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THE STOMPER
The Monthly Winemaking Newsletter of grapestompers.com
June, 2001 Issue #11
http://www.grapestompers.com 1-800-233-1505
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Welcome to the latest issue of "THE STOMPER", a newsletter
of winemaking hints and other wine-related articles.
You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a
subscription and have an interest in home winemaking.
Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this newsletter.
Feel free to pass along this newsletter to your winemaking
friends; we only ask that it be sent in its entirety.
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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> Feature Article - New Web Host for grapestompers.com
=> Bonnie's Bin - Would You Believe This?
=> This Month's Specials
=> Tom's Cellar - Spiders and A Funny Wine Book
=> Feedback from Our Customers
=> What's Our Most Popular Wine?
=> Guest Column - Please Pardon Our Mistake
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Corky's Winemaking Definition
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information
*^* Hot Tips are sprinkled throughout the newsletter
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FEATURE ARTICLE: New Web Host for grapestompers.com
By Brant Burgiss, Editor
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If you're a frequent visitor to our web site, you may have
noticed our site's reliability has been suffering of late.
Some of the problems we've encountered are e-mails that
fail to reach their destination, orders that don't go
through, and generally slow server response time. We're
not happy with this situation, and we're sure you're not.
Our goal (at least as far as the web site goes) is to
provide you with a pleasurable, error-free surfing
experience, and we apologize for the current situation.
Part of the problem can be explained by the growing
popularity of the Internet (more surfers means the
infrastructure must grow to compensate), but most of
the fault lies with our current web host, Interland.
The situation has become so unreliable that we end up
calling their help desk at least three times a week to ask
them to restart services and double-check the mail server.
Let me offer you an example of Interland's "99.5% uptime":
One of their e-mail hubs was down for THREE DAYS... not
only did this mean we didn't get your correspondence, but
Interland failed to notify us of the situation and only
admitted responsibility after we documented our case.
If you've been affected by this situation, first of all,
please allow us to apologize for any difficulties you
have experienced. Because our Interland cannot (or will
not) correct deficiencies with their web hosting facilities
we have decided to take the drastic step of changing web
hosts.
This month, grapestompers.com has been working to secure a
new web hosting contract, and we're happy to announce that
a vendor has been selected and the process of moving our
files over to the new server has begun.
We estimate the changeover will take another two weeks to
complete, because some of our scripts will not work in our
new environment and require some re-writing.
We appreciate your patience as we convert from one web host
to another, and we sincerely thank you for your patronage
and your business.
Here's to you... and Happy Winemaking!
You can write to Brant at webmaster@grapestompers.com
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BONNIE'S BIN: Would You Believe This?
By Bonnie Brown, Manager
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We apologize for releasing the STOMPER a little late this
month, but as you'll see (read Tom's article below), Tom
has been a bit under the weather lately. The grapestompers
crew has worked hard to compensate, and some duties (like
filling your orders and answering your questions) took
precedence over our newsletter.
We appreciate your understanding, and hope you'll join us
in wishing Tom a speedy recovery.
Look for a more complete STOMPER next month...
Hope all the Dads out there have a wonderful Father's Day.
Until next month!
Life is too short... to drink bad wine... so make your own!
You can write to Bonnie at bonnie@grapestompers.com
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THIS MONTH'S SPECIALS
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grapestompers' specials for the month of June 2001 are:
Save over 10% on VDV White Zinfandel
AND
Save over 12% on 3 gallon carboys
AND
Save an additional 10% on our already discounted
Basic Winemaking Equipment Kit
AND
Save over $70 on the purchase of a
Complete Winemaking Starter Kit
which includes a RED or WHITE Concentrate
(see wine kit selection below)
Item # Description Regular Price SPECIAL Price
3229 VDV White Zinfandel 43.95 39.50
2205 3 US Gallon Carboy 13.15 11.50
1001 Basic Winemaking Equip Kit 49.40 44.46
3200 Complete White Starter Kit 246.68 175.00
3100 Complete Red Starter Kit 259.79 185.00
Here's what you get with the COMPLETE Starter Kit:
If choosing the Complete WHITE Kit, your choice of either:
Fume Blanc, Piesporter, or Chenin Blanc VDV concentrate
If choosing the Complete RED Kit, your choice of either:
Valpolicella, Shiraz, or Cabernet/Merlot VDV concentrate
PLUS ALL THESE GOODIES:
Tom's Winemaking Video Bottle Rinser
Fermenter Bucket with lid Three-Piece Airlock
6-Gallon Glass Carboy Carboy Brush
Bung (stopper) Bottle Filler
Five feet of vinyl tubing B-Brite Sanitizer
Portuguese Hand Corker FermTech AutoSiphon
2 Cases of 750-ml Bottles Spoon or Paddle (our choice)
Bottle Washer Adapter Brass Bottle Washer
Bottle Drainer, 45 station
AND YOU GET THE FOLLOWING ITEMS FREE ($16.59 value):
- Free Wine Labels (text of your choice)
- Free $5 coupon towards your next concentrate purchase
- Free Corks (30 corks, enough for one batch)
Just think: This complete kit offers EVERYTHING a brand-new
hobbyist would need to begin making his own wine. All you
need to decide is which wine kit you want!
And don't forget... you can always return your winemaking
video and receive a credit for $19.95 on your next
purchase... that's like getting the video for free! All
we ask is that you return it in good condition.
This is the best deal we've ever offered on a complete kit,
so don't miss out... order one for yourself or a friend
today. Ask for RED Complete Kit # 3100 or WHITE Kit # 3200
and be sure to let us know which wine concentrate you want.
NEW! Now you can "personalize" your Complete Kit -
Let's say you don't need or want some of the items that
normally come with the Complete Kit... just give us a call
at 1-800-233-1505 and let us know which items you don't
need, and we will adjust the price of the equipment kit
accordingly.
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TOM'S CELLAR: Spiders And A Funny Wine Book
by Tom Burgiss, Owner
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The title says it all... Tom is a bit under the weather
at the moment, having suffered a brown recluse spider bite.
He was bit on the leg while doing some yard work and had a
nasty reaction to the spider's poison.
All told, Tom was in the hospital for eight days, and is
now home recuperating. If you'd like to send him a get
well card, you can send it to his e-mail address shown
below.
Now, onto his story about a funny wine tasting book he
recently discovered:
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
I've found it hard to keep the vacuum in
the siphon from the carboy to the bottles.
When in the final stage, transfer the wine
into a clean, sanitized fermenting bucket,
the kind with the spigot at the bottom.
Attach a small piece of tubing to the spigot
and use the spigot to control the flow.
Next place the bottles in a large, sanitized
pot & move the tubing around as you fill
the bottles.
Any spillage will be caught in the pot
which can be either used to fill another
bottle or drank at your leisure afterwards.
Thanks to Mike Leib of Mechanicsburg, PA
for this tip.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
When you enter into our Bodega (that's Spanish for winery,
by the way), you will find some fabulously funny wine
tasting illustrations posted along the wall. We got the
illustrations from a special book by Ronald Searle.
Everyone who sees these images leaves with a smile and I
HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL WINE LOVERS.
The title of the book is "The Illustrated WINESPEAK -
Ronald Searle's Wicked World of Winetasting" (that is
what WWW really means - not the World Wide Web!!!!)
The ISBN number is 0 285-62592-6 and it was copyrighted
in 1983. From what we've pieced together, Ronald Searle
is an English chap with a nose for wine and a sense of
humor similar to that of the late Benny Hill.
I ran across this book in Oregon while touring YAMHILL
COUNTY where there are over 50 wineries in the Pinot Noir
Country.
Which reminds me: If you choose to make a Pinot Noir kit,
you must give it 18 months to come up to your expectations.
I have taste compared my Pinot Noir with a reserve that I
brought back from Oregon and I was mighty pleased with my
results. In fact, I made some for my granddaughters for
their wedding and one of them is only 2! In case you'd
like to know, I used the Cellar Classic kit.
You can write to Tom at tom@grapestompers.com
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FROM OUR CUSTOMERS
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As you might imagine, our office receives quite a bit of
correspondence - mostly through e-mail - here are some
comments we've recently received:
Tom and Bonnie,
Thanks for your attentiveness to my order. It is quite
refreshing to deal with an online business that is
concerned with their customer's satisfaction.
I appreciate that, especially since I'm just an individual,
and not a big company who is spending thousands of dollars.
-- Toni
Dear grapestompers,
When I bought my wine at the stores, I typically kept the
per bottle cost below 20 bucks, and usually around $12-15.
So I wasn't buying cheap stuff, but not real expensive
stuff, either. I am meticulous about sterility of
everything.......
In a past life I made beer. In my early brewmeister days,
I got an infected batch of beer. YUK! I actually find wine
easier to make, and more fun....
-- Scott Cook
Tom,
We met you a few weeks ago at the Barn Dance when we
were staying with friends at their cabin. You gave us
a tour of grapestompers and also kindly gave us a
nice bottle of wine.
We wanted to thank you for being so generous! We drank
the bottle of wine and loved it! You have a very nice
operation and are a great tour guide!
We hope to return soon to the Barn Dance and beautiful
North Carolina. Thank you again!
Sincerely,
-- Heather & Brad Peters
[Moderator comment] Tom and his wife Nancy also operate
a bed and breakfast and barn dance (bluegrass and old
time music) in Laurel Springs. You can check it out at:
http://www.breakfastinn.com/
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WHAT'S OUR MOST POPULAR WINE?
by Bonnie
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Several folks ask us which wine is the most popular... in
other words, which varieties do we sell the most of?
Hands down, White Zinfandel is our # 1 seller.
We believe the major reasons are:
1. White Zin is a great "first" wine for new wine
enthusiasts. It has a smooth taste and doesn't bite
the uninitiated palate like some drier wines can.
2. White Zin is enjoying immense popularity because it is
liked by folks who are either loyal "red wine fans" or
"white wine fans".
3. This particular wine kit can easily be "tweaked" to your
individual taste. Several of our customers live in what
we call "split" households... that is to say, one
partner likes the sweeter wines, while the other partner
prefers a drier wine. For these couples, it is typical
for them to finish the wine to dryness, bottle 1/2 the
carboy (15 bottles worth), then sweeten for the other
half for the person who prefers a sweeter wine.
From our perspective, at least, white wines are outselling
the red wines, the reverse of 10 years ago.
Here's the rundown of our 10 most popular wines, both
whites and reds:
WHITES:
1 - VDV White Zinfandel
2 - (tie) VDV Johannisberg Riesling, VDV Piesporter
3 - (tie) VDV Chenin Blanc, CC White Zinfandel, and
VDV Chardonnay/Semillon
4 - VDV Sauvignon Blanc
5 - VDV Liebfraumilch
6 - VDV Verdicchio
7 - (tie) VDV Chardonnay, CC Johannisberg Riesling
8 - CC Gewurztraminer
9 - (tie) CC Chardonnay, CC Sauvignon Blanc
10- VDV White Burgundy
REDS:
1 - VDV Valpolicella
2 - VDV Merlot
3 - VDV Chianti
4 - (tie) VDV Cabernet/Merlot, VDV Cabernet/Shiraz
5 - VDV Bergamais
6 - VDV Shiraz
7 - (tie) VDV Red Burgundy, CC Chianti, CC Shiraz, and
CC Rosso Grande
8 - VDV Red Bordeaux
9 - VDV Cabernet Sauvignon
10- CC Cabernet/Merlot
KEY:
VDV stands for Vino del Vida wine kits
CC stands for Cellar Classic
Both wine kits are made by Spagnol's.
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GUEST COLUMN - Please Pardon Our Mistake
by Brant Burgiss, Editor
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Last month, we wanted to pause and thank those folks who
have contributed winemaking articles for inclusion in
The Stomper thus far, but we mistakenly identified one of
our contributors.
For that, we offer our sincerest apologies to Jack Keller,
an award-winning vintner who hails from Pleasanton, Texas.
We incorrectly identified him as "Jack Webb" in last
month's newsletter.
Jack Keller has one of the best "how-to" winemaking sites
on the web. If you haven't seen it yet, we highly recommend
a visit. Surf on over to:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/
to see what I'm talking about. His site contains a lot of
great winemaking information, from the history of wine-
making to recipes, hints and secrets.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Rack your wine one extra time at the end,
then wait another day to bottle. Your wine
be clearer. Some of the heavier wines will
actually do very well with a couple of
extra rackings... just watch the splashing
so you don't oxidize your wine too much.
Racking an extra time or two also lessens
the risk of getting sediment in your
bottle too.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Incidentally, Jack Webb is a real person... he is one of
many vintners who participate in the winemaking newsgroup
at rec.crafts.winemaking - and I guess my wires got crossed
when it came time to write the article.
This brings up another point:
If you haven't participated in the discussions in that
group, we highly recommend you do so. It's a great place
to ask questions from fellow winemaking enthusiasts, and
newbies as well as experienced vintners participate in
lively discussions about the art of winemaking.
Need a recipe? Just ask. Learn a new way to rack wine?
Tell someone! The winemaking newsgroup is a great place
to hang out.
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How To Be A Guest Columnist For STOMPERS Newsletter
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If you'd like to be our next guest columnist, simply
send your three- or four-paragraph article to
articles@grapestompers.com. If your article is selected
for use in a future STOMPER newsletter, you'll receive
the attention of thousands, a coupon good for a discount
on your next grapestompers.com order, as well as our
heartfelt thanks. So what are you waiting for??
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CORKY'S WINEMAKING DEFINITION
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Nose
- The characteristic smell of a wine or liqueur; bouquet.
Look for other wine-related definitions by clicking on
the 'Glossary' button from our home page at
http://www.grapestompers.com
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NEXT MONTH'S HIGHLIGHTS
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- More Winemaking Tips from Tom's Cellar
- Another Surprise from Brant
- More Specials
- The next article from Bonnie's Bin
- Another Guest Column - We'd love YOUR input!
- More Customer Testimonials
- New Winemaking Products
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LIST MAINTENANCE
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Past issues of the STOMPER can be found at
http://www.grapestompers.com/newsletter/archives
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Copyright (c) 2001 grapestompers.com
Boring Legal Stuff: Content is gathered from sources
considered to be reliable, but the accuracy of this info
cannot be guaranteed. Opinions expressed by guest
columnists and customer letters are those of the authors
and not necessarily those of grapestompers.com
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