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

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 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.

WINESTOCK - ITS NOT TOO LATE!

Next weekend, we will hold Dallas' first conference devoted to home wine making and you still have time to register. We expect to have almost 100 wine makers and there is still room for more.

In case you missed the previous announcements, we will be honored with the presence of Tim Vandergrift, Technical Services Manager for Winexpert. He is the man behind all of those great Winexpert kits. Tim will share with us the evolution of the wine kit, the sources of the juice and how to properly make a wine kit. Tim will also be available for your questions.

We will start Friday, May 5th at 4 pm with a mixer and wine tasting. The price of admission for the mixer is $10.00 per person or one bottle of your home made wine. The mixer will run until 8 pm.

On Saturday, registration will start at 9 am, with seminars commencing at 10 am. We will have 4 sessions running until 5:30 pm. Lunch will be served, as well as morning and afternoon refreshments. The cost for Saturday is $75.00 if you register before April 21, 2006 and $100.00, after that date. This price includes lunch. In addition, when you show up, you will get a $50.00 gift certificate for use in the store or on the web.

We will have lots of door prizes and wine making kits and equipment on display.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn about home wine making from one of the masters!

WEB SITE CHANGES

We just couldn't stand leaving the ordering system alone! I know it has been working well, so why don't I just leave it alone? It's because it can get better. Customers still have trouble with ordering the free labels and getting all of the discounts applied to their orders, so we are going to improve that part of the system. In addition, we are in the process of obtaining better shipping rates with FedEx Ground and, as promised, we want to pass the savings on to you. As a result, we need to modify our system to integrate with FedEx.

We have also added virtually all of the information from the Winexpert product guide to the site. When you click on a kit, the detail page will now tell you how sweet the wine is, as well as, the oak intensity, body and recommended aging periods. We hope this will make it easier for you to choose the wine kits that will meet your expectations.

We are also changing the color scheme to make the site easier to read. If you encounter any ordering problems or have any comments, please let us know.

CUSTOMER REFFERAL 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:

That's all you have to do to get another discount from finevinewines.com.

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.

FORUM

When you have a question or just want to learn more about wine making, don't forget our forum! We have 389 registered users, including some extremely knowledgeable wine makers with loads of valuable information and willing to assist you in your wine making needs. As of the printing of this newsletter, we have over 19,000 posts. We also have 4 moderators and an administrator. Responses to most posts are made within minutes.

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 - SHOULD I RACK BEFORE STABILIZING?

If you are a kit winemaker, I’m sure you have asked yourself this very question. If you haven’t, my guess is that you eventually will. Like my wife (Meg) and me, you may have found yourself looking at a very clear carboy of wine that has been sitting for a few weeks in secondary fermentation. The fermentation has long ceased and the lees have settled into a nice 3/8 inch thick layer of sediment at the bottom of the carboy that looks like it’s two inches thick through the carboy glass! The wine already looks great and it’s now time to start the next two steps in the process, stabilizing and clarifying. You have probably made at least a few batches of wine and each time you’ve gotten to this step, you have wondered, maybe tempted: “maybe I’ll just rack this batch off the lees (sediment) and then stabilize it.” Oh, but wait. The kit instructions are crystal clear: do not rack the wine before stabilizing. Maybe I should try it anyway? Just maybe I should, just this once, rack that crud off and see how it works. After all, it’s already clear. It just eats at me to mix up all that junk at the bottom of the carboy back into the wine and then stabilize. Well, fellow winemakers, that is exactly where I found myself about three weeks ago. And, finally, after resisting this urge with many previous batches of wine, the temptation really got to me. What did I do? Why, I called George, of course!

George Cornelius at The Winemaker’s Toy Store (finevinewines.com) is always a fantastic help with any questions about home-brewing so I mentioned my predicament: We had not one, but two batches of this year’s latest Winexpert Limited Edition Release wines, both red, ready for stabilization and clearing. (Yes, we did buy them from George!) Meg and I had taken our time with both, rather than staying on the manufacturer schedule, so they were already totally clear – just beautiful. Should I rack both wines before stabilizing? What I really was looking for was for George to talk me out of trying it. But nooooo, he didn’t do that. Instead, he threw out a suggestion (or was he taunting me with a dare, or maybe even a double or triple dog dare.) He said “why don’t you try one each way and then write an article for Pressing News (the finevinewines newsletter) about how it went?” I thought to myself, “He must really be desperate for articles!” Then, immediately after that thought, I let it slip out, “Hey, George, that’s a great idea!” Ouch.Why can’t I keep my mouth shut?

When Meg got home, I told her what George said. As she smiled, I’m sure she was thinking, “Why can’t he keep his mouth shut!” Actually, I’m sure Meg thought I was crazy for trying but she understands the “chemist” inside me. Oh, did I forget to mention that I have an unused 30-year old college degree in chemistry? She shook her head and said “Ohhh-kayyy”. So, that evening, we proceeded to the chem. lab (our winery in the basement) to initiate the experiment. We stabilized both batches of wine as follows: First, we did one batch just exactly the way Winexpert strongly recommends and with the other batch, we did the opposite by carefully racking the wine off the sediment and into a clean carboy. We did a magnificent job with the racking, too. There was practically no contaminant in the racked wine. It was beautifully clear and was begging to be drunk. With both batches, we added the appropriate packets of sulphite and sorbate, mixed well, and then adding the clarifier, which in both of these kits was chitosan. The only difference between the batches was that with one, we racked off the sediment and with the other, we did not. The thought did occur to me at this point, why even bother to add the chitosan fining agent to the wine with no sediment. Will it do anything? Does it remove micro-particles we cannot see and prevent any protein haze that might form later? I assume it does have a legitimate purpose here but do not have the real answer. Maybe one of our readers can offer me some insight into that later. In any case, we added the fining agent to both batches.

Now, allow me to digress. Those of you who have made wine from Winexpert kits have undoubtedly wondered just why the manufacturer would recommend you mix all that junk back into the wine at the stabilizing step. I had noticed that some other wine kit manufacturers don’t really mention or stress it that much but most of them don’t call for a racking, either. Well, I already knew what Winexpert had to say about it because months before, I had gotten curious and done some research. I found the detailed answer to this question on Winexpert’s website in their “Answer Box” section. I must say the reasoning they give makes total and complete sense, based on my limited four years in the college chemistry lab and my analytical mind. For those interested, here is the link to Winexpert’s information and it is well worth reading:

http://www.winexpert.com/index.cfm/fusemethod/answerbox_cats/catid/8/cattitle/The%20Most%20Common%20Winemaking%20Questions/#43

Winexpert’s answer is several paragraphs long but to summarize, the reason is basically that the clarifying or fining agent will act much more efficiently when it works in combination with the contaminants that are mixed back into the wine. The clarification process involves particles of fining agent attracting to particles from the sediment to efficiently clarify the wine in a short time period. Chemistry and physics come into play as negative and positively charged particles attract each other and then combine to settle down to the bottom of the carboy. I think Winexpert’s final paragraph in the online answer sums it up:

“Resist the urge to jump the gun on transferring, or racking, the wine! Trust the method behind the madness of Winexpert's instructions, and stir up that sediment with confidence!”

Ok, back to our laboratory experiment (Meg would probably say my experiment, not “ours”). I will now describe what has happened to each of the batches of wine during the last three weeks since we initiated stabilization. You may take notes but there will be a closed-book test at the end of the article. Daily, I watched the progress as the two carboys started to clarify. Henceforth in this article, I will refer to the batch that was racked off the sediment as “RACK BATCH” and the other batch as “NORMAL BATCH”.

At 24 Hours:

At the end of the first day, RACK BATCH had odd clumps of contaminant in the wine, all over the sides of the carboy, and at the bottom. It looked like a mess! This stuff must be the fining agent, Chitosan. The carboy had a totally different look than I had ever seen before when clearing wine. On the other hand, NORMAL BATCH was looking normal. Hey, how about that! It was already starting to clear from the top of the carboy. The top 2 inches or so were very clear. There was a clean, thin, well defined layer of sediment already forming in the bottom of the carboy.

At 72 Hours:

By day three, RACK BATCH was still basically the same as at 24-hours, with visible contaminant floating in the wine from top to bottom. NORMAL BATCH was now very clear in the top third of the carboy. Below, it was uniformly cloudy but obviously settling nicely as the layer of sediment was getting thicker.

At One Week:

By the end of week one, it was obvious that the experts at Winexpert (pun intended) knew what they were talking about. RACK BATCH was still pretty much unchanged, with little pieces of contaminant floating in the wine everywhere and the sediment at the bottom looking more like wispy crud rather than a clean layer of sediment. NORMAL BATCH was now very clear from the top all the way down to about 6 inches from the bottom of the carboy. The layer of sediment was very smooth and settled. There was no sign of any contaminant particles anywhere in the wine. It was just a little cloudy in the bottom 6 inches. By now, I was starting to question what I had done and trying to figure out “how could I blame George or Meg for this!” No, I’d never be able to pull that off. Now, let’s jump ahead another week.

At Two Weeks:

By the end of week two, RACK BATCH still had not changed very much. Slowly, it seemed that contaminant was starting to settle downward as the top couple inches of wine appeared pretty clear. However, the walls of the carboy were still covered with little particulate chunks. If I gently shook the carboy from side to side, I could see small particles moving a little, floating in suspension, throughout the carboy, except for the top couple inches. On the other hand, NORMAL BATCH was now very clear from top to bottom, with no sign of any contaminant except for the smooth layer of sediment in the bottom of the carboy. Yep, normal.

Now, I don’t claim to be much of a photographer but the three photos below do show the significant difference in the two batches at the two-week point.

Photo 1 above - “RACK BATCH” at two weeks - Note wispy looking contamination suspended in the wine and the odd look of the particulate at the bottom of the carboy.

Photo 2 above - “RACK BATCH” carboy sidewall contamination at two weeks. These little flakes are clinging to the carboy sidewall but are also floating in suspension throughout the carboy.

Photo 3 above – “ NORMAL BATCH” at two weeks. Wine totally clear, well defined sediment layer at bottom.

Summary:

It has now been over three weeks since this experiment was initiated. RACK BATCH is very slowly starting to clear but there is still contaminant floating throughout the bottom ¾ of the carboy. I hope that it will eventually wind up as clear as its counterpart, NORMAL BATCH, which is now ready to bottle. However, it is apparent that this process is going to take a very long time, maybe even months, for RACK BATCH. Isn’t winemaking fun? At this point, Meg and I can definitely attest to Winexpert’s recommendations. I promise George and you readers that I will provide an update down the road on how long it took for RACK BATCH to finally clear. Ah, that is if it does! Perhaps some readers will be willing to share their experiences with letting wine from kits clear naturally, rather than adding the fining agent at the stabilization step. I would be very interested in hearing from any of you. In the meantime: Yes, Winexpert, you did tell us so!

David Blubaugh, Senoia GA

For writing this featured article, David will receive a $100 gift certificate from The Wine Maker's Toy Store. I am always looking for people to write featured articles and I will give you a $100 gift certificate from The Wine Maker's Toy Store if you summit an article that I use in my newsletter. Just send me and when it appears in Pressing News, the gift certificate is yours.

TOYS OF THE MONTH

In conjunction with the class on filtering at Winestock, we are offering reduced pricing on all of our filters. Filtering is a great way to finish your wine by giving it the "polished" look of commercial wines.

The Vinbrite model works off gravity, while the 2 from Buon Vino are motorized. If you have any question as to which one is best for you, don't hestitate to give us a call.

This month's special pricing is listed below:

Part Number	Image	Description	Regular Price	Current Price	Order
5292		Vinbrite Filter Comes with 6 Crystalbrite filter pads (see item #5294)	$43.99	$33.99	Order
5260		Buon Vino Super Jet Filter Wine filter designed for home vintners	$299.99	$269.99	Order
5270		Buon Vino Mini Jet Filter Wine filter designed for home vintners	$164.99	$144.99	Order

NEW PRODUCTS

Winexpert has announced 2 new wine kits, Island Mist Kiwi Pear Sauvignon Blanc and Selection Estate Crushendo Catellina Supertuscan Di Siena. We have the Kiwi in the store we expect the Supertuscan by the end of May. As soon as they arrive, we will offer some special pricing to allow you to sample these 2 new kits.

To see these new products, as well as, all of the new products added last month, go to our New Products Page.

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.

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

With the release of the new Island Mist Kiwi Pear Sauvignon Blanc, we thought we would put all of our Sauvignon Blanc wine kits on sale. This grape has a hint of citrus and green apple and other tropical fruits. Sauvignon Blancs are a great summer wine.

Please note that my specials have been moving very fast. I have been bringing in extras, but I have not been able to keep up with the demand. As a result, these wines may not ship as fast as normal. The wines listed below are marked down as much as 15%:

Part Number	Image	Description	Brand	Regular Price	Current Price	Order
HAR010		Kiwi Pear Sauvignon Blanc	Island Mist	$49.99	$44.99	Order
3176		Sauvignon Blanc	Vintners Reserve	$52.99	$46.99	Order
3560		French Sauvignon Blanc	Vintners Reserve Passport	$54.99	$48.99	Order
3113		New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc	Winexpert Selection Estate	$129.99	$114.99	Order
3236		Sauvignon Blanc	Winexpert Selection Premium	$78.99	$68.99	Order

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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