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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
September 2008
Volume 6, Issue 9
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. |
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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 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. |
| WINEMAKER'S TOOLBOX
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For 5 years, I have searched for a product 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 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. |
| FRESH JUICE (Frozen)
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It's that time of year again when Mosti rolls out its Mondiale Fresco (100% fresh juice). This will be our third time to offer this product and we have worked out the shipping process.
Our shipping tests have shown that we can successfully ship 2 days and guarantee delivery, without using any dry ice. For deliveries that are 3 days away, we are going to use dry ice to buy an additional day. At this time, we can not guarantee delivery to you if you are in our 4 day shipping schedule. You can use the map on our shipping information page to determine whether you fall into the 4 day category, or not. We will review all orders for locations and if you are outside of the 3 day range, we will contact you to verify you still want the product.
We have 42 varities this year from California, Italy and Greece. These juices will make outstanding wines, but please note, these are not "wine kits", so I ask that you please read all of the information on the product page before ordering.
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THE CASE FOR OAK
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Achieving greater complexity in your wine
Oak is used by winemakers around the world to help enhance the natural characteristics of their wine. With the price of a standard 60-gallon barrel running around $800 and with both the space requirements of a barrel this size as well as the amount of wine needed to fill it, typical winery oaking techniques aren't necessarily practical for the average home winemaker. However, by understanding first how oak can enhance a wine as well as what options are feasible for small scale oaking, a home vintner can still turn up the complexity level.
The introduction of iron actually led to the marriage of oak and wine. Before this, copper was used to make buckets, but iron was strong enough to make a sealed container where liquids could be stored. Instead of clay containers that were much more fragile, the barrel was not only stronger and could hold more liquid but it was round and could be rolled, making it much easier to move. Because of this transportation and storage of wine in barrels, people discovered that the wine tasted better in barrels.
Barrel oaking works through several factors: a) surface area of wood in contact with wine, b) wood type and toasting levels (how burned is the oak), c) flavor concentration, and d) color/flavor enhancement through micro-oxygenation. Ever wonder why wineries use 60-gallon barrels? Time and testing have shown that the 60-gallon size is the preferred balance of volume of wine to surface area of wood. With more volume, the oak flavors aren't imparted as efficiently - with less volume they are imparted too quickly.
Different woods (French, American, Hungarian oaks) and different toasting levels (medium, medium plus/house, heavy) provide varying amounts of flavors to the wine due to the different density and cellular makeup of the wood. French oak, for example, has the highest amount of tannin, while American oak tends to have the least. Because the barrel is porous, small amounts of water can evaporate from the barrel and small amounts of oxygen can enter the barrel. The loss of this 'angel's share' means that the wine solids are left behind, resulting in a more concentrated flavor of the remaining wine. The small amount of oxidation that occurs through the wood of the barrel decreases astringency and helps wine color and stability, along with making the fruit flavors of the wine more complex (vanilla, tea, tobacco, spices, toast, etc.).
So how does all of this apply to making wine at home, especially when using a kit? In two ways - with a barrel or without a barrel. Since most kits end up filling a 6 gallon carboy, and since barrels normally don't come smaller than 5 gallons, a single 5-gallon barrel with a gallon of wine left over for topping up is the most common barrel application for kits. Because of the high amount of surface area compared to the volume of wine, a recommended oaking timetable for a 5-gallon barrel can look like this:
1st time: 2-4 weeks (best to use a bold, red wine here)
2nd time: 4-8 weeks (good idea to use a bold, red wine here)
3rd time: 3 months
4th time: 6 months
5th time: 6 months to 1 year
6th time: 1 year
It is very likely that after the sixth usage the oak will not be imparting much flavor, however you could still treat the oak barrel as a micro-oxygenating carboy by tossing in 1-3 ounces of oak beans when aging wine in it at this point. Remember that your wine will still benefit from bulk aging as per the schedule that George posted in the March 2008 issue of Pressing News.
There are a number of real-oak barrel alternatives available to the home winemaker as well, including beans (also called cubes), sawdust, chips, and spirals. As with barrels, the surface area of the oak compared to the volume of wine determines how long these tools can be used before over-oaking a wine - more surface area (like dust) equals faster oak extraction. When adding these items to a carboy, remember that the flavor concentration and micro-oxygenation benefits of barrel ageing are lost, but the oak will still impart its flavors into the wine. Be careful to avoid an overflow when racking onto oak in these forms, as the wood will not have absorbed the wine and will take up space in the carboy - save your excess wine for topping up as the wine is absorbed into the wood. These products are usually considered to be disposable, although manufacturers normally note that if they are removed from one wine and immediately placed into another wine (from bulk aging to primary fermenting, for example) that the cubes should be fine and useable.
Tips for using oak with kits
- Remember that using extra oak is a deviation from the instructions provided by the manufacturer and may void your warranty!
- Go slowly - oak is better introduced in a subtle fashion so you can taste test along the way. Add half of a packet of beans to a 6-gallon carboy instead of the full amount, for example.
- If you're worried about over-oaking, check your wine on a regular basis and rack off of the oak when you feel the flavor is good. Oak levels fade over time, so it can be good to just slightly go past the point where you are satisfied with the oak level.
- If you are for sure going to use supplemental oaking methods as described in this article, it may be in your best interest to leave the oak provided by the manufacturer out of the picture.
- If using a barrel, do not store the barrel empty between oaking kits- just keep the kits coming and keep it full of wine to prevent spoilage. (It may be a good idea to have a couple carboys bulk aging before you start using the barrel for this purpose.)
- If you are confused about which type of oak to use with a particular kit, give George a call and he'll help you out. Also, take a look at commercial wines of the same varietal to see what other winemakers have used.
- Above all, have fun with it - like trying blends of oak to see how different flavors come through in your wine (50% French house toast and 50% American medium toast, for example).
This article was written by Jim Cook, one of our customers. In exchange for this article, Jim will receive a $100.00 gift certificate from the Wine Maker's Toy Store and you can get a gift certificate, as well. Just send us and article on wine making and when we use it, you will get a $100.00 gift certificate from us. |
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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)
- Cell
ar Craft (4 kits)
I am assuming that the Meglioli's will be the same as last year, but I will not know the specific kits in the other lines until early October. The pre-order period will run through the end of November 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.
- Order 1 or more Meglioli and you will receive a free 8.5 ounce bottle of Pizzico 1977 Balsamic Vinegar.
As we learn more, we will post the information on the web site and in the newsletters. | |
| Online Videos
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Based on the huge amount of positive feedback on our first video, we are preparing to post more videos. Our first video was how to make wine using a Mosti Mondiale wine kit. We have completed the shooting of our Winexpert, Spagnols and Cellar Craft videos and will have them on the site within the next 2 weeks. All of the videos will be divided into segments so you don't have to watch the whole thing to learn about any particular area.
We have also copied the videos to DVD's that will work on your computer or television if you have a DVD player. A DVD will be included free with every equipment starter kit. In addition, we will make them 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:
Once we have completed the wine kit manufacturer videos, we will start adding videos on how to make a fresh fruit wine. We will also be 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.
We hope you enjoy this new feature of our store and if you have any suggestions or requests, please let us know. | |
| 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 store gift certificate for every award you receive. Win with a wine kit and get a free wine kit and $100 from us. Win with a fresh fruit wine, you don't get a free wine kit, but you do still get the $100. In addition, we will throw in free shipping for each of the free wine kits you receive.
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. |
| Wine of the Month - Pinot Noir
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This month, we are featuring the Pinot Noir grape. All of our wine kits that are based on this grape are on sale for at least 10% off. Please note the Mondiale Fresco is NOT included in this sale.
The Pinot Noir grapes are used to make the Red Burgundies from France and are considered one of the more difficult grapes to grow. Depending on where this grape is grown, different flavors and aromas are created, but it is primarily known for producing delicate, medium bodies wines with a lot of fruit forward and peppery tastes.
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. |
| DFW AREA HOME WINE MAKING CLUB
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The next meeting will be held at the store on September 13, 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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To help you keep from dropping your expensive carboys, we are putting our carboy handles and brew haulers on special this month for over 10% off. Glass carboys do not break they shatter into thousands of pieces. Protect your carboys and your feet with these great products.
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| 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
Contact Information
George Cornelius - President
Mark Cornelius - Shipping Manager
Joseph Schuitema - Resident Wine Maker and Technical Creator
phone: 1-866-417-1114 |
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