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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 2009
Volume 7, Issue 9
866-417-1114 (Long Distance)
972-323-7921 (Local)
972-323-7955 (Fax)
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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 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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LABOR DAY SALE
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To kick off our growing season, we are going to do something we have not done before - Have a Labor Day Sale! From now until 9 pm on Labor Day (September 7, 2009), all wine kits are 10% off. In addition, all carboys are 10% off, as well.
As with all of our sales, we try to anticipate demand, but we usually run out of something. If that happens, we will advise you of the expected shipping time frame and give you the option to wait or cancel your order.
Happy Shopping! |
ANNUAL LIMITED RELEASES
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As with last year, we are going to offer the limited availability wine kits from four manufacturers. The specific brands are listed below along with the normal number of wine kits in each release:
- Mosti Mondiale Meglioli (12 kits)
- Winexpert Limited Edition (5 kits)
- RJ Spagnols (5 kits)
- Cellar Craft (4 Kits)
The wine kits and pricing for these kits is normally released by the first week in Ocotober. As soon as we have the information, we will post it on the web site and include it in an email.
In addition, we will be offering a promotion that you can not get anywhere else! Stay tuned for more details. |
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MONTHLY GIVE-A-WAYS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We all know that we are not dealing with the most robust economy right now and we are all trying our best to stretch each and every dollar. We have recognized your plight and if you have looked at our prices lately, you should have noticed price decreases in wine kits, bottles and corks, among other items. We will continue to squeeze our prices as best we can, but we wanted to do more, SO......
Starting in July 2009, we started giving away two $50.00 gift certificates each month. These gift certificates will be redeemable for any product we carry, but can only be used for the cost of the product. Any sales tax and/or shipping cost will not be covered by the certificate. Anyone that places an order during the month will automatically be entered in the contest and we will announce the winners in the monthly newsletter and via email.
The winners for September 2009 were:
Earl Frost from Houston, TX
and
Glenn Moreau from N. Richland Hills, TX
Congratulations to both. Maybe next month you will be the winner. | |
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USING YOUR HYDROMETER
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Perhaps the most important piece of test equipment available to the home winemaker is the hydrometer. Fortunately, it is also an inexpensive piece of equipment. Using the hydrometer the winemaker can:
- Estimate the amount of sugar available in the must
- Estimate the potential alcohol content of the wine
- Estimate the amount of sugar that needs to be added to obtain a desired alcohol content in the finished wine
- Monitor the progress of the fermentation
- Determine when the fermentation has finished
The hydrometer is a glass tube with a bulb on one end which is weighted so that it will float upright. The hydrometer measures the weight of the liquid in which it floats and the reading is taken from a paper scale inside the tube. In wine making the weight of the liquid is related to its sugar content. The more sugar the liquid contains, the heavier it is and the higher the hydrometer will float. The triple scale hydrometer can be used to measure the specific gravity, the potential alcohol and sugar content.
Specific gravity is the scale most widely used by home winemakers. It measures the weight of the liquid relative to the weight of water. One liter of water at 60º F has a specific gravity of 1.000. A sample with a specific gravity of 1.080 therefore weighs 1,080 grams per liter and is 9% heavier than water. A sample with a specific gravity of 0.994 would be 0.06% lighter than water.
As fermentation progresses, the sugar is converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide, the wine no longer weighs as much and the hydrometer floats lower in the liquid. By periodically checking the specific gravity during fermentation any problem with a stuck fermentation can be identified early and resolved. At the conclusion of fermentation, the specific gravity of the wine may be 0.994 indicating that it now weighs less than water. This is possible because the wine now contains alcohol which (with a specific gravity of 0.789) does weigh less than water.
A hydrometer cannot be used to measure the alcohol content of a finished wine. The potential alcohol scale indicates that based on the amount of sugar in the liquid, it has the potential to produce the specified amount of alcohol. A wine that has finished fermenting will have no sugar; it will have no potential to produce alcohol and will have a hydrometer reading on the potential alcohol scale of zero.
To use the potential alcohol scale requires that two readings be made; one before the yeast is pitched and one after fermentation is complete. The second reading is subtracted from the first and the result is an estimate of the alcohol content of the wine. There are also several calculations that use the beginning and ending specific gravity to calculate the estimated alcohol by volume of the finished wine.
The third scale on the triple scale hydrometer is the Balling or Brix scale. This means of measuring sugar content is most often used by grape growers, wineries and the publications aimed towards them. The scale measures the percentage of sugar by weight that is contained in a juice. A reading of 10 on the Balling or Brix scale indicates that there are 10 grams of sugar in 100 grams of juice or 10% by weight.
As with all equipment, the hydrometer, test jar and wine thief should be clean and sanitized before use. Add some of the must (strained through a cheesecloth if necessary) to the test cylinder so that the hydrometer will float freely. Spin the hydrometer to dislodge any air bubbles that will affect the reading. At eye level, take a reading where the surface of the liquid crosses the scale, ignoring the meniscus.
The hydrometers available to home winemakers are not precision instruments. The paper strip can move around within the glass tube and result in incorrect readings. To calibrate the hydrometer take a reading of water at 60º F. It should be 1.000, if it is more; say 1.002, then 0.002 would be subtracted from all future readings using this hydrometer. If the reading were less, for example 0.998, then 0.002 would be added to future readings. Since the paper strip may move through usage, the hydrometer should be periodically calibrated.
The second adjustment factor is for temperature. The typical hydrometer is calibrated to measure a sample at 60º F. The paper strip will indicate the temperature the hydrometer is calibrated for. If the sample is at a temperature other than 60º F, a correction to the reading will be necessary. The following table indicates the amount to add or subtract.
Temperature of the sample Hydrometer Correction in Specific Gravity
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Temperature of the sample |
Hydrometer Correction in Specific Gravity |
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50 |
- .0005 |
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60 |
0 |
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70 |
+ .001 |
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77 |
+ .002 |
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84 |
+ .003 |
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95 |
+ .005 |
Of all the tools available to the home winemaker we believe that the hydrometer is the most important. When a winemaker calls with questions regarding the progress of their fermentation, our first question is what was the specific gravity at the start and what is it now? |
| WINES OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mosti Mondiale is celebrating its 20th anniversary and in the process is offering some excellent bargains on their products. For the month of September, all Renaissance and Riserva Mondiale wine kits are $10.00 off.
In addition, Cellar Craft is having a sale, so all of the Showcase Collection Kits are $10.00 off while the 5 Week Kits are $5.00. To see the pricing on these outstanding products, click on the following clicks:
Mosti Mondiale
Cellar Craft
Since the Labor Day Sale has better savings and includes all of the wine kits, the special pricing on the wines of the month will not start until after the labor day special.
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 Cork's Crew, the Home Winemaker's Club meeting will be on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at the store.
We will be finalizing our discussion on membership in the American Wine Society.
If you would like to be added to the club mailings, please give me a call.
Hope to see you there. |
| Toys of the Month
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Now that we know how to use the hydrometer, we are putting them on sale at ridiculous pricing. Even if you already have one, it is an excellent idea to have 2 on hand, as someday, you will break one. It is not a matter of if, but of when.
To see the pricing on these items, click here. |
| NEW PRODUCTS
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As you can see from the news above, we have been diligently adding more and more products to our web site. 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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Now with over 110,000 posts!
When you have a question or just want to learn more about wine making, don't forget our forum! We have over 1,500 registered members with over 110,000 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 members 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 5% 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 a 10% discount on all non-Winery Related Items. 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
phone: 1-866-417-1114 |
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