------------------------------------------------------------
THE STOMPER
The Monthly Winemaking Newsletter of grapestompers.com
January, 2004 Issue #42
http://www.grapestompers.com 1-800-233-1505
Hours: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Eastern Monday - Friday
------------------------------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------
=> Feature Article - Win a $100 Gift Certificate
=> Bonnie's Bin - A Clean Slate Avoids TCA Taint
=> Tom's Cellar - Testing Reveals Best Winemaking Stuff
=> Feedback from Our Customers
=> Guest Column - BrewBelt Instructions
=> How to Be Featured as a Guest Columnist
=> Corky's Winemaking Definition
=> New Products
=> This Month's Specials
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information
*^* Hot Tips are sprinkled throughout the newsletter
#&# There is ONE hidden special in this issue
^#^ This month's specials and new products are found
towards the bottom of this document
------------------------------------------------------------
FEATURE ARTICLE: Enter to Win a $100 Gift Certificate
By Brant Burgiss, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------
Happy New Year everyone! All of us from the mountaintop
bodega hope you and your family celebrated a wonderful and
safe holiday season.
Sometime during the month of January, we will serve our
10,000th customer... and we wanted to celebrate by offering
you a chance to win a $100 shopping spree at grapestompers!
To qualify for the prize, all you need to do is:
- be a subscriber of this newsletter (the STOMPER)
- place an order during January
The subscriber who places order #10,000 (or the soonest
thereafter) will win the gift certificate.
You can help us identify you as a subscriber... simply
enter the words "Stomper subscriber" in the comments
section of the secure online order form. Once we verify
you as a Stomper subscriber, your gift certificate will
be awarded.
It's our small way of saying "Thank you" for shopping with
us at grapestompers.com
Here's to you... and Happy Winemaking!
You can write to Brant at webmaster@grapestompers.com
------------------------------------------------------------
BONNIE'S BIN: Start With A Clean Slate to Avoid TCA Taint
By Bonnie Brown, Manager
------------------------------------------------------------
Our motto for 2004 should start out with...
A clean slate, or winemaking area.
Tom was up this morning at 4:00 AM and stumbled upon an
article from Wine Business Monthly discussing TCA (the
chemical 2,4,6-Tricholoroanisole). He came to work wound
up so here I am...
A small winery learned it had an issue with "taint" in some
wines, so they started gathering information and quickly
got out in front of the issue. Because of all the moisture
in wineries we have an ongoing issue with molds. In our
eagerness to rid our space of mold we drag out the chlorine
and mix it a bit strong. It is not conclusive, but we
suspect that we use more chlorine than needed to scour
spots off our tables, benches and floors. The reaction of
chlorine with other substances can create TCA.
What it boils down to is us switching to non-chlorine based
sanitizers such as B-Brite. That mixture should be used on
all of our winemaking equipment and furnishings, being sure
to use it on the walls and floors too.
I enjoyed the "Checklist for TCA" in that article too. We
all need to pay attention to this, especially during the
winter when we don't seem to have the ventilation we have
during the summer. I personally want to thank Wine
Business Monthly, December 2003, for publishing the
wonderful article by Cyril Penn entitled "Hanzell Tells The
Truth About TCA".
Here is the checklist she mentions:
- Clean really well and use a peroxide-based product
(such as B-Brite). Avoid chlorine. Use hot water.
- Don't use chlorine anywhere where the liquid or vapors
might contact wood, wine, or paper products. Don't use
chlorinated TSP.
- No wood pallets in the winery.
- No cardboard near the wines. No wood pallets in any
confined space; they may bring in either precursors or
chloroanisoles. Don't bring anything with the precursors
into the winery area and close the doors. It can change
and then volatilize into the atmosphere. If you are
topping or racking, you can, for example, have a pickup
from storing your cardboard boxes next to your wines.
- Ventilate: Increase the ventilation of all confined
spaces to prevent accumulation of chloroanisoles.
- TCA can be formed from any wood product. This includes
open bags of corks!
With this new bit of information we can move on into
our new year on a clean note. Take this little bit of
information and expand on it. Share what you learn with
others.
Here's to a CLEAN HAPPY NEW YEAR!
See you next time...
Bonnie
Life is too short... to drink bad wine... so make your own!
You can write to Bonnie at bonnie@grapestompers.com
------------------------------------------------------------
TOM'S CELLAR: Testing Reveals The Best Winemaking Stuff
by Tom Burgiss, Owner
------------------------------------------------------------
Ever since we started this hobby that turned into a full
time business, our primary goal was to provide good service
and correct information to our customers. Providing correct
information involves more than most would think. One major
example where we go the "extra mile" for you is in the area
of product research.
We test MANY different winemaking equipment gizmos, but
to us the most important items we can test are the grape
concentrates (also known as "wine kits"), because they
contain the ingredients from which we make wine.
There's an old saying - The best ingredients and the most
patience make the best wine - and I believe it is still
true today.
We are always seeking more manufacturers of grape
concentrates to try and find the best quality, the best
pricing, and the kits that are the easiest to make at home.
We will ONLY recommend concentrates that we physically make
here in our mountaintop bodega... then and only then will
we put our "stamp of approval" on the product.
This has been a very interesting and informative experience
for us because some highly-touted concentrates actually
turn out to be "duds", while others pleasantly surprise us.
We are constantly looking, testing, and searching for you -
Our Customer!
If you wish to inquire about a particular manufacturer we
have tested, we will be glad to share our personal thoughts
and findings with you on a one-to-one basis. It may be
that you have heard of a new manufacturer that you want us
to try out for you and save you both time and money in
trying it out. Robert Klause and Dr. Dan Strickland help
us out tremendously in this area. Thanks for your helpful
hints on new concepts and equipment, and a big THANKS to
Robert and Dr. Dan!
Another good example of the success of our testing program
involves corkers - both the hand and floor models. There
are several out there and some are impossible to operate.
And while I'm thinking about it, we offer "trade ups" for
better corkers if you would like to upgrade. Our policy
here allows us to offer you FULL value of your old corker
(purchased through us) in exchange towards the price of the
new corker. Call us at 800-233-1505 for details.
Hopefully this will drive home the point to everyone that
we are here for you! Don't forget to check out our hidden
special this month... it involves corkers! You can see
the hidden special if you look closely at this issue of
the Stomper.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Tempted to use a brewing belt on your carboy
to maintain warmer temperatures during winter?
DON'T.
Be sure to read this month's Guest Column
to learn the proper use of the BrewBelt!
Hidden special:
Save nearly $20 (or more!) when you order
item #2263, an Italian floor corker with a
brass iris. Now you'll be able to cork with
only one hand! Fits all bottle sizes.
Regular price: $90.75 - Special price: $71.99
Trade in a hand corker purchased from us and
save an additional $15.13!
BE SURE to mention this hidden special when
ordering, or you will not get this price.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
OUR GOALS FOR 2004
Each year we have goals in mind, and this year our main one
is to install a shopping pickup truck on our web site.
What's that, you say? Well, a shopping pickup truck is
merely grapestompers' answer to an online shopping cart!
We've been patiently waiting for some time now (Brant, are
you listening??), but I'm sure the delay is due to an array
of some great features that will help automate the process
of shopping and checking out (on your end) and automate
communications (shipping notifications, etc.) and web site
updates on our end.
As we get closer to rollout, we'll be asking several of our
customers to help us test the new shopping system. Stay
tuned!
Another goal we have this year is to release the Stomper on
time at the first of each month. We've never delivered the
Stomper later than the 9th or 10th of the month, but we'd
like to do better in the future.
You can help us reach this goal by submitting your input
(guest column, recipes, and winemaking tips) by the 20th
of the month for the following month's release. Thanks!
GOOD NEWS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS IN THE WESTERN U.S.
If you live in the western part of the United States and
place an order that weighs at least 15 pounds, we can save
you some freight costs by shipping your order out of our
warehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah.
This is just another way we're trying to save you money and
get the winemaking products to you faster.
SPAM
It seems like every time a law is passed on spamming, it
gets worse! Let me share with you my thoughts on this -
We get over 200 spam e-mails a day and don't take a lot of
time to scrutinize subject lines before trashing the message.
So if the e-mail only says "Hi" in the subject, we do not
even open it.
All orders placed online through our secure shopping system
come with a particular subject line that we look for.
However, may we request that when you have a winemaking
question for us, please enter something like "question for
grapestompers" in your subject line then we know it's worth
opening. Please share your complete name so we can answer
more intelligently. Thanks!
I read an article lately in the August 2003 issue of
"Consumer Reports" (on pages 12-16) that speaks of some
helpful hints for all of us. They recommend a spam-blocking
software called Stata Labs SAProxy, found at bloomba.com.
You might want to check this out. On page 15 of that same
article they make suggestions for keeping your e-mail
address secure. One of them is to change online references
to your e-mail address from the standard "janedoe@isp.com"
to "janedoe at isp dot com" That may help to thwart
spammers' harvesting software, according to the article.
E-mail is great if it is not abused; let's all make an
effort to improve.
Tom
You can write to Tom at tom@grapestompers.com
------------------------------------------------------------
FROM OUR CUSTOMERS
------------------------------------------------------------
As you might imagine, our office receives quite a bit of
correspondence - mostly through e-mail - here are some
comments we've recently received:
Brant,
Perfect timing [regarding the release of the free wine
labels with the December issue of The Stomper]. I misplaced
my labels for my Cranberry Chianti. The labels are great
and very easy to do, thank you very much. Be in touch soon.
Thank you, and happy holidays.
-- Ed Csencsits
Pennsylvania
Dear Tom,
The check is in the mail. Thank you very much for all your
help this past year. You have made our new hobby a great
experience and won yourselves a return customer for the
coming years with your outstanding customer service. I hope
all of you have a wonderful holiday season.
-- Terry and Krystal
Southern Illinois
------------------------------------------------------------
GUEST COLUMN - BrewBelt Instructions
by Michael Oxner, Winemakeri Inc.
------------------------------------------------------------
Electrical heating devices, such as brewbelts and heating
pads/blankets, should never be affixed to a low temperature
rated (i.e. non-"pyrex" type) glass container such as a
carboy, demijohn, or glass jug/jar.
The reason for this is two-fold. Winemaker's glass carboys
and demijohns, whether Italian or Mexican in origin, are
produced in part from recycled glass and contain many
imperfections and tiny air bubbles. They are relatively
fragile vessels, and any excess heat (or cold), may cause
dangerous fractures to the glass. If electricity should
come in contact with the wine (a liquid), electrical shock,
and possible sparking or fire, could result. This in turn
could cause severe property damage or even loss of life.
Our manufacturer's liability, and therefore our distributor's
and retailer's liability, is limited to the safe and
prudent use of The BrewBelt. Our brew belt safety
instructions were mandatory as part of our stringent 2001
North American certification program by Entela
(http://www.entela.com), something our Canadian and UK
competitors were not required to do in the 1980's. These
type of instructions were long overdue by the homebrewing
industry.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Would you like to add some oak flavor to
your homemade wines? Just follow your nose
to this article for complete details:
http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/oak_wine.htm
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
The second reason a winemaker should avoid use of a heating
device on a carboy is that such use may "cook" the wine.
90% of a wine (or beer's) fermentation takes place in a
primary fermentor. For best results, the initial fermenta-
tion usually requires a constant heat between 70-80 F.
Once primary fermentation has taken place, most wines and
beers prefer a slightly cooler fermentation (62-70 F) to
preserve the delicate bouquet of grape must (or hops).
By applying heat during this secondary fermentation, these
volatile aromas are greatly reduced, which can result in a
"feeble" wine. If a wine or beer is stored in a cool area
during this time (i.e. below 62 F), there are protective
heat-saving covers/shields (e.g. our CarboyShield) on the
market to "trap" and maintain the slower, "bouquet-develop-
ment", secondary fermentation heat.
Michael Oxner, Winemakeri Inc.
operations@winemakeri.com / http://www.winemakeri.com
Manufacturers of High Alcohol Products & Essences,
BrewBelts, WineAgitators, Finings & Filtration Products
------------------------------------------------------------
Like To Be A Guest Columnist For The STOMPER 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??
------------------------------------------------------------
CORKY'S WINEMAKING DEFINITION
------------------------------------------------------------
- Residual Sugar
Unfermented grape sugar in a finished wine.
Look for other wine-related definitions by clicking on
the 'Glossary' button from our home page at
http://www.grapestompers.com
------------------------------------------------------------
NEW PRODUCTS
------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a list of products recently added to our catalog:
- Item #4222B Apron, "Wine a bit" design $17.00
------------------------------------------------------------
THIS MONTH'S SPECIALS
------------------------------------------------------------
grapestompers' specials for the month of January 2004 are:
Item # Description Reg. Price SPECIAL
3133 CC Merlot 86.13 68.99
3139 VDV Cabernet Shiraz 53.13 42.50
3219 VDV Chardonnay 44.88 35.90
3271 GC Pinot Grigio 45.76 36.40
2721 B-Brite 8 oz 1.93 1.54
5264 B-Brite 5 pounds 12.21 9.99
2605A Carboy Scrubber (requires drill) 24.95 19.95
4305 Mouse Pad, "Wine a bit..." 9.00 6.99
3700 Complete Beermaking Kit 191.82 169.99
3200 Complete White Wine Starter Kit 246.68 175.00
3100 Complete Red Wine Starter Kit 259.79 185.00
The WA, VDV, and GC wine kits are designed to make about
thirty 750 ml bottles of great wine in as little as 28 days;
the Cellar Classic kit creates wine in as few as 45 days.
The Orchard Breezin' and Wine~Art Country Mist wine
kits are refreshingly sweet with plenty of fruit flavor,
with an alcohol content from 7% to 9%.
Wine and beer kit abbreviations explained:
BH = Brew House beer kit
CC = Cellar Classic wine kit
GC = Grand Cru wine kit
WA = Wine~Art wine kit
MM = Mosti Mondiale wine kit
OB = Orchard Breezin' 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 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 Adhesive Thermometer
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 or her 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 credit
card... 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 -
You can save some money on shipping if you can find your
own wine bottles... if you don't need wine bottles, just
be sure and let us know when you place your order, and we
will adjust the price of the equipment kit accordingly.
You can also upgrade your wine kit and get any other type
of wine you desire, by paying the difference for the
upgrade from the standard concentrate to the upgraded one.
Likewise, you can upgrade from the hand corker to either of
the floor corkers we stock by paying the difference.
------------------------------------------------------------
NEXT MONTH'S HIGHLIGHTS
------------------------------------------------------------
- More Winemaking Stories from Tom's Cellar
- Another Surprise from Brant
- More Specials
- The next article from Bonnie's Bin
- More Customer Testimonials
- Another Guest Article - Submit yours today!
- New Winemaking Products
------------------------------------------------------------
LIST MAINTENANCE
------------------------------------------------------------
To SUBSCRIBE to the STOMPER winemaking hints newsletter,
send a blank e-mail to newsletter@grapestompers.com
with a subject line of: subscribe stomper
OR go to our home page and enter your address in the box.
To quit receiving the STOMPER winemaking hints newsletter,
send a blank e-mail to newsletter@grapestompers.com
with a subject line of: unsubscribe stomper
OR you can visit this page:
http://www.grapestompers.com/quit_stomper.asp
Past issues of the STOMPER can be found at
http://www.grapestompers.com/newsletter/archives
------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2004 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
------------------------------------------------------------