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Newsletter published by
Fine Vine Wines, LLC
"The Wine Maker's Toy Store™"
1300 N. Interstate 35-E, Suite 106
Carrollton, Texas 75006
October 2008
Volume 6, Issue 10
866-417-1114 (Long Distance)
972-323-7921 (Local)
972-323-7955 (Fax)
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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 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 needs. It continues to be my hope that every time you visit our web site or retail store, you will find something of value. |
WINESTOCK 2009 - April 10-12, 2009
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Time to start making plans for the next WINESTOCK. It will be held once again at the Addison Conference Center. We have not finalized the schedule, but we do have 3 featured speakers.
- Nino Piazza and Matteo Meglioli, President and Technical Services Manager of Mosti Mondiale.
- Dr. Joe Cleaver, a member of the staff at the Cooper Center here in Dallas who travels the U.S. speaking on the health benefits of wine.
We have also extended invitations to Buon Vino, Scott Labs and MacDay Labels.
We will again have our People Choice awards, outstanding food and lots of time to meet your fellow wine makers. We are working on additional speakers and hope to have the complete schedule with sign up information by next month.
This will be our third Winestock and we plan to make it our best, yet! If you want to learn more about making wine, this will be an outstanding opportunity.
Hopefully, we will have the registration web pages up by the end of the month.
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| CELLAR CRAFT
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You have been asking for Cellar Craft wine kits and I have finally brought them in! The first shipment is due by October 15th, but you can order them now.
Cellar Craft wine kits have an excellent reputation for making exceptional wines. They are most noted for their kits with grape packs, but also have some white wines not offered by any other manufacturer. Like Mosti Mondiale, these wines may required a little more work, but will be worth the effort and with my new online video, they should be easier to make.
The initial shipment will include all of their red wine kits with grape packs along with their most popular whites and a few reds without grape packs. As I always do, there is introductory pricing. This pricing is 10% off of what will become my list price (before discounts) and is good for the entire month of October 2008.
As I did with Mosti Mondiale, the kits I stock from Cellar Craft will be based on demand and requests. If there is a particular kit from Cellar Craft that you want, please ask and I will try to get it on my next order.
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MIX AND MATCH SPECIAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As with last year, we are going to offers the limited availabitity wine kits from four manufacturers. The specific brands are listed below:
- Mosti Mondiale Meglioli (12 kits)
- Winexpert Limited Edition (5 kits)
- RJ Spagnols (5 kits)
- Cellar Craft (4 Kits)
Winexpert and RJ Spagnols have released their kits and pricing, while we are waiting on pricing from Mosti Mondiale (The varietals will be the same as last year.) Cellar Craft has not released any details about this year's program. As soon as we have the information from Mosti Mondiale and Cellar Craft, we will post it on the web site and send out a special email. In the meantime, you can see explore the Winexpert and Spagnols kits at the following link:
The pre-order period will run through December 1, 2008 and I will not be ordering as many extra kits this year as last, so if you want any of these kits, your best bet is to pre-order them.
This year's special is as follows:
- Order any 5 limited availability wine kits and get 10% off all that you order and a Screwpull Corkscrew, retail value $24.99. The 10% discount is in addition to the 10% Grower's Club discount and the corkscrew is one of the best we have found to remove even the most stubborn cork, and
- Order 1 or more Meglioli and you will receive one free 8.5 ounce bottle of Pizzico 1977 Balsamic Vinegar, and
- If you order any 1 of the RJ Spagnols Restricted Quantities, you will receive 1 free copy of the book "Exploring Wine: The Culinary Institute of America's Complete Guide to Wines of the World".
As we learn more, we will post the information on the web site and in the newsletters. |
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| WINEMAKER'S TOOLBOX
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For 5 years, I have searched for a product that would provide an inexpensive way for potential wine makers try this wonderful hobby and now my search is over. Mosti Mondiale has solved this problem with their newest product, the "Winemaker's Toolbox". This is a complete wine making package with everything you need, except water, to make 6 bottles of quality wine. The package contains all of the equipment, additives, bottles, corks and 2 liters of grape juice concentrate for only $59.99.
I have always realized that home wine making takes a leap of faith and having to spend $200.00 or more to purchase the equipment and one wine kit can be a difficult decision. Now, with the Winemaker's Toolbox, you can try the hobby for a whole lot less and still make quality wine. As with all of our wine kits, we had to try them first. We made the Merlot and Chardonnay from this product in April and blind tasted it at 60 days old against $12.00 commercial bottles of a well-known brand. The Merlot out scored the commercial bottle and the Chardonnay came in second to another kit wine and ahead of the commercial wine by a mere 2 points! To see our log on these 2 wines, click on the following link (they are batches 0049 and 0050).
Wine Making Log and Database
This is not a product that I recommend for existing wine makers as the cost per bottle of $6.00 is high compared to most wine kits, but is a great idea for any potential wine makers that are still "sitting on the fence". It also makes an excellent Christmas gift.
As will all of our wine kits, we do guarantee success and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
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BAROLO BLIND TASTING
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At the September 13th meeting of the Home Wine Making Club, we performed a blind tasting of Barolo's. The tasting included 2 commercial bottles, 2 bottles of my Mosti Mondiale Meglioli Barolo from 2007 and 1 bottle of my Mosti Mondiale Master's Granbarolo from 2007. The Granbarolo and one of the Meglioli's was started in February 2007 and bottled in August 2007. The other Meglioli was started in April 2007 and bottled in November 2007.
We asked everyone to vote on their favorite three wines and awared 3 points for each first, 2 points for each second and 1 point for each third. I should also point out that not all of the tasters were home wine makers. We were fortunate to have some guests that were interested in becoming home wine makers.
The results are presented below with the total number of points received:
- Meglioli Feb. 2007 - (44)
- Meglioli Apr. 2007 - (25)
- Tenimenti Barolo 2001 - Retail cost $38.00 (20)
- Masters 2007 - 18 months (19)
- Origin Collection 2000 - Retail cost $30.00 (3)
Who says you can't make better wine? |
| Online Videos
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We have added the videos for making a wine kit from:
- Cellar Craft,
- RJ Spagnols, and
- Winexpert
All of the videos are divided into segments so you don't have to watch the whole thing to learn about any particular area. The video interface still needs some work so you can tell which manufacturer you are watching. Please be patient with us.
We are in the process of having the new videos copied to DVD's that will work on your computer or television if you have a DVD player. A DVD is now included free with every equipment starter kit. In addition, they are available for purchase for $9.99. The DVD's will also be free with the purchase of any wine kit. Just request one and we will include it with your order.
It is our intention to keep the videos free on the Internet for all to learn. If you have missed the online videos, use the following link to view them:
Now that we have completed the wine kit videos, we will start adding videos on how to use most, if not all, of the equipment. Some of the first videos will feature stainless steel tanks, bottle fillers and filters. After that, we will work on videos on how to make a fresh fruit wine (country wine).
We hope you enjoy this new feature of our store and if you have any suggestions or requests, please let us know. |
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| WineMaker Magazine Awards
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Each month, we will remind you about these awards because we want to be the "Retailer of the Year". This is based on the total scores of the wines entered for each retailer. Last year, we finished 6th in the U.S. and 13th overall and I would like to be #1.
When you win an award with a wine kit, the manufacturer will normally give you a free wine kit from the same brand. This is offered as an inducement for you to win awards with their products. If you submit a Mosti Mondiale Original All Juice wine and win an award with it, Mosti will give you a free Mosti Mondiale Original All Juice wine kit as their thanks. At this time, only Winexpert limits the number of free kits to 2. All of the other manufacturer's will reward each winning kit.
Since we want you to enter and WIN, we are going give you a $100.00 store gift certificate for every award you receive. Win with a wine kit and get a free wine kit and $100.00 from us. Win with a fresh fruit wine, you don't get a free wine kit, but you do still get the $100.00. In addition, we will throw in free shipping for each of the free wine kits you receive.
Please note that our $100.00 gift certificate is not just for kit wines. If you have a country wine, wine from grapes or a mead, enter it and if you get a medal you get the $100.00 from us.
One last note, due to the limitations on shipping wines, sometimes it can be difficult just getting your wine delivered. I have heard that FedEx Ground flagged the WineMaker Magazine address as a "do not deliver" and a lot of the entries were returned to the wine makers. To make this easier on you, feel free to bring your wine to the store or ship them to us and we will send all of them, en masse, to WineMaker Magazine. If we have enough, we will use a pallet, which should not be a problem getting delivered.
The due date of next year's competition will be sometime in March 2009, so start thinking about which wines you want to enter.
To learn more about this contest, click on the following link:
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| Wine of the Month - Sangiovese
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This month, we are featuring one of Italy's great grapes, the Sangiovese. It is used in many of their Italian blends, including Chianti and Super Tuscans. All of our wine kits that are based on this grape are on sale for at least 10% off.
Remember with all of our "Wines of the Month", we try to anticipate demand, but may not be 100% successful. If we run out of a special, we will advise you of such and an expected ship date. We appreciate your understanding.
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| DFW AREA HOME WINE MAKING CLUB
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The next meeting will be held at the store on October 18, 2008 at 5:30 pm.
The chapter name is the Corks Crew.
If you would like to be added to the club mailing, please give me a call.
Hope to see you there. |
| Toy of the Month
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FREE HYDROMETER!
It seems that my wine making customers are constantly breaking their hydrometers, so for the entire month of October 2008, we will give you a free Triple Scale Hydrometer with every order of $100.00 or more. The only stipulation is that we are limiting this offer to one per customer. To get your free hydrometer, all you have to do is:
- Place an order before the end of October 2008 for $100.00 or more, AND
- Type in the words "Free Hydrometer" in the special instructions box on the billing information screen.
That's all you have to do to get your FREE HYDROMETER! |
| NEW PRODUCTS
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To see all of the products added during the last 60 days, visit our
New Products Page whenever you visit the web site.
If you are looking for a product that I do not carry, my distributors are LD Carlson and Crosby & Baker, Ltd. You can see their complete product list at their public catalogs. If you find anything you would like me to add, please let me know. |
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When you have a question or just want to learn more about wine making, don't forget our forum! We have 1,167 registered members with over 80,000 posts! We have some extremely knowledgeable wine makers with loads of valuable information willing to assist you in your wine making needs. Responses to most posts are made within minutes. We are also known to have an occasional 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.
DISCOUNTS
The most common discounts are listed below:
CUSTOMER REFERRAL PROGRAM
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 full 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.
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 at least 5% discount on everything you buy from us (10% on orders over $100.00). Find out more on the web site.
REGISTRATION DISCOUNT (FIRST TIME ORDERS)
To receive this 5% off, all you have to do is register with us and place an order for $50.00, or more (excluding shipping and taxes). If your first order is for more than $140.00, we will give you 10% off. When you register, you will also be given the opportunity to sign up for our monthly newsletter, which is the only recurring email we send. We will not blast you with email after email touting our current specials. We encourage you to register to make the ordering process easier on you.
BIRTHDAY CLUB
If you are a registered user and have provided your birth day and month, every year you will receive a coupon good for $5.00 off any order over $25.00. This coupon is in addition to any other discounts in which you may be entitled. These coupons are emailed on the first of the month and are good for your birth month only. To join up, register, go to the My Account section and provide your birth day and month.
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:
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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.
Don't forget we like you to CALL!
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 through Saturday. We always try to answer the phone when you call; however, sometimes, we are unable to answer the phone as we are 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 just 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.
We don't want to be the biggest store, just the BEST!
Cheers!
George Cornelius, President
Fine Vine Wines, LLC, The Wine Maker's Toy Store
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