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THE STOMPER
The Monthly Winemaking Newsletter of grapestompers.com
February, 2004 Issue #43
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 - Looking for New Winemaking Gadgets
=> Bonnie's Bin - Making Homemade Vinegar
=> Tom's Cellar - Things My French Teacher Taught Me
=> Feedback from Our Customers
=> Guest Column - How to Remove & Preserve Wine Labels
=> 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
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Looking for New Winemaking Gadgets
By Brant Burgiss, Editor
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Happy Valentine's month, everyone! The snow is still on
the ground in the mountains of North Carolina, but we're
already getting set for spring and our annual attendance
at the Wineries Unlimited trade show and convention in
Lancaster, PA on March 15-18.
The show is a ton of fun for grape growers and winemakers
alike. They offer seminars and training in a variety of
winemaking topics, and this year over 250 vendors will
show off their latest lines of winemaking products and
gadgets. Each year we always seem to find some neat
products to share with you as our customers. Who knows
what we'll find?
Learn more about this great event by visiting the home
page of the convention:
http://tinyurl.com/3csnz
You'll be able to see the schedule of events and seminars,
and you can even register online if the mood strikes.
We're always open to your suggestions regarding products
to carry in our online catalog. If you have a favorite
piece of winemaking equipment you think we should offer,
please tell us about it!
GIFT CERTIFICATE UPDATE
Last month, you may remember that we mentioned the prize
that awaited grapestompers' 10,000th customer who also
happened to be a Stomper subscriber.
Well... to be honest, we miscounted the number of sales
to date (we missed it by about 700), so we did not award
the prize during January. Rest assured, we will still
offer the $100 gift certificate to the Stomper subscriber
who makes a purchase as the 10,000th customer (or the
soonest thereafter). We'll let you know who the lucky
winner is when it happens.
Here's to you... and Happy Winemaking!
You can write to Brant at webmaster@grapestompers.com
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BONNIE'S BIN: Making Homemade Vinegar
By Bonnie Brown, Manager
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We now carry White & Red Mother of Vinegar for starting
your own herb and wine vinegars. We have two books on the
subject also. This looks like a fun side hobby for the
winemaker, BUT you must keep the two apart - like in
another building! For if you spill the vinegar those
little tiny spores will hop right into the wine and you
will have gallons of ruined wine but gallons of a good
vinegar! Remember that if you happen to have canned
pickles on the shelf near your winemaking area the same
thing will happen.
To repeat: You should NEVER make vinegar in the same
location or proximity to where you make wine... and for
certain, you should not share the same equipment. The
bacteria used to create vinegar will ruin wine.
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I was looking through the "Wine for Dummies 2nd edition"
recently and came across some interesting facts in Chapter
8, entitled "How to Open a Bottle... and What to Do Next"
In this chapter, I found quite a bit of information we had
already discovered here in our shop! On the subject of wine
glasses, the book states:
"The good reason for using fine crystal is that the wine
tastes better out of it. We're not sure whether the
elegant crystal simply heightens the aesthetic experience
of the wine drinking or whether there's some more scientific
reason."
Wine tastes better out of the thin large crystal glasses.
One of our customers, Robert Klaus of TX, let us in on this
some time ago so we have been using that information here
in our Bodega. We pour the same wine in a small everyday
wine glass and then into the larger thin crystal glass,
making sure the taster is watching of course! Nine out of
10 tasters will catch the difference in taste even before
we tell them anything of what to expect. It is truly
amazing! Try it at home with a red wine and see for
yourself. Personally, I think it works best with red
versus white wines. Then you can carry this a bit further.
Try your red wine chilled, warm it a bit with time or hands,
swirl and then try it again. The taste changes with the
temperature. You will find what your taste buds prefer.
Have fun with your wines, experiment not only with the
making but the tasting of them.
One last thing... There is a discussion about the effect of
atmospheric pressure on the taste of red wine. Thin, light
pressure is better; heavy pressure with heavy humidity is
not so good. So the next time your favorite red wine is
not as good as it usually is, check the air pressure!
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VALENTINE'S SPECIALS: Buy your special someone a heart
healthy red wine concentrate and a set of glasses!
We will special order a crystal Riedel Sommelier hand
blown Bordeaux/Cabernet/Merlot, 30 oz, for $79.00 or the
crystal Riedel Wine-Line set of 4 Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot/Bordeaux, 28 oz, for $49.95. Or, order a CASE (12)
of our 18 oz Thistle Meadow Winery wine glasses (they have
the TMW logo satin etched in white) for $47.88. That is just
$3.95 per glass! The TMW glasses are wonderful, although
they are not crystal.
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
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TOM'S CELLAR: Things My French Teacher Taught Me
by Tom Burgiss, Owner
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THE WORD BORDEAUX MEANS:
Bordeaux (which translates to "beside the water") is a
region in France with 3 rivers which provides easy access
for the transportation of wine. In fact, it is only an
hour's drive from the Atlantic Ocean. This location
certainly helped (and still helps) with the commercial
success of that region in the shipping of wine to the
United States, England, and northern Europe.
Lots of items are named after Bordeaux, including the
bottle that today is called the Bordeaux Bottle. This
type of bottle has a unique shape and contrasts sharply
with the Burgundy Bottle. The Bordeaux bottle has high
"shoulders" and thus provides more vertical surface area
to apply your wine label. The Burgundy bottle, on the
other hand, starts its more gentle taper about halfway
up the bottle, which allows less space for the height of
your label. For these and other reasons, we sell more
Bordeaux bottles than Burgundy.
Bordeaux Burgundy
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Since our beginning, grapestompers.com has furnished free
wine labels with each wine concentrate we sell. So whether
you make your own labels, or we make them for you, please
keep in mind your goal of a good label "facing"!
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Ever accidentally scorch bottle wax while
melting it? You can prevent burning of
bottling wax by heating it in a double boiler.
Fill a saucepan part way with water, then
melt the wax within an empty tin can set
inside the pan.
Hidden special:
We are offering FREE SHIPPING on the following
4 Vino del Vida wine kits during February.
#3117F Merlot $57.98
#3115F Cabernet Sauvignon $57.98
#3225F Sauvignon Blanc $46.98
#3229F White Zinfandel $51.98
BE SURE to mention this hidden special when
ordering, or you will not get the free shipping.
Free shipping applies to contiguous 48 states.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
COST OF WINE
Here's a question for you: Is a $100 bottle of wine really
ten times better than a $10 bottle of wine?
Let me answer that question with another question:
Is a $1,000 jacket ten times warmer than one that costs
$100.00 ? Probably not. It may be more stylish or have
more zippers, but that's just packaging.
It's thrilling and satisfying (not to mention easy on your
wallet) when you can find an inexpensive wine that tastes
as though it cost five or ten times as much. When you make
your own wine from a kit purchased from grapestompers, you
can make it for as little as $1.20 per bottle and up,
depending upon which wine you choose. Plus, you get all
the bragging rights that go along with it... YOU made it!
Winemaking is a great hobby; just look at all the friends
you will pick up along the way! Remember, an apple farmer
NEVER buys apples, and a winemaker should never have to
buy wine!
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Factoid: According to the Wine Institute, the estimated
retail value of the wine sold in the United States each
year is now more than 19 billion dollars. Now that's a
lot of pleasure!
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At the bottom of each issue of the Stomper, we list our
monthly specials. One of the items on sale this month is
the Italian floor corker (Item # 2263). With its brass
iris and one hand operation, it is certainly an item that
is far superior to an ordinary hand corker. Hey, it's time
to trade in or replace your tired and used equipment. Did
you know that we allow you full trade-in value for your old
hand corker that was purchased from us?
Tired of sucking on tubing in order to rack your wine?
Now is your chance to stop that unsanitary habit and buy
a nifty gizmo called the AutoSiphon. It can start a siphon
in about 5 seconds, and it's on special this month. See
the rest of our specials below.
Tom
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 Grapestomers -
I just wanted to thank you guys for the super fast service,
from the first email about my order, to the three others
confirming each step.
I really appreciate the effort you put forth on getting
my order to me in what seemed like two days if I'm not
imagining it. I'll be sure to pass along your URL to my
beer and hopefully new wine making friends.
Thanks again -
-- Anthony Spadaro
New York, NY
Dear Tom,
Thanks for keeping me informed [via The Stomper]. I enjoy
hearing from you and hope you had a wonderful holiday
Thanks again,
-- Bob Stewart
Bonnie/Tom,
Just to let you know that my order came in today (1/10/04),
a mere 3 days after my order.
I also want you to know that I am very impressed with
your customer service. I have ordered from you three
times now, and each time you have handled my order in a
very responsive, cost-effective and professional manner.
This is all the more impressive since I am not a big
customer. I have been in the home winemaking business
for many years and as such, have accumulated most all the
equipment I need, except for the consumables. Considering
the way you conduct your customer service, I wish I was a
big customer!
If there is any way that I can direct new customers to you,
I will surely do so!
Regards,
-- Bruce Mulvaney
Glenwood, MN
Bonnie:
I placed my order on Wednesday. It arrived today. Thanks
for the quick service.
Thank you.
-- Tony Petruso
St. Louis, MO
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GUEST COLUMN - How to Remove and Preserve Wine Labels
by Tri Nguyen, Alexandria, VA
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[Editor's Note: The following advice was offered on our
Yahoo-sponsored winemaking discussion group when someone
requested information on how to remove and preserve wine
labels for collectors. You can join our discussion group
by going to ]
I have recently begun reviewing wines and saving wine labels
as well. I would not bother buying these label removal
kits that you see advertised. What has worked well for me
thus far is the following procedure:
1. Preheat an oven to 220 degrees F.
2. Put a dry bottle inside for about 15 minutes.
3. Take it out with an oven mitt.
4. While it's still hot, use an Exacto knife and carefully
scrape the label off.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
If you have designed a wine label that is
taller than it is wide, it will look better
when placed on a Bordeaux bottle.
The higher shoulders of the Bordeaux bottle
offer more vertical room for your label!
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
The heat seems to melt the glue to the point that it easily
comes off. I've used this technique and it hasn't failed
me yet, but I've used it only on American, Argentinean,
Spanish and Australian wines.
I've heard that different countries use different types of
glue, so I can't yet vouch for French wine bottles and
other regions not yet named. But so far, it's worked like
a charm.
I have also made a wine rating sheet that I think is very
comprehensive and allows users to review a wine on a 100
point system using great detail and descriptions. Let me
know if you want me to send it your way.
You can contact Tri at tri_nguyen1@yahoo.com.
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Like To Be A Guest Columnist For The STOMPER 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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- Tannin
A component of wine - found mostly in red wines - derived
primarily from grape skins, seeds and stems, but also
from oak barrels. Tannin acts as a natural preservative
that helps wine age and develop and provides astringency
that is part of a balanced wine. Excessive, unbalanced
tannin can taste bitter and leaves the same drying or
puckering sensation in the mouth as very strong tea.
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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NEW PRODUCTS
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Here is a list of products recently added to our catalog:
- Item #3113 VDV Barolo $53.13
- Item #2698 White Mother of Vinegar $7.92
- Item #2699 Red Mother of Vinegar $7.92
- Item #2733A Fermax Yeast Nutrient, 1 lb. $4.73
- Item #2659 8" Anti-Splash Funnel $8.25
- Item #2263B Italian Bench Corker with brass Iris $80.52
- Item #2263A Capper attachment for the Italian bench and
floor corkers (standard crown caps) $12.00
- Item #2813 Great American Guide to Fine Wines $8.47
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THIS MONTH'S SPECIALS
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grapestompers' specials for the month of February 2004 are:
Item # Description Reg. Price SPECIAL
3156 GC Cabernet Franc 53.13 46.22
3164 OB Blackberry Merlot 48.59 42.27
3169 WA Cranberry Shiraz 45.60 39.67
3255 CSG Pinot Grigio 71.50 62.20
3235 CC Johannisberg Riesling 69.63 60.57
2605 Carboy Brush 4.68 3.99
2224 FermTech Auto Siphon 1/2" OD 11.82 9.99
2263 Italian floor corker w/brass iris 90.25 78.99
3200 Complete White Wine Starter Kit 246.68 175.00
3100 Complete Red Wine Starter Kit 259.79 185.00
Did you see this month's hidden special? It's located
elsewhere in this newsletter.
The WA, OB, and GC wine kits are designed to make about
thirty 750 ml bottles of great wine in as little as 28 days;
the CC and CSG kits create 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.
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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
- Another Guest Article - Submit yours today!
- New Winemaking Products
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LIST MAINTENANCE
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Copyright (c) 2004 grapestompers.com. All rights reserved.
Boring Legal Stuff: Content is gathered from sources
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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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