Pressing News

MERRY CHRISTMAS
&
HAPPY NEW YEAR!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsletter published by
 
Fine Vine Wines, LLC
"The Wine Maker's Toy Store™"
1300 N. Interstate 35-E, Suite 106
Carrollton, Texas 75006
 
December 2009
Volume 7, Issue 12
866-417-1114 (Long Distance)
972-323-7921 (Local)
972-323-7955 (Fax)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Healthy 

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, home brew 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 and beer brewing needs. It continues to be my hope that every time you visit our web site or retail store, you will find something of value.

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY!

For those of you in the DFW area, please join us in the store on Saturday, December 12, 2009 for our annual Christmas party.  Not only will we have loads of food and fun, but we will have some coupons for all that show up.  Rumor has it that there might even be wine and beer to taste.  We look forward to seeing you!

This month on the Vine!
Christmas Sale
Wine to Beer
Email Issue
RJ Spagnols - Q&A
Winexpert
Monthly Give-A-Way
Wines of the Month
Home Winemakers Club
Toy of the Month
New Products
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS SALE 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From now until 5 pm, CST, Monday, December 7, 2009, we will be having our "12 Days of Christmas Sale".  This sale includes wine kits, beer kits, carboys, bottles, filters, fillers, hops, grains and malts.  To see all of the items included in this sale, click on the following link to go to our special sale page:
 
 
The stipulation of this sale is as follows: 
  1. Orders must be placed before the end of the sale period.
  2. If the order is for pickup, you must pick up the order within 7 days of the closing date of the sale.
Remember as with all of our sales, 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. You can decide at that point if you still want the order or not.  We appreciate your understanding.
WINE MAKING TO BEER BREWING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are a wine maker considering trying your hand at beer, the following will show you how easy and relatively inexpensive it would be to brew some beer.

Since you have been making wine for a while, you already have most of the equipment you need to make your first batch of beer.  Most of the equipment is interchangeable between the two; siphoning equipment, fermentors, testing equipment and bottling accessories.  Along with these items, you will also need the following:
  1. 16-20 quart boiling pot, preferably stainless steel or enamel coated,
  2. Beer Bottle Capper,
  3. Beer bottles (53 for a 5-gallon batch),
  4. Caps, if not included with your beer kit,
  5. Separate plastic primary fermentor as the hops can taint the bucket and could give your future wines a "nice" hoppy flavor!
You will also need the ingredients, malt, hops, yeast and grains.  Instead of finding a recipe and buying all of the ingredients, the Brewer's Best Beer kits are a great place to start your adventures in brewing.  They contain all of the ingredients you will need to make five gallons of beer, including the caps.  They come in a wide range of styles to suit everyone's taste.
 
If you are in the DFW area, we will be having a "How to Brew" day on Saturday December 12th.  We will have four brewers from the North Texas Homebrewers Association brewing extract beers in front of the store, starting around 11:30 am.  It should be a fun and informative day.
Our on premise brewer is Brian Beyer and his email address is [email protected].  He is in the store 5 days a week to answer any of your home brew questions.  You can also give him a call.  Brian's day off is Tuesday.
 
Brian did an excellent job with our initial stocking but will be adding more and more products over time.  We will also be expanding our list of liquid malts and creating our own recipe kits.  If you have any special requests, please let Brian know.
 
To see what we carry, please visit our Online Catalog.
EMAIL ISSUE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are still having some issues with our emails being rejected by certain I.S.P.'s, especially with ATT, Bellsouth and SBCglobal.  Our web host is dilligently working to resolve this issue and we expect it to be solved within several days.  I apologize for this inconvenience.
 
If you run into any problems with our web site, please email what you found to [email protected].
Q&A - RJ SPAGNOLS WINE KITS 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since we are now carrying a larger selection of the R.J. Spagnols wine kits, we thought it important to collect some of the most frequently asked questions and share the answers with you.
 
Q.  How do I read the date code on the R.J. Spagnols kit?
 
The date code is located on the label indicating the type of wine the kit will make.  The code is in the form of YYYYMMDD, a kit with a code of 20090525 was made on May, 25 2009.  Remember to record this date on your instruction sheet.  If there is a problem with the kit, the production date may be needed for the manufacturer's warranty.
 
Q.  Included in my kit was a foil bag and there is nothing in the instructions or anything on the bag to indicate the contents.  What do I do with it?
 
The bag contains toasted oak powder and should be added to the must on day 1.

Q.  My kit includes grape-skins, how do I handle them?
 
The Cellar Classic Winery Series kits have grape skins containing liquid and are packed in plastic containers.  The GrandCru International and the En Primeur kits contain the Genuwine dried winery grape skins.  The grape skins can be placed in the hop bag provided with the kit which will make removal of the skins easier. Alternatively, for maximum extraction the skins can be placed in the primary and stirred each day. 

Q.  Why is R.J. Spagnols using a 14-day fermentation for some of its kits?
 
The Cellar Classic, CruSelect, GrandCru and Orchard Breezin kits have the 14 day fermentation instructions.  The wine can remain in the primary for 14 days without opening or stirring the wine.  After the 14 days, the specific gravity should be 0.998 or lower and the wine is transferred to a carboy for stabilization and clearing.  The wine is protected in the primary by a protective layer of carbon dioxide.  Additionally, the wine will more naturally degas because of the larger surface area in the primary and this will enhance the effectiveness of the fining agents.  If you periodically open the primary and stir the wine, you will lose the protective layer of carbon dioxide and you may wish to transfer to the carboy when the specific gravity is 0.998 or lower rather than waiting 14 days.

Q.  Have all of the kits gone to the 14-day fermentation schedule?
 
No, the Cellar Classic Winery Series, GrandCru International and the En Primeur have not changed to the 14-day schedule.  These kits have a transfer from primary fermentation to secondary fermentation when the specific gravity is 1.020 or lower.  Most of these kits contain grape skins which require a daily stirring.  If the primary is opened and the wine stirred after fermentation is complete, there is a risk of some oxidation.   

Q.  The instructions indicate that the wine should be racked before stabilizing and clearing.  Isn't the sediment required for the fining agents to work?
 
Two fining agents are now being used; Kieselsol and Chitosan.  The Kieselsol is added first and it works by making the negative particles in the wine more negative.  The Chitosan is positively charged and is attracted to the negatively charged particles forming larger particles that drop to the bottom of the carboy.  This combination of fining agents does not require a large amount of sediment to be first stirred into suspension.   To be most effective these fining agents need to be added in the correct order and to a wine that has been properly degassed.

Q.  Degassing is two 5-minute sessions.  Why the change?
 
Perhaps the most important process in making wine from kits is degassing.  Many first-time winemakers do not spend enough time performing this function and as a result are disappointed in the wine they produce.  Degassing is important for several reasons.  First, the excess carbon dioxide can cause off-aromas and off-tastes.  Second, the effectiveness of the new fining agents being used depends upon the wine being properly degassed. 

Q.  In the instructions for stabilizing and clearing packets 2A Potassium Metabisulfite and 2B Potassium Sorbate are added.  Can I just tear open the package and dump them in?
 
Dissolving the sulfite and sorbate in a little water first will ensure that they are properly mixed in.  However, if you are properly stirring/degassing you can tear open the package and pour it in.

Q.  What do I use to top up the carboy?
 
During the stabilizing and clearing step, the wine is to be topped up to within two inches of the airlock.  At this top up you can use up to one quart of water.  If more needs to be added to top up the carboy, you should use a similar wine, red wine for a red wine kit or white wine for a white wine kit.  Any topping up required after this step should be done using wine.  Alternatively, sanitized glass (not painted) marbles can be used to displace the head space.
 
Q.  My kit contains a packet of Metatartaric Acid, what is this for?
 
This packet is included in the En Primeur kits which because of the high quality juice are likely to form bitartrate crystals (wine diamonds).  The crystals are harmless, do not affect taste and are not considered a fault.  If for appearance purposes you do not want the bitartrate crystals, the metatartaric acid will aid in keeping the crystals in suspension for approximately 18 months.  The addition of the metatartaric acid is optional. 

Q.  The instructions indicate that after bottling the wine should be stored in a temperature controlled environment of 60 degrees F.  What if I don't have a temperature controlled environment?
 
While a cool temperature is ideal, the most important component of wine storage is consistent temperature.  Fluctuating temperature will cause the wine to expand and contract in the bottle and will have an effect on the flavor of the wine.
 
We hope the answers above will help you with your RJS kits, but, as always, if you have any questions, please give us a call or send us an email.
WINEXPERT 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In case you missed our previous announcement, after promoting and selling Winexpert wine kits for over 5 years, I have decided to discontinue their product line.  This decision was not an easy one to make, but we have just reached a point where Winexpert's strategic goals and objectives are no longer in alignment with mine.  If you have  pre-ordered a Winexpert Limited Edition, you will still receive it next year when they become available.
MONTHLY GIVE-A-WAYS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting in July 2009, we began 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 November 2009 were:
 
James Whatley from Montgomery, TX
 
and
 
Daniel Brown from Barto, PA
 
Congratulations to both.  Maybe next month you will be the winner.
WINES OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due to our Christmas Specials, there will not be a wine of the month for November or December 2009.
DFW AREA HOME WINE MAKING CLUB
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next Cork's Crew, the Home Winemaker's Club meeting will be on Saturday, November 12, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at the retail store.
 
The club's website has been recently updated and can be found at http://www.homewinemakersclub.com or http://www.homewinemakersclub.org.
 
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due to our Christmas Specials, there will not be a "Toy of the Month" for November or December 2009.
NEW PRODUCTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
 
Now with over 115,000 posts!
 
When you have a question or just want to learn more about wine making, don't forget our forum! We have over 1,600 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:
  1. You must be a registered user of finevinewines.com,
  2. The person placing the order must register and provide your full name in the appropriate field on the registration screen, and
  3. 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:
 
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 [email protected]
 
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  - [email protected]
Mark Cornelius - Shipping Manager - [email protected]
Joseph Schuitema - Resident Wine Maker - [email protected]
Brian Beyer - Resident Brewer - [email protected] 
 
phone: 1-866-417-1114