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 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 last 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 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 everytime you visit finevinewines.com you have an enjoyable
experience and you find everything for which you are looking.
HELPFUL TIP (from
a customer)
George,
as we discussed, I think the following information may be of
some help to your customers who are interested in topping their
wine bottles with wax. I
gave it a try and it looks terrific - very professional and
classy.
Here
is what I learned.
- Boil
some water in a pan that is at least 3" high.
- Place
an 8 oz. plastic glass (heavy plastic
or other durable container - one you will dedicate
to the waxing process) in a pan of boiling water and fill
with wax beads so it is 3/4th full. Wait
until the wax is fully melted.
- Make
sure your corks are flush with the bottle
tops (neither sticking out nor pushed in) - this is important
to the finished product.
- Keep
your stove top burner on to keep the water
warm - no need to keep it boiling.
- Invert
your bottle and immerse it in the melted wax to the
desired level (a level that reaches the top of the wine
in the bottle when upright is a good guage). I dip the bottle
twice before pulling it out. This is a matter of preference
(how thick a wax coating do you want) so I recommend trying
a few different approaches to reach the one you prefer. When
re-dipping the bottle, I do not remove the entire bottle.
Just pull it out about 1/2 way and re-dip to approximately
the same depth as before.
- After 3-4 seconds, remove the bottle but keep it inverted
while the wax drips off the end of the bottle. As the wax flow
diminishes to a slow drip (one drop at a time) but before
it has stopped dripping completely, begin rotating the bottle
upright by giving the bottle a slight clockwise roll. This
will help give a smooth finished look to the wax coating.
- You can set the bottle down immediately without worry
that it will run down the sides of the bottle. Depending
on room temperature, it will only take a minute or two
for the wax to be fully set.
- If there is a drop or two on the bottle you can sometimes
simply remove it with a careful swipe of the finger. If
you have one that does not work out too well, simply remove
the wax and save it until the next time you melt wax.
- You should keep the glass in the hot water filled to at least
1/2 full, so add wax beads as necessary.
- When you are finished, simply pour, scrape or otherwise remove
the wax to a plastic bag for the next use.
Keith Wingad - Arkansas
If you have a tip you would like to share, send it to me at geocorn@finethevinewines.com.
Not only, will I include it in the next newsletter, I will
give you a
$5.00 off coupon.
FEATURED
ARTICLE - Carboy Handles and Better-Bottles
I currently have 15 carboys for my personal wine making needs
and they all have carboy handles "permanently" attached.
I used to have 16 carboys and 1 of them did not have a handle.
I was using it for my Red Ice Wine I was making for Christmas
presents. It was only a 3-gallon carboy, so I decided that it
did not need a handle. (Can you see where I am going?) After
stabilizing the wine, I racked it into this 3-gallon carboy
and it overflowed. A problem that I have never encountered before.
As a result, I did not have any room to add the issinglass, so
I lifted the carboy to pour it back in the bucket. The carboy
was wet from the overflow and just as I got it waste high, it
slipped out of my hands and shattered on the floor! Thus, the
end of my Red Ice Wine.
This is the second carboy I have broken. Fortunately, the first
one was empty and all I lost was a carboy. The second time I
was not quite so lucky. I make my wine in the same room
as I store my wine kits and the wine got under the wood shelves.
Consequently, my wife and I had to move over 150 wine kits off
of the shelves and into another room so we could clean under
the shelves. 2 hours into the clean up, my wife looked at me
and said she had one request. I was afraid to ask what it was,
but I knew I had better ask. Her request - "All carboys
have handles!" Boy was I relieved. Now I have 15 carboys
and 15 handles.
As an alternative, I have starting using the Better-Bottles.
They are made from PET plastic and weigh about 1-1/2 pounds.
the first time I picked one up, I dropped it because it was so
light. I watched it bounce and then picked it back up. Because
it is made from PET plastic, the acid in the wine will not eat
the plastic; therefore, the result will be the same as using
glass. Several of my customers have purchased the Better-Bottles
and I have only heard good reports on the bottles themselves.
(The ones with the racking outlet have not been as warmly received.)
One of my customers has switched to the Better-Bottles completely.
You can learn more about these plastic carboys at www.better-bottle.com.
The point of this story is that I guarantee
that at some point in your wine making career, a carboy will
try to slip out of your hands. If you don't want to lose a carboy
and/or a batch of wine, attach a handle or start using Better-Bottles.
You do not have to be as fanatical as me and put a handle on
each carboy, as they can be moved from carboy to carboy as the
need arises, but using a carboy handle or a better-bottle will
save you some frustration and cost at some point in time!
---If you would like to offer your comments
and/or suggestions, please send them to geocorn@finethevinewines.com.
NEW
PRODUCTS
We have added a new equipment kit, #1002. It
is exactly the same as the #1001, except we have replaced the
6-gallon glass carboy with a 6-gallon Better-Bottle.
JUNE
SPECIAL
To help you keep from breaking YOUR carboys,
this month we are offering the following specials:
|
Part Number
|
Image
|
Description
|
Regular Price
|
Current Price
|
Order
|
| 2708 |
 |
71B-1122 5 grams
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2700 |
|
Bourgovin RC 212 5 grams
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2704 |
 |
Cote des Blancs
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2707 |
|
EC-1118 5 grams
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2702 |
 |
Flor Sherry
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2710 |
 |
ICV D-47 5 grams
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2709 |
|
K1V-1116 5 grams
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2701 |
 |
Montrachet
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2703 |
 |
Pasteur Champagne
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2705 |
 |
Pasteur Red
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
| 2706 |
 |
Premièr Cuvée
|
$0.77 |
$0.59 |
Order |
Don't forget that when you are finished with your tutorial VHS
tape or CD, you can return it for a credit of $19.95. Also,
as
soon as you register, you get a coupon good for 10% off all
items, except starter kits. This
coupon can be used immediately and it can be used in conjunction
with any other discounts.
For those of you in the FVW
Growers Club, all monthly specials are always in addition
to your 5% permanent discount.
FORUM
Based on your feedback, I am in the process
of adding a forum to the web site where you can post questions
regarding wine making. I was not happy with the first forum software,
so I am in the process of trying out a different one. I hope
to have it up and running by the end of the month. When it is
complete, I will send out an special e-mail to all of my subscribers
and registered users.
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. By the way, the best time to reach me is weekdays
between 4-10pm
CST or all day Saturday and Sunday.
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.
FEATURED
WINE
This month's featured wine is Pinot. Wheher
you like Pinot Noit, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Chardonnay, if it has
Pinot in the name and we carry it, it is on special this month.
Below are the Pinot kits and their special prices:
|
Part Number
|
Image
|
Description
|
Brand
|
Regular Price
|
Current Price
|
Order
|
| 3174 |
 |
Black Cherry Pinot Noir - WA
|
Wine Art |
$48.59 |
$48.59
|
Order |
| 3273 |
 |
Pinot Chardonnay - GC
|
Grand Cru |
$55.88 |
$55.88
|
Order |
| 3255 |
 |
Pinot Grigio - CSG
|
Cru Select Gold |
$71.50 |
$71.50
|
Order |
| 3271 |
|
Pinot Grigio - GC
|
Grand Cru |
$48.51 |
$48.51
|
Order |
| 3246 |
 |
Pinot Grigio, Italian - CCH
|
Cellar Classic Harvest |
$91.75 |
$91.75
|
Order |
| 3134 |
 |
Pinot Noir - CC
|
Cellar Classic |
$83.38 |
$83.38
|
Order |
| 3118 |
 |
Pinot Noir* - VDV
|
Vino Del Vida |
$50.38 |
$50.38
|
Order |
| 3183 |
 |
South African Pinotage Cabernet - RQ
|
RJ Spagnols RQ |
$84.26 |
$84.26
|
Order |
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION PROGRAM
Please check out our 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
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.
WEB
SITE UPDATES
You can keep up with the changes and/or additions
at the web site by visiting the Updates Page.
If you discover anything that does not work properly, please
let me contact
me.
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Vine Wines.
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