and its important role in winemaking. If you have not read his article, you should do so before reading this. In this article I would like to help make those sulfur dioxide (SO2) additions a little easier.
I believe the best the winemaker can do is to be in the ballpark. Test equipment and measuring equipment can help us get closer. But after all, we are we are trying to make adjustments to something measured in parts per million (ppm). The limited capability of the teaspoon will become quickly evident if a small adjustment is needed or small batches of wine are being made.
Most kit instructions indicate that you should add ¼ teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite per 6 gallons if you plan to age the wine more than 6 months. How much potassium metabisulfite is in that quarter teaspoon? Some sources say 1.4 grams others 1.6 grams. In 6 gallons, that is an addition of between 35ppm and 40ppm SO2. That’s in the ballpark, which makes this single addition of SO2 easy for kit wines.
What if you are conducting an experiment and have split the kit into 6 one-gallon batches. How do you measure one-sixth of one-quarter teaspoon? If you make a scratch wine, it is often recommended that the Must be sulfited to 50ppm (about 1/16 teaspoon per gallon). If you test the free SO2 and find it to be 15ppm and you want 30ppm, how much do you add?
In theory, Campden tablets would seem to be an easy way to add SO2. After all, what can be easier than one tablet per gallon? Scott ran a series of tests on two different brands of Campden tablets and found up to a 60% variation in the amount of free SO2 that was added. In my own experience I have found that Campden tablets from different sources vary widely in the amount of SO2 added. Although easy, they may not be a reliable method of adding SO2. Campden tablets could leave you in the parking lot rather than in the ballpark. What’s a winemaker to do?
The solution is a solution. By preparing a 10% metabisulfite solution you can deliver a more reliable and consistent addition to the wine or must. Note that using a 10% solution will not be exact, it will only be in the ballpark. Since potassium metabisulfite is about 57% SO2, a 10% potassium metabisulfite solution is about 5.7% SO2. If you use sodium metabisulfite, your percent of SO2 will be slightly higher.
This is how I prepare my solution. I weigh out 70 grams of potassium metabisulfite. I then mix this with water to total 700 ml using a graduated cylinder. Although this seems like a lot of 10% metabisulfite solution, I put 500ml in a gallon jug and fill it with water to be used as a sulfite rinse solution for my equipment and bottles. The remaining 10% solution is used for adding to the must or wine.
Since each milliliter of 10% solution contains about 100 milligrams of metabisulfite, I make my additions at the following rates:
One ml in one liter adds 57ppm of SO2
One ml in one gallon adds 15ppm of SO2
One ml in 5 gallons adds 3ppm of SO2
One ml in 6 gallon adds 2.5ppm of SO2
To obtain the equivalent of a ¼ teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite in 6 gallons, I add 15ml of my 10% solution. For 50ppm in the must of my gallon batch of scratch wine, I add 4ml of solution. To make an addition of 15ppm in 6 gallons, I will add 6 ml of solution. I know that it is not exact, but I believe it is close enough.
Don’t have a scale capable of measuring grams? Don’t want to invest in graduated cylinders? Do you still want to be in the ballpark? Read on.
Most home wine shops sell potassium metabisulfite in 2-ounce quantities. Mix two ounces with water to obtain a total of 19 fluid ounces and you have a 10% solution. Dilute one part of your 10% solution with 7 parts water, and you have the recommended 1.25% sulfite solution for sanitizing equipment and bottles. One teaspoon of the 10% solution is about 5ml and one tablespoon about 15ml. One teaspoon can be substituted for one standard Campden tablet adding about 75ppm of available SO2 per gallon.
I did obtain a scale and graduated cylinders because I thought
I could be exact with my SO2 additions. I did however; come
to the understanding that the best I could hope for was to
be close before investing in pipettes to measure my additions.
To measure my additions I use an extra syringe designed for
acid testing (about $1.25). Make sure it is clearly marked
so you don’t mix it up with the one you use to measure
sodium hydroxide. SO2 in wine is okay sodium hydroxide is not.
I have found the solution to be easier than trying to weigh milligrams of metabisulfite powder. It is better than the inconsistent quantities encountered with Campden tablets. And I believe it gets you in the ballpark.
Joseph Schuitema - Dallas, Texas
---If you would like to offer your comments
and/or suggestions, please send them to geocorn@finethevinewines.com.
TOY
OF THE MONTH
Now that fruit season is upon us, we thought
it would be a good time to put some of our testing equipment
on special. This month we have the hydrometer, floating thermometer
and vinometer marked down as reflected below:
Part
Number |
Picture |
Description |
Regular
Price |
Current
Price |
Order |
<%
While ((Repeat1__numRows <> 0) AND (NOT rsJuice.EOF))
%>
5424 |
|
Floating Thermometer
|
$5.99 |
$4.99 |
|
5451 |
|
Triple Hydrometer Specific grav, Potential ETOH, Sugar
|
$5.99 |
$4.99 |
|
5428 |
|
Vinometer, Tests alcohol content
|
$4.79 |
$3.99 |
|
<%
Repeat1__index=Repeat1__index+1
Repeat1__numRows=Repeat1__numRows-1
rsJuice.MoveNext()
Wend
%>
FREE WINE INGREDIENTS
KIT
This month we are giving away another free wine
ingredients kit from Winexpert. Every Winexpert wine ingredients
kit you order during in the month of June 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!
The winner for May was Ed Sahagian-Allsopp of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who purchased the Winexpert Selection Estate
Woodbridge Ranch II Cabernet Sauvignon. Since he purchased a
wine from the Estate series, he gets to choose any Winexpert
Kit, for his free kit. Next month's winner could be YOU!
NEW PRODUCTS
For those of you just starting in the homebrew hobby, we are proud to offer a Beginner's Beer Package for $94.99 which includes our deluxe beer equipment package #1002 and either a Baron's Premium Beer Kit or a Brewer's Best Ingredient Kit. If you have any questions about this hobby, please give us a call.
In addition, Winexpert has released 2 more new
products in their Estate line, the Sonoma Dry Creek Valley Unwooded
Chardonnay #13102 and the Oregon Yamhill County Pinot Gris #13103.
To see a complete list of all our new products, click
here.
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.
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 have ALL of our Winexpert Selection
International kits on sale for 10% off. This is a great opportunity
to try a wine kit made with grapes from one of the great wine
making countries outside of North America. The International
series boasts of wines from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France,
Germany, Italy and South Africa.
Click
here to find out more.
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.
UNSUBSCRIBE
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If your email was erroneously entered or you no longer wish to
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Feel free to pass this newsletter on to any of
your friends and thank you for your continued support of Fine
Vine Wines.
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