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THE STOMPER
The Monthly Winemaking Newsletter of grapestompers.com
January, 2003 Issue #30
http://www.grapestompers.com 1-800-233-1505
Hours: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Eastern Monday - Friday
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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 it.
Instructions to cancel 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 - Feed Your Yeast with Nutrients
=> New Products
=> Bonnie's Bin - New Friends Abound at the Bodega
=> This Month's Specials
=> Tom's Cellar - Will The Best Wine Please Stand
=> Feedback from Our Customers
=> Guest Column - Magnetism Beats Heavy Breathing
=> How to Be Featured as a Guest Columnist
=> Corky's Winemaking Definition
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information
*^* Hot Tips are sprinkled throughout the newsletter
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Feed Your Yeast with Nutrients
By Brant Burgiss, Editor
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Happy New Year, everyone! All of us at grapestompers.com
hope you and your family had a great (and safe) holiday.
We are happy to report that we had a White Christmas at
our mountaintop location in North Carolina... we got a
dusting of snow just in time for Saint Nick!
Let me ask you a question... would you run a marathon
without eating supper the night before? Or take a long
drive without filling up the car with fuel?
Of course not.
Unfortunately, many home winemakers forget (or else don't
know how) to "feed" their yeast before asking those little
critters to perform the arduous task of making wine from
must. Adding nutrients is a simple and inexpensive task,
and when done properly, can help ensure your wine has
enough nutrients to last throughout fermentation. The
addition of nutrients can even help prevent H2S from
ruining your wine!
Learn how to add nutrients to your wine yeast by reading
our newest winemaking article:
http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/yeast_nutrients.htm
We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter; your comments
are always welcome.
Here's to you... and Happy Winemaking!
You can write to Brant at webmaster@grapestompers.com
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NEW PRODUCTS
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Here is a list of products recently added to our catalog:
- Item #3700 Complete Beermaking Kit, $169.99 (see below)
- Item #2600A 14" Plastic Test Jar, $3.03
- Item #2111 Recycled Amber Beer Bottles, 24/cs, $6.16
- Item #2720 C Brite Sanitizer, .8 oz (for beer), $0.36
- Item #2265 FermTech Blast Bottle Washer,
Reg $7.62 - on sale this month $6.80
AND
Just arrived... 2 NEW Cellar Classic Harvest wine kits
from Spagnols: Carmenere and Malbec. Call for pricing
and item numbers; it's a limited release! Learn more at:
http://www.rjspagnols.com/wine_ccHarvest.asp
The Complete Beermaking Kit (Item #3700) offers everything
you'll need to make great tasting beer at home. All of
our no-boil beer kits are made from 15 liters of premium
all-grain wort, yeast, and other standard additives (such
as dextrose, for use as priming sugar) and make 5-6 gallons
(approx. 50-60 12 oz. bottles) of beer.
Take a look at all you'll get:
- Your choice of your favorite Brew House Beer Kit;
choose from Pilsner, Pale Ale, Mexican Cerveza,
Stout, Munich Dark Lager, or Octoberfest (in season)
- Fermenter Bucket with lid - Three-Piece Airlock
- 6-Gallon Glass Carboy - Carboy Brush
- Bung (stopper) - Bottle Filler
- Five feet of vinyl tubing - 5 pkg C-Brite Sanitizer
- Bottle Capper - FermTech AutoSiphon
- 2 Cases of Beer Bottles - Long Handled Paddle
- Bottle Washer Adapter - Brass Bottle Washer
- Bottle Drainer, 81 station - Bottle Rinser (Vinator)
AND YOU GET THE FOLLOWING ITEMS FREE ($17.51 value):
- Free Beer Labels (text of your choice)
- Free triple scale hydrometer
- Free bottle caps (144 caps, enough for 2-3 batches)
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BONNIE'S BIN: New Friends Abound at the Bodega
By Bonnie Brown, Manager
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Well, winers, all's still hoppin' at the Bodega and in our
daily life!
We have a new employee this month; a warm welcome to Jane!
Tom is SO lucky in getting his employees. When the time
is right, they just drop into his life! HONEST! Things
should smooth out now. Since Tom will be gone quite a
bit this winter, I for one am really happy for our little
group!
Thanks, Scott, Jason, and Jane! You guys make it possible.
OK, now for some wine talk. My husband is so excited about
the larger wine glasses for his red wine. He says how much
better his wine tastes in them. It is true; you must try
it. I am not sure why... maybe the fact your nose is right
down in taking in the aroma? It just works.
A friend is making his beer in our basement. We gave him
the kit for Christmas. I cannot describe to you how
excited he was. He has been enjoying my Pilsner but had
mentioned Octoberfest, so that is what he got.
The aroma is awesome! I might even be sorry that I gave
it to him, because you can't get Octoberfest any more this
year. It's a seasonal beer so we are both hoping we can
get more next fall. It is really a beautiful color, too.
I will keep you informed on its outcome.
We have also been testing some new flavors of fruity wines.
They are surprising us with the rich flavor. We will also
keep you informed on those. They are not quite ready to
bottle, but look and taste like keepers. How about
Strawberry? Grapefruit? Black Cherry??? Sounds pretty
interesting, eh?
OK, enough for one day. We will be looking forward to
seeing you all in the Bodega some day. We're getting calls
weekly about "Hey, we are going to be in your area (such
and such a day)... are you guys going to be in?" This is
another FUN part of our daily routine - getting to meet all
of you!
Watch the temperature of your wines, especially the first
7 days. It really needs to be warmer than the barn I
sometimes use for winemaking. To remedy this, I am using
a trouble light, a safe distance away from the quilt that
covers my buckets! Add a few extra days if it is not near
the recommended 72 degrees!
Happy Wining, kids!
Bonnie
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 January 2003 are:
Save up to $30 on our NEW Super Wine Kit
(while quantities last!)
AND
Save over $21 on our NEW Complete Beermaking Kit
AND
Save 19% on wine clarifier
AND
Get a free bumper sticker
when you purchase a Grand Cru wine kit
AND
Save over 11% on the Vinoferm Acidometer
AND
Save nearly 11% on the FermTech Blast Bottle Washer
AND
Save almost 12% on our plastic wine thief
AND
Save over 13% on the Fizz-X wine agitator
AND
Get a free pocket corkscrew
when you purchase a Cellar Master wine kit
AND
Save almost 18% on our floating thermometer
AND
Save over 14% on our universal carboy cap
AND FINALLY
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 Reg. Price SPECIAL
2711 Wine Clarifier 1.48 1.19
2716A Vinoferm Acidometer 12.43 10.99
2265 FermTech Blast Bottle Washer 7.62 6.80
2601 Plastic Wine Thief 5.50 4.87
2607 Fizz-X Wine Agitator 23.05 19.95
2608A Floating Thermometer w/suction cup 4.84 3.99
2610 Carboy Cap (one size fits all) 2.08 1.78
5410 Free bumper sticker w/purchase of any GC wine kit
(sticker says "Pick Me, Squeeze Me, Make Me Wine")
2904 Free pocket corkscrew with the purchase of any
or Cellar Master wine kit. Carry your corkscrew with
2905 you anywhere... you never know when you'll need it!
3700 Complete Beermaking Kit 191.82 169.99
2020 Super Wine Kit- Sauvignon Blanc 110.90 89.99
3200 Complete White Wine Starter Kit 246.68 175.00
3100 Complete Red Wine Starter Kit 259.79 185.00
The CC wine kits are designed to make about 30 - 750 ml
bottles of great wine in as little as 45 days. VDV kits
are designed to make the same amount of wine in 28 days.
Wine kit abbreviations explained:
CC = Cellar Classic wine kit
GC = Grand Cru wine kit
CM = Cellar Master wine kit
VDV = Vino del Vida wine kit
CSP = Cru Select Platinum wine kit
CSG = Cru Select Gold wine kit
Here's what you get with the SUPER Wine Kit:
-Sauvignon Blanc VDV wine kit (limited quantities - order
while our supply lasts!)
-Primary and Bottling Bucket with Lid, 7.8 gallons
-6 Gallon Glass Carboy
-Drilled Rubber Stopper
-3-Piece Airlock
-15" X 1/2" OD Bottle Filler
-26" X 1/2" OD Curved Cane & Racking Tip
-5 feet of 7/16" ID Flex Tubing
-Fast Flow Bottle Spigot
-B-Brite sanitizer (8 oz. tub)
-Hand corker (double lever Portuguese model)
-30 corks (#2308)
-30 Free wine labels
Don't forget... our supplies for the SUPER Wine Kit are
limited. Order now to get the wine you want!
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 Long Handled Spoon
Bottle Washer Adapter Brass Bottle Washer
Bottle Drainer, 45 station
AND YOU GET THE FOLLOWING ITEMS FREE ($16.79 value):
- Free Wine Labels (text of your choice)
- Free triple scale hydrometer
- 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,
as well as the text you want on your free wine labels.
If you prefer, 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. Likewise, if you'd like a different wine kit,
just let us know and we can adjust the price.
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TOM'S CELLAR: Will The Best Wine Please Stand
by Tom Burgiss, Owner
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Often we are asked which are our "best" wines. Everyone
has an opinion on this - we all have a favorite wine - and
no two people are alike in their tastes! Hopefully I can
shed some light on this, by sharing with you our leading
concentrates (ranked by units sold during 2002), so you may
see what other folks are ordering:
White Wines:
1. White Zinfandel (VDV)
2. Peach Chardonnay (Cellar Master)
3. Pinot Gris (Grand Cru)
4. Johannisberg Riesling (VDV)
5. Raspberry/White Zinfandel (Cellar Master)
6. White Zinfandel (Cellar Classic)
7. Sauvignon Blanc (VDV)
8. Chardonnay/Semillon (VDV)
9. French Colombard (VDV)
10. Piesporter (VDV)
Red Wines:
1. Merlot (VDV)
2. Cab/Merlot (VDV)
3. Chianti (VDV)
4. Cab/Sauvignon (VDV)
5. Cab/Shiraz (VDV)
6. Red Zinfandel (VDV)
7. Shiraz (VDV)
8. Pinot Noir (VDV)
9. Cab/Shiraz (Cellar Classic)
10. Cabernet Sauvignon (Cellar Classic)
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
It's a good idea to always have an extra
packet or two of wine yeast available in
case your wine doesn't "start" well.
Nothing is worse than needing some yeast
when you don't have any, and the nearest
source is miles away!
Luckily, dry wine yeast is inexpensive
(less than a dollar a packet) and it keeps
well in the refrigerator until needed.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
We have observed a trend by our more experienced customers
- those who have made 4 kits or more over the past couple
of years - who are moving over to the CC (Cellar Classic)
brand of wine kits to take advantage of the richer body and
aroma, smoother taste, etc. This wine takes 45 days versus
the 28 days for a VDV kit, which indicates that these
customers are beginning to build their wine cellars in
earnest. These kits cost a bit more than their VDV cousins
but the difference in taste is worth it.
It is amazing (and humbling) to read the good news and
stories that come in the mail each day... many of our
vintners are writing to say they are building new wine
cellars to store their goodies!
Good wine like this is like money in the bank! The stock
market may go down in value, but thank goodness, great wine
increases in value each year (especially the reds). So as
Robert Browning once wrote, "Grow old along with me, the
best is yet to be!"
Cheers for 2003... Tom
PS: Believe it or not... you can order today and make your
own personalized wine (with special labels of hearts)in
time for VALENTINES DAY!! Order now and be the envy of
the neighborhood.
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:
Hi!
I want to thank you for the super fast shipment of my
order! I received it in only two days, from out of state,
during the Christmas rush!
Everything looks great! I'm sure my Dad will love this
year's gift!
Thanks again, and Happy Holidays!
-- Michelle Spinelli
Dear Bonnie,
The [country] ham and the [Pilsner] beer were very good!
I was surprised that the beer was so clean and pleasant
tasting. The other home brews I have seen have a lot of
sediment and don't taste very well -- especially from the
first batch!! I was expecting a bad aftertaste, but it
was rather smooth. There was not as much carbonation as
many commercial beers, but I liked it. It didn't make me
have to burp all the time.
-- Brent Brown
San Diego, CA
Hello Tom,
Glad to hear you have electricity again. Hope all is well.
Thanks for your help with the hand corker! We did just as
you suggested (dipping the corks & getting them quickly
into the corker & bottle) and it works perfectly...
Our wine kits arrived promptly, along with the kit we had
you to send to California. Thanks!
-- Lynda & Louie Karnath
Jacksonville Beach, FL
[Editor's note: Like many folks along the East Coast, we
were hit by a big snow and ice storm recently, and
were without power for a couple of days.]
Tom,
I just wanted to drop you a note and say you are in a
great profession. I spent 37 years working for various
pharmaceutical wholesalers.
I thought that pharmacy was such a great profession, that
I talked my nephew into going to school to become a RPH.
He did and he now is very happy and making good money. In
fact, he bought 50 acres of land and planted Cabernet
Sauvignon grapes about 4 years ago. Guess where I get my
grapes?
Free, the harvester leaves the end vines unpicked, and we
go in and try to beat the birds to what's left. I made 20
gallons this year and intend to make more next year.
Why not? I am 100% Italian, and we drink a lot of WINE.
Well anyway, I commend you for your commitment to both this
"hobby", and your profession... am sure this takes up an
enormous amount of time.
[Editor's note: Actually, Tom is retired from his long
career in pharmacy, and now spends his time making wine
and teaching others how to make it themselves.]
I appreciate the newsletter, it is always interesting and
informative. Keep up the great work. Happy Holidays to
you and your family too.
-- Nicholas D Canepa
Sacramento, CA
Tom & Bonnie,
Thanks a million for your attention to this order. It
arrived today, less than 24 hours from submission to
receipt. What quick service!
Thanks for this Christmas present...........
-- Johnathan Fisher
Grovetown, GA
[Editor's note: The following question was sent to the
manufacturer of Wine Cellar Express, one of the items we
placed on sale during the month of December, by a customer
of ours. Read Dave's note below and the reply from Bishu.]
I just purchased a wine cellar express through
Grapestompers. Can WCE be used on an unopened bottle
of wine that may not be uncorked for a period of time?
A week? A month? etc. Is the miracle process permanent
once applied?
Thanks, Dave Bridge
Dear Dave,
Thank you for purchasing Wine Cellar Express. I am sure
your enjoyment of wine will be greatly enhanced from now
onwards.
Sure, you can treat your uncorked bottle of wine and leave
it for a later day to enjoy. Once a bottle is treated with
WCE, it retains the properties.
Since 30 or less minutes is not a long time to wait for
treating your wine with WCE, we usually recommend the
treatment before uncorking the bottle, but that's just
an option.
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
-- Bishu Mukherjee
President
B & M Marketing (Canada) Inc.
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GUEST COLUMN - Magnetism Beats Heavy Breathing
by Jim White, Napa, CA
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Theory: If you open a young bottle of wine half-an-hour
before drinking it, the wine has a chance to breathe,
softening the rough edges and making the wine more
enjoyable.
Hypothesis: If a little aeration is good a good thing,
then maybe a lot of aeration is better.
Test: I assembled a panel of four of Napa Valley's top
winemakers and set before them, in a blind tasting, five
masked, identical bottles of great, tight young Cabernet,
each bottle treated to a different time, or type, of
aeration (breathing).
The Challenge: Could they perceive a difference? Is one
method of letting wine "breathe" superior to another?
Here's what I did: I acquired five bottles of Baringer
Napa Valley Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1997, one
of the great wines to come out of Napa Valley in one of
the best vintages of the decade. I chose this for the
test because it is still tight and young, because it is
available across Canada (about $150), and because I like
it.
I made sure that no bottle was corked or flawed. One bottle
was opened 30 minutes before being tested; one bottle was
opened two hours ahead of the tasting; one wine was
agitated in a blender for 15 minutes; one bottle was
placed unopened on the Wine Cellar Express coaster, a new
gizmo that claims to hasten the aging of wine with magnets
in the coaster; one bottle was opened immediately before
being tasted with no breathing time.
The judges have professional, discriminating palates. They
were Julianne Laks, winemaker at Cakebread Cellars; Scott
McLeod, winemaker at Niebaum-Coppola; Joel Aiken, director
of winemaking at Beaulieu Vineyard; and Rob Lawson,
winemaker at Napa Wine Co. Surely, I figured, if anyone
could distinguish nuances in the different - but same -
wines, these tasters could. But to keep things on the up
and up, I didn't reveal what they were sipping, or the
hypothesis of the tasting.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Finding it hard to insert a synthetic cork?
Try adding a miniscule amount of food-grade
glycerin to the jaws or mouth of your corker
and repeat the process every 10 corks or so.
Those pesky corks will go right in!
Be sure to wipe off any excess glycerin from
the corker when finished corking. This will
keep prevent dust from accumulating on your
corker.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
We met at Cakebread Cellars. Each judge was asked to rank
the wines in order of preference. To blend the judge's
rankings, five points were ascribed to the wine liked most
by each judge, four points to each judge's second favorite,
three points to each judge's next favorite, and so on. In
this fashion, the most preferred wine of the tasting might
garner, at most, five (points) x four (judges) = 20 points.
The wine least liked might potentially have as few as one
(point) x four (judges) = 4 points.
I had already set up this panel tasting to determine the
optimum time for letting wine breathe when Wine Cellar
Express came into my life. The press material that
accompanied the magnetic coaster made such seemingly
outrageous claims that I felt I had to include it in our
test.
"Simply place your bottle of red wine, unopened, on the
Wine Cellar Express coaster 15 to 30 minutes and the wine
will have a better nose, a richer, smoother taste than a
wine not treated". That's what the company says. The
coaster-makers claim that the gizmo gives the same results
as if you aged your wine in your climate-controlled cellar
for years. Which sounds like so much hokum - but the
judges, in our blind tasting, rated this method of
"softening" wine the best - if only by a margin of two
points (see chart below).
The wine liked second best by the group was the bottle
that had breathed for two hours. The exposure to air
softens the tannins and helps highlight some fruit
components.
The wine opened for 30 minutes and the wine opened just
at tasting time shared a common score in third place.
Judges preferred the wine that had profited from longer
air exposure, ranking the two-hour aerated wine higher.
The least liked wine was blender-spun. It had cooked
flavors from the friction of the blades. I thought that
perhaps this form of hyperventilation might "open" the
wine more quickly, but, in fact, it killed the wine.
"Just pulling a cork and letting the wine breathe in the
bottle for 30 to 60 minutes is not sufficient", says Scott
McLeod, speaking for his peers. "Nothing beats decanting
a young California Cabernet and letting it breath, in the
decanter, 45 to 60 minutes". All the judges agreed.
The Wine Cellar Express coaster actually performed exactly
as the press release said - it softened the tannins and
acids in the unopened wine and gave a balance, which was
not evident in the "straight" bottle that also was opened,
poured and tasted. The Wine Cellar Express coaster is
available across Canada in stores where wine accessories
are sold. Get details at www.winecellarexpress.com.
[Editor's note: You can obtain the Wine Cellar Express from
grapestompers.com; just ask for Item #5120.]
Chart #1: Blind Taste Test of Baringer Napa Valley Private
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 1997.
Total Points
(out of 20) Breathing Method
16 Wine Cellar Express magnetic coaster
14 Breathing 2 hours
12 Breathing 30 minutes
12 No breathing - opened and poured
6 15 minutes in blender
Courtesy: Wine Access Magazine, May 2002
Canada's Essential Guide to Good Wine & Spirits
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Like To Be A Guest Columnist For STOMPERS Newsletter?
------------------------------------------------------------
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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Fading
- Describes a wine that is losing color, fruit or flavor,
usually as a result of age.
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 Stories from Tom's Cellar
- Another Surprise from Brant
- More Specials
- The next article from Bonnie's Bin
- More Customer Testimonials
- A Guest Article from Frank Joseph - Submit yours today!
- 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) 2003 grapestompers.com. All rights reserved.
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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