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THE STOMPER
The Monthly Winemaking Newsletter of grapestompers.com
May, 2004 Issue #46
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 - Good Food and Wine Go Together
=> Bonnie's Bin - Pick A Peck of Petals
=> Tom's Cellar - Women and Wine: Part Three
=> Feedback from Our Customers
=> How To Get the Most Must from Your Berries
=> Guest Column - Corking The Easy Way
=> How to Be Featured as a Guest Columnist
=> Wine Storage Hints: European Secret Shared
=> 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: When Good Food and Wine Go Together
By Brant Burgiss, Editor
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Happy May, everyone!
Lots of attention these days is being given to pairings of
wine with food... that is to say, which wines go best with
your favorite foods at the table?
It is said that a Cotes du Rhone goes fabulously with a
rack of lamb, or that the right Chardonnay goes best with
salmon... but less attention seems to be given to the
topic of actually COOKING with wine.
You may not know it, but Jimmy Benge, one of the employees
of grapestompers.com, is also the master chef of JIFF
Catering. As our warehouse manager, Jimmy helps to make
sure the winemaking supplies you order are delivered on
time, but on the weekends he dons his other hat and starts
cooking for special occasions such as weddings, family
reunions and private parties.
Quite naturally, Jimmy loves cooking with wine!
On Sunday afternoon, October 3rd (when we celebrate our
7th annual wine tasting in Laurel Springs), Jimmy will
feature a showcase of dishes that were prepared with wine.
He's got a few recipes that call for wine during the
preparation or the cooking, but he'd love to have more...
that's where you can help.
Do you have a favorite recipe that involves wine? If so,
e-mail it to Jimmy. Send it to jimmy@grapestompers.com
He will try your recipe, and report back which ones are
his favorites. If your recipe is selected for preparation
at our annual wine tasting, we will post it in The Stomper
and you will win a FREE dinner on Jimmy.
And, if enough people send in their recipes, we hope to
offer a wine-based recipe each month in future issues of
The Stomper. This should be fun - sharing great wine and
good food! So pull out those recipes and send them in.
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Before my time is up, here are a couple of announcements:
We estimate that sometime during the month of May 2004,
grapestompers will serve its 10,000th customer. To
celebrate, we are giving away a $100 gift certificate to
the Stomper subscriber who submits his/her order via our
online order form and is assigned invoice #10,000 (or the
soonest thereafter).
Sorry, but this prize cannot be won by walk-in customers
or phone orders. You must be a Stomper subscriber in order
to win the prize.
Be sure and visit our booth at the NC Wine Festival, to be
held on Saturday, June 12th at Tanglewood (near Clemmons,
North Carolina). Tom and the gang at Thistle Meadow Winery
will be pouring your favorites! Call us at 800-233-1505
to get your advance tickets, which will save you some money
at the door. Learn more at: www.ncwinefestival.com
The Burgiss Barn opens for the season on Sunday, May 9th
(Mother's Day) for Sunday lunch. Lunch is served buffet
style each Sunday from 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM. Our live music
schedule is in full swing too for many Saturday nights
during the summer and early fall. See www.burgissbarn.com
for a band schedule and all the details.
We are working on hiring a winemaking intern from France
for the summer. Once all his papers and visas are in place,
you'll get to meet and speak with this young man who
is currently enrolled in the Masters of Agriculture program
at the Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture - Purpan in Toulouse.
If everything goes well, we anticipate the arrival of
Hughes Baggio in mid-July.
That's it for now. Here's to you... and Happy Winemaking!
You can write to Brant at webmaster@grapestompers.com
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BONNIE'S BIN: Pick A Peck of Petals
By Bonnie Brown, Manager
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I just read a recipe for Dandelion Wine and it sounded SO
good. It was in the About.com newsletter we got this
morning. It came at just the right time, too. I have
dandelions in my yard right now, so it's likely you do too!
Get to pickin' 'em.
I am going to try something that I have not seen any
feedback on: freezing the dandelion petals. It's almost
impossible to pick 4 quarts, yes, FOUR QUARTS of just the
yellow petals! See why I am going to freeze them? I try
to make one "homemade" wine a year and I missed last year.
Another good wine to try at this time of year is Mead.
Use the left over honey from last summer in a good way.
It is generally a light, fruity drink. About.com suggests
making it a part of your next traditional celebration,
especially Irish or English.
Keep us informed on your wine making experiments. I have
a feeling there are a lot of great things to be told that
are not getting out.
Have a good time with your spring wine making.
We hope to see you soon.
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: Women and Wine: Part Three
by Tom Burgiss, Owner
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To continue our conversation from the previous 2 months,
where we define Women's Wine Styles...
I am having fun because I get back e-mails stating things
like... That's me! That's me! OK, here comes round #3:
The VERDICCHIO woman:
Most are brunette or secretly wish they had darker hair.
They allow their hair to hang in dangles or the other
extreme - a Butch - go figure!
These ladies love to talk fast and are opposed to slow-
talking folks. They do not like skinny models. Their
favorite dress is lightweight (as in silk), flowing,
colorful, and she likes to wear clothes that are appealing
to the eye. Their favorite color is green (a dark green)
Their favorite food is chocolate (and sometimes MORE
chocolate!).
General Disposition - Bossy and mischievous (but in a
fun way)
CHENIN BLANC is considered the wine of the "Silver Foxes".
These ladies are distinguished, proper, refined, polite,
correct, and all have very thin ankles! Their taste in
clothes - Expensive and tailored with high heels, these
gals look great in a hat!
Their favorite flower: Orchids
Favorite food: Hors d'oeuvres or small finger foods
(these ladies tend to watch their weight closely)
General Disposition - Aristocratic; usually married to
a rich gentleman with a pedigree.
Should we continue on in this series? If so, e-mail us
(your identity will be protected) about your favorite wine.
And hang in there until the next Stomper to see if that
fits you!
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
NEVER wash your wine bottles in a dishwasher
using standard dishwashing detergent.
Even though the bottles appear squeaky clean,
the taste of your wine will be severely
affected. The soap will leave a fine residue
on the glass, which makes your wine taste
awful or just plain flat.
Wash and sanitize your bottles with approved
chemicals instead. We recommend using B-Brite,
Iodophor, and potassium metabisulfite.
Hidden special:
#2263B, Italian Bench Corker with Brass Iris
Reg. $89.87, Now $ 69.99
That's a 22 percent savings for a product that
will cork most any size wine bottle with ease.
BE SURE to mention this hidden special when
ordering, or you will not get the right price.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Here is an interesting item I saw on a daily wine calendar,
which speaks to wine consumption in restaurants:
Here's something you almost never see: a restaurant with
no wine in the tables (unless maybe it's a pancake house
at 8:00 AM or a barbecue joint where beer is the preferred
libation). But what do we really know about wine
consumption in restaurants? From a 2002 survey carried
out by Vinexpo Americas in collaboration with "Wine
Spectator Magazine" come these findings.
Of regular wine drinkers (defined by the survey as people
who drink twice a week):
- 82.4 percent often or always drink wine when they eat out
- 65.1 percent choose a wine they've never had. This
percentage decreases with age. Of people in their 30's,
69 percent choose a new wine as opposed to 45.6 percent
of the 60-plus crowd.
- 45.4 percent ask the sommelier for advice
Interesting stuff, huh? See you next month!
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:
Tom, Bonnie & Gang:
Just wanted you to know that I received a Red Ribbon for
my 2002 Beaujolais and a White Ribbon for my 2002 Burgundy
in the 2004 Illinois Amateur Wine Competition!
I feel that you all should share in this award as every-
thing I have learned about wine making has come from you.
I informed the Director of the competition about your web
site, what great products you have and most importantly,
what outstanding folks you all are.
Many thanks.
-- Steve Kerchner
Chalmers Winery
Highland, IL
Dear grapestompers,
[My] order arrived. Was waiting on me when I got home
from work. Thanks for your promptness.
-- John Barilone
Dear grapestompers,
I just wanted to let everyone know that I received all my
equipment yesterday. I was amazed and excited about how
quickly everything came.
You run a first class business. When I need to order more
equipment you can be assured it will be from you.
Thanks again,
-- Jaime LeFlem
Jimmy,
Thank you! You guys are great to do business with. =-)
-- Arra Oakenshield
Hey Tom,
I just wanted to let you know that the Shiraz kit I
purchased last year turned out very nicely. Thanks for
taking the time to share your insights. It really was
a fun experience. It inspired me to try fresh grapes as
well. We are doing the final racking soon. Thanks again
for your inspiration. I hope to see you [at the Cary wine
festival] this weekend.
Sincerely,
-- Paul Waldruff
Hi folks,
Got your newsletter. Thanks. I enjoy all of them and find
they help me a lot.
Keep them coming.
-- Bob Stewart
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HOW TO: Get the Most Must from Your Berries
By Tom Burgiss, Owner
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We are heading into the berry season, so here are some
helpful hints that may help you make a better wine each
and every year. But first let's talk common sense:
a) The riper the fruit the better.
But when is it ripe? When the birds start eating!
Remember, it takes 5 ripe berries to counteract just
one unripe berry. So toss that one sour berry away!
b) The berries that have the greatest aroma makes a better
tasting wine. For example: if you have a choice between
a red raspberry and a black raspberry.. then take the
red raspberry!
c) Now Ziploc the berries and FREEZE them! Why?? Because
freezing breaks down the cellular membranes of the
berries, therefore producing more juice and less waste.
How long to freeze? From 3 days to 6 months is fine.
d) Now place the berries (thawed) in a nylon bag before you
squeeze the fruit to get the juice. This will help you
to avoid a pulpy mess in your must.
e) Using your hydrometer, get the specific gravity (SG)
up to the desired reading.
Need a berry wine recipe? From our Links page, click on
the link for Jack Keller's winemaking web site. He has
tons of wine recipes listed there for you.
Side story here: It is really funny when you ask 5 people
what color to paint your house, you will get a suggestion
of five different colors! So if you ask 5 folks their
berry wine recipe, you will get 5 DIFFERENT recipes; so my
suggestion - Go to Jack's web site - he is the best!
By following Jack's guidelines you will make a better wine
and year after year you will have consistency in your wine!
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GUEST COLUMN - Corking The Easy Way
Jim Pirt, Asheboro NC
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I recently got a bottle of wine from a friend of mine. As
he handed it to me, he explained his difficulty in getting
the corks seated. So I shared this tip I learned from
Lisa & Gary Ridley when we came to [the grapestompers]
wine tasting last year.
I was just getting ready to bottle our first batch of
homemade wine the following day. Gary, who already had a
few batches under his belt, asked what type of corker I
was going to use. And of course, I stated the hand corker.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
If you make your own wine labels at home,
did your last batch look fuzzy or out of focus?
If so, the graphics you used were probably
displayed at too low a resolution.
For crisp printing, be sure all the graphics
used in your labels are at a resolution of
300 dpi (dots per inch) or so. The more
dots per inch, the sharper the images will
print. Most modern household printers are
capable of printing up to 600 dpi.
Using images off the web will generally not
work well for wine labels, since these images
are about 72 to 90 dpi.
If you use digital photos as a background
for your labels, be sure to use the highest
resolution setting and a good graphics
program to get the best out of your photos.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
He recommended boiling the corks for 15 minutes prior to
bottling. He said it would be much easier then.
I did it and he was right - the corks all seated with very
little effort.
Try it, I'm sure you'll like it.
Jim Pirt
Pirts Pub & Winery
Asheboro, NC
You can contact Jim at jpirt@technimark.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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Wine Storage Hints: European Secret Shared
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The most popular wine storage system used in Europe is now
available here at grapestompers.com. Clay wine racks are
widely used by wine collectors, vineyards, and restaurants
alike. The natural coolness of the Terra Cotta offers the
wine temperature stability in the kitchen, pantry and
basement. The Terra Cotta modular assembled rack is
decorative, economical to build, easy to assemble and
expandable. The great advantage to this unique storage
is the simple fact that it will not discolor, rot or
require paint or varnish with age.
See a photo of these clay storage tiles in action here:
http://www.thistlemeadowwinery.com/visit_winery.asp
This clay wine storage tile system definitely gives you,
the proud owner, temperature stability and a lifetime
of enjoyment. Best yet, no screws, nails, cement or glue
are required; just stack the modular units on top of each
other. And if you move into your dream house away
from where you now live, then you can simply pick 'em up
and carry them with you. Or if the prospective buyer of
your home loves wine, he'll pay you more for the house!
The only disadvantage about these clay wine tiles is their
shipping weight, so this will give you a good excuse to
come and see us here in the mountains of North Carolina
along the Blue Ridge Parkway! The more tiles you purchase,
the more you can save.
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CORKY'S WINEMAKING DEFINITION
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Sec
- A French term which describes a dry wine.
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 #3282 OB Calypso Bianco, $43.56
- Item #2201 V Vessel Fermentation System $181.50
- Item #2783 Soda Pop Extract - Cream Soda, $4.18
- Item #2782 Soda Pop Extract - Sarsaparilla Soda, $3.96
- Item #2840 The Illustrated WineSpeak, by R. Searle, $25
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THIS MONTH'S SPECIALS
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grapestompers' specials for the month of May 2004 are:
Item # Description Reg. Price SPECIAL
3237 CC White Zinfandel 76.01 59.99
3236 CC Sauvignon Blanc 80.63 63.99
3224 VDV Piesporter 45.76 36.99
3252 VDV Gewurztraminer 47.63 37.99
CLOSE OUT special on the following Classic Liquors (CL)
Liqueur Kits, until gone:
2797A Classic Liquors kit - Mead 24.95 17.99
2799 CL kit - Mariner's Liquor 24.95 17.99
2798 CL kit - Coconut Rum 24.95 17.99
2795A CL kit - White Licorice 24.95 17.99
2788 CL kit - Mexican Coffee 24.95 17.99
2730 Acid Blend, 3 oz 1.92 1.19
2731 Campden, tablets, 2 oz 2.42 1.89
2733 Fermax Yeast Nutrient, 4oz 2.23 1.79
2734 Pectic Enzyme, 15 ml 2.13 1.69
2736 Tannin, 1.5 oz 1.93 1.49
2239 Straining bag, Lg Coarse 2.20 1.79
2239A Strn. bag, Lg Coarse, Elastic Top 2.53 1.99
2224 1/2" OD FermTech AutoSiphon 12.65 9.99
2240 18" Stirring Paddle 2.65 2.09
2662 5" Funnel 1.21 0.99
2223 Triple Ripple Air Lock 1.04 0.79
2256 3-Piece Air Lock 0.88 0.69
3200 Complete White Wine Starter Kit 232.29 180.00
3100 Complete Red Wine Starter Kit 241.42 190.00
See below for a description of the Complete Starter Kit.
Did you see this month's hidden special? It's located
elsewhere in this newsletter.
The VDV (Vino del Vida) wine kits are designed to make about
thirty 750 ml bottles of great wine in as little as 28 days;
CC (Cellar Classic) 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
Fast Flow Spigot
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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Past issues of the STOMPER can be found at
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Copyright (c) 2004 grapestompers.com. All rights reserved.
grapestompers.com
102 Thistle Meadow
Laurel Springs, NC 28644
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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