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Happy
Holidays!
Welcome to Pressing News, the monthly newsletter published by
Fine Vine Wines, LLC, designed exclusively to assist the home
vintner in the pursuit of his hobby!
As I continue to make enhancements and add valuable content to
the web site, you can keep up with the changes and/or additions
by visiting the Updates
Page. If you discover anything that does not work properly,
please let me know.
THIS MONTH ON THE VINE!
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 indicate on our web
site, we started this business just this year, 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 company!
Some of you have been encountering a problem
with my ordering system. For most customers, it works just fine,
but for some customers, it does not. I think I have finally fixed
this problem; however, if you do encounter a problem, please send
me an email with the details of the problem. The detail information
I need is the page at which you encounter a problem and a list
of the the pages you visited prior to encountering the problem.
I also need to know if you were logged in as a registered user
or trying to place the order without registering. Thank you for
your assistance and please email your information to geocorn@finevinewines.com.
We like to hear what you have to say about our site and/or our
service, good or bad. Please send your comments and/or suggestions
to winemaster@finevinewines.com.
MY ACCOUNT
I have added a MY ACCOUNTS page. It still needs a lot of work,
but in the meantime, you can see all of your shipped orders, as
well as, any open orders that you have. You can also modify any
open orders by using this page. You can find this new page here.
FEATURED
ARTICLE - Too many wines and not enough time?
"Which wines do you recommend?" is the number one question
I get asked. I must confess this is a very difficult question
to answer, since all of the wines I have made from RJ Spagnols
kits have been, at the least, very good. However, we all have
likes and dislikes in our choices of wines, as a result, I personally
like some of the wines better than others and you will too!
The following is a list of all of the wines I have made to date
and the number of bottles of each:
Reds |
|
Whites |
| Cabernet Sauvignon |
420 |
|
Bordailles Blanc |
30 |
| Cabernet/Merlot |
90 |
|
Chardonnay |
240 |
| Chianti |
30 |
|
Chardonnay/Semillon |
60 |
| Coteau Sur Mer |
60 |
|
French Columbard |
30 |
| Merlot |
90 |
|
Gewurtzrtraminer |
30 |
| Pinot Noir |
90 |
|
Johannisberg Riesling |
60 |
| Red Bourgeron |
60 |
|
Pinot Grigio |
120 |
| Rosso GrandeT |
30 |
|
White Zinfandel |
60 |
| Shiraz |
90 |
|
|
|
| Zinfandel |
90 |
|
|
|
| Total |
1050 |
|
|
630 |
As you can see, I prefer red wines to white and
I really enjoy a good Cabernet. My wife enjoys most of the reds,
but prefers the whites, especially the Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay.
You will also notice that I have also made a number of different
wines, both red and white and here is what I have discovered.
If you like a full-bodied wine, you can not go
wrong with the traditional favorites, the Cabernet Sauvignon
or the Chardonnay. I will warn you that you really need to let
these age at least 6 months. These wines just need more time
to develop and soften. I have compared the taste of these wine
bottled at the end of the kit instructions to aged bottles and
it is totally amazing how they improve with even several months
of additional aging. If you can show some patience and allow
these wines to age a year, the wait will be worth it.
For wines with more of a fruity sensation, try
the Merlot, Cabernet Merlot, Red Bourgeron, Gewurtzrtraminer
or White Zinfandel. These wines have a very nice, mellow taste
with a definite fruity character. They are good with a meal
or by themselves. I have found that these wines are ready for
drinking after only 2 months of additional aging.
A good mix between the full-bodied wines and the
fruity wines are the Chianti, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Zinfandel,
Chardonnay/Semillon, French Columbard and Johannisberg Riesling.
These wines offer a stronger "bite", but one can still
taste the underlying fruit. These wines do well with only 1
month of additional aging.
If you are looking for a "fun" wine
that is ready to drink without aging, try the Coteau Sur Mer,
Pinot Grigio or Bordailles Blanc. These wines don't have a lot
of body and, as such, do not require aging. My personal favorite
in this bunch is the Pinot Grigio. It is also the second most
requested by my friends. These are my wife's 3 favorite wines!
I will also tell you that the Bordailles Blanc was the hit of
my wine tastings.
The last wine is the Rosso Grande. It is a "Big
Red" based on the Italian grapes. This wine is not for
the faint of heart. It has a very bold taste that is best consumed
with a plate of spaghetti. It needs several months to age, maybe
longer. I still have about 20 bottles that I am allowing to
bottle age, just to see if it soften some more.
As to which kits are better, I will honestly say
that you cannot go wrong with a Vino Del Vida kit. They produce
excellent flavors and their only drawback is they don't have
a lot of body. This is due to the fact that these kits are 100%
concentrate and the concentration process removes some of the
solids from the juice and the solids are responsible for the
body of a wine.
When you step up to a Grand Cru, you start to
get a little juice with the juice concentrate. This addition
of fresh juice not only improves the flavor but adds some body
to your wine. The next step up to Cru Select and Cellar Classic
gives you more fresh juice and, as a result, more body.
As you can see, the choices are really based on
what you like. You cannot go wrong with any kit, so my recomendation
is to go to your liquor store and buy different varieties. Try
them, decide with ones you like the best and then order the
kit.
Regarding aging your wine, I strongly suggest
that you age your wine in the carboy. Do I make this recomendation
for improving the taste of your wine? No. Do I make this recomendation
for improving the body of your wine? No. I make this recomendation
for the simple reason is that once you bottle the wine, it is
fair game to drink and I guarantee that your good intentions
will be consumed before its time!
---If you would like to offer your comments and/or suggestions,
please send them to winemaster@finevinewines.com
NEW PRODUCTS
RJ Spagnols Restricted Quanities 2004 have been released and
the table below shows the flavors and order by dates. I did order
several extra of the Pinot Noir, but I will sell them on a first
come, first served basis.
MONTHLY
SPECIAL
This month we are proud to offer 15% off on all of our Cellar
Classic kits. If you have been wanting to try one of these kits,
but were not ready to spend the addtional money, now is your chance.
In addition, the savings should cover most, if not all of the
shipping cost. For those of you in the FVW
Growers Club, this discount is in addition to your 5% permanent
discount.
Remember, as soon as you register, you get a coupon good for
$5.00 off. This coupon can be used immediately and it can be used
in conjuction with any specials.
Happy Shopping!
FREE
WINE KITS
This month, we are conducting a drawing and giving away a Vino
Del Vida wine kit to one lucky customer. Every time you buy a
wine kit in December, your name will be automatically entered
into the contest. On New Year's Eve, we will draw one lucky name
and they will receive a Vino Del Vida kit of their choice shipped
to their address free of charge. Remember, the more you buy, the
more chances you have to win!
SHIPPING
QUOTES
I will be adding an option to the ordering system that will allow
you to request a shipping quote without placing an order. Until
then, if you want a shipping quote, just complete your order as
normal, but choose the prepaid option, instead of credit card,
and type into the comments "Shipping Quote Request".
I will send you an email with the estimated shipping costs, then
you can decide if you want to place the order or not.
CALL US!
If you have any questions about our products, our service and/or
wine making, please, please, 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 definately not bothering me and I have a toll-free
line so you WILL call me. By the way, my long distance rate is
4 cents a minute, so even if we talk for 1 full hour, it only
costs me $2.40. If I can help you, it is worth every penny.
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. By the
way, the best time to reach me is between 4-10pm CST.
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.
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION PROGRAM
Starting June 1, 2003, we have created the FVW
Growers Club. You can get all of the details on our website,
but the bottom line is we want to buy your loyalty! Once you spend
$1,000 with us, you get a 5% discount on everything you buy from
us. Find out more on the website.
CUSTOMER
FEEDBACK
We appreciate all of your comments, whether good or bad. To demonstrate
our committment 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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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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