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THE STOMPER
The Monthly Winemaking Newsletter of grapestompers.com
January, 2005 Issue #54
http://www.grapestompers.com 1-800-233-1505
Winter Hours (weather permitting)
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Eastern Mon, Wed, Th, Fri, Sat
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM Eastern Tuesdays
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern Sundays (call ahead)
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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 welcome to pass along this newsletter to your wine-
making 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 Winemaking Video Released
=> Bonnie's Bin - Diverse Wines Prevent Cellar Palate
=> Tom's Cellar - The Sherlock Holmes of Wine
=> What To Do If You Have a Damage Claim
=> Feedback from Our Customers
=> Guest Column - How to Judge Clarity of Wine
=> 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 at least 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: New Winemaking Video Released
By Brant Burgiss, Editor
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Happy New Year everyone! All of us at grapestompers hope
you had a great holiday season. The orders you sent kept
us busy until the last possible minute... we worked until
Santa's sleigh could hold no more! Thank you for your
loyalty and your business; we're happy to serve you.
Good news... the new improved winemaking video starring
Tom, Bonnie, Scott, and yours truly has hit the shelf. The
video now encompasses over one hour of content ranging from
the main tutorial of how to make wine from a kit, to full
descriptions of common winemaking equipment. As we've said
before, we won't win any Academy Awards, but we think you'll
enjoy the video and will learn a lot. The most important
thing is that now the video matches the latest winemaking
instructions for the wine kits manufactured by RJ Spagnols.
The video shows how easy it is to make a batch of wine from
a kit, even if you're a first-time winemaker.
Order the video in one of two formats:
VHS format - Item #6100
CD ROM (plays on a computer or CD ROM-capable DVD) #6104
Next, we'd like to hear from you! Many of you have commented
about the winemaking articles we've written and have posted
on our web site. But we're wondering... have we missed
anything? Is there a particular winemaking topic you'd like
us to address in the coming months? If you have an idea for
a new winemaking article, write to us with your suggestion.
The current list of winemaking articles is shown here:
http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/
Finally, we've posted some more customer inputs (photos
and wine labels) on the "Customers" portion of our web site:
http://www.grapestompers.com/
Here's to you... and Happy Winemaking!
You can write to Brant at webmaster@grapestompers.com
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BONNIE'S BIN: Diverse Wines Prevent Cellar Palate
By Bonnie Brown
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OK, it's time to clear off the palate. I found another good
reason besides out of boredom!
"Cellar Palate" is something a winemaker gets from tasting
his own wine hundreds, maybe thousands, of times without
the benefit of tasting other wines. Pretty soon he has the
myopic view of wine and the flavors wines possess.
For example, a Sonoma County winemaker with a cellar palate
might think a French Gigondas is bad when, in fact, the
Gigodas tastes perfectly correct (it just doesn't happen
to taste like a Sonoma County wine).
In a sense, you can get a cellar palate, too. If all you
drink is one type of wine from one place (say Chardonnay
from Napa Valley), then your palate may soon be skewed.
All of a sudden a German Riesling, or anything else you
taste, will seem disappointing - not because it is
inherently disappointing, but because it doesn't taste
like Napa Valley Chardonnay. So be careful of developing
a cellar palate. Having one means you will miss the
richness, pleasure, and diversity that makes wine so
fascinating in the first place.
I thought that was another interesting concept from
this wonderful "Wine Lover's Calendar," 2004. Sure hope Tom
gets one for 2005!!!
I also read an interesting article on storing wine glasses.
Do you store them stem up or down on your cabinet shelf?
Storing them stem up holds the smells/aromas from the shelf
in the bowl which will carry over to your wine. Maybe that
is why the wine glass rack was invented? This also holds
true of storing your winemaking equipment. Make sure air
can circulate and you are not trapping an aroma in them.
I wish you all a HAPPY and HEALTHY NEW YEAR.
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: The Sherlock Holmes of Wine
by Tom Burgiss, Owner
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I am often called upon to solve mysteries in the field of
winemaking. On some days, I feel like Sherlock Holmes!
Those of you who have seen me say I even favor the famed
detective in looks, even though I don't smoke a pipe. Of
course in the beginning, I have to ask many questions as I
gather the "facts". Most questions at the start are rather
routine in nature, i.e. the manufacturer of the concentrate,
the date you started, SG of the must at the beginning,
temperature at the onset of fermentation, SG reading before
going into the secondary fermentation, temperature now, the
activity level of the fermentation process, and...
sudden changes of WEATHER!
Wait a minute here now, did you say weather??? Why would
you think that weather can be a factor? Oh, now I have
your attention! If severe weather hits your area such as
a tornado, hurricane, or other severe and sudden weather
change, then this will alter the fermentation process.
Look at your air lock! The last time you looked, your wine
was just ready to come off and now it is unbalanced... What
happened? Not to worry, this is a natural phenomenon; the
normal atmospheric pressure will come back when the "front"
passes through. Just recheck your air lock to be sure it
still has liquid in it.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Need an easy way to crush Campden tablets?
Just use 2 spoons, one over another with a
Campden tablet between them, and crush them
easily. It works great when you are only
crushing a few at a time.
Our thanks to Paul Davey from Wheatfield, NY
for providing this tip.
Hidden special:
#2732A Potassium Metabisulfite, 1 lb.
Reg. $4.21, this month only $2.99
That's a 29 percent savings for a product
that will pull double duty as a sanitizer
for your equipment and a preservative for
your wine.
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------------------*
When you purchase a must, take along your hydrometer so you
can check out the potential alcohol. It should read 1.09
to 1.095! And for those of you who purchase fresh grapes,
take along your refractometer to check out the Brix (it
should be 24 or more) of the grapes that you are considering
buying from your local farmer or vineyard owner. Just
remember, the higher SG & Brix and the older the vine, the
better the grape and the better potential you have in making
a better wine!
Note: With the concentrates, you don't have to worry. The
manufacturers are out there checking all of that out so you
will consistently have good wine each and every year!
Which brings up another subject: A few words sprinkled into
a conversation when having a glass of wine with friends can
be a lot of fun - As an example, talk about malolactic
fermentation. But don't stop there... try these words to
stump your friends: flocculation, pectin haze or even
diatomaceous earth. These are great conversation starters
to throw out to your unsuspecting friends as you impress
them with your knowledge of chemistry of winemaking. Then
say, "Cheers" and walk silently away! What fun!!!
Tom
You can write to Tom at tom@grapestompers.com
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Football Delivery: What To Do If You Have a Damage Claim
by Brant Burgiss
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At one time or another, I suppose we've all received some
damaged goods from a delivery company. It's no fun because
the item you've been waiting on can't be used... and in the
case of dripping boxes of must or broken wine bottles, we
must tip our hats to the folks who drive the delivery vans,
for THEY are ones who failed to make the place kicker
position for their local NFL team and take out their
frustration on unsuspecting parcels from grapestompers.com.
What to do if you are the recipient of damaged goods:
1. If you are present when the driver delivers the
shipment, start the claim process for damage right there,
on the spot. You'll get a damage resolution at least 3-4
business days faster if you can do this. Go to Step 3.
2. If you discover the damage after the delivery person
has departed, CALL THE DELIVERY COMPANY FIRST (UPS, FedEx)
and start the claim process on their end. The reason?
The delivery companies ignore us if we try to file the
claim on our own. In some cases, the carrier will send
an adjuster to witness the damage. Protect yourself and
take photos of the damage to document the event.
DO NOT destroy the package or the product. Place the
damaged goods in a trash bag (if it's leaking) and hold
onto the merchandise, container and all packing materials
for 5 working days after notification to the carrier. Often
they will send a claims adjuster to inspect the damage.
How to report damage:
FedEx Claims - 1.800.GoFedEx (1-800-463-3339)
https://www.fedex.com/us/claimsonline
You will need to register for a fedex.com User ID and
password or login before filing your claim.
Or, download, print out and fax a claims form:
http://www.fedex.com/us/customer/claims/Claims.pdf?link=4
UPS Claims - 1-800-PICK-UPS (742-5877)
https://www.ups.com/forms/e-mail/damage?loc=en_US
3. Call our toll-free number (800) 233-1505 and report the
damages that occurred with your shipment. Be prepared to
tell us:
a. your invoice or order number
b. your tracking number
c. the carrier's claim number
d. which article(s) were damaged, and how so
4. Once we've verified the claims process has started,
we'll get a replacement out to you as soon as we can!
Thanks for helping us streamline the claims process.
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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,
Just wanted to let you know that I just finished bottling
my first kit. I admit when I "tested" the wine 3 weeks ago
I was a little worried but I have to say it turned out
excellent!
I invited a few friends over and we opened a bottle of
"the good stuff", which is about $18 and a bottle of mine.
Out of a blind taste testing, most people either couldn't
tell the difference or preferred my wine! I'm very pleased
with the quality and will be up as soon as I can to start
my next kit! Thanks.
-- Brent Gonet
The Honch Cellars
Tom:
I bought your Fast Seal Tool (Item #2399). I have tried
everything under the sun to provide a smooth looking well
finished PVC capsule on a bottle, with varying success.
In search of a professional look and relative ease I used
the aforementioned item. It cannot get any simpler.
A simple pot of boiling water, a three second inverted dunk
and viola. I can easily finish a complete batch of 29 to 30
bottles in less than 15 minutes and every single one turns
out perfectly, evenly shrunk, centered and without "hot
spots" or lifted opening tear tapes. As a bonus it also
cleans up any residue left on the bottle, and all you have
to do is wipe it dry with a dish towel.
-- Mark Lozano
Plymouth, IN
Tom:
The PDF file with the Holiday label works great and makes
a really nice [wine] label.
Do more.
Thanks,
-- Ken Hovis
Summerfield, FL
Tom,
I received 3 packages today via FedEx and UPS. Thank you
so much for the prompt service. Now is the waiting to give
it as a Christmas present. I am sure we will have more
correspondence when we get this cellar in working order.
Thank you again,
-- Faith Hunt
Lexington, NC
Tom,
Thanks [for the winemaking stuff]. We're looking forward
to a new adventure in winemaking.
-- John Montgomery
Austin, TX
Send us your comments about your experience with
grapestompers... we may just make you famous next month!
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GUEST COLUMN - How to Judge Clarity of Wine
By Tony Petruso, St. Louis, MO
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I have used two different ways to check on the clarity of
wines while they are in the carboy.
#1 Some winemakers advise turning off the lights and shining
a flashlight through the wine. A laser pointer, available
at office supply stores, works better. It can be used with
the lights on and has a more uniform beam. Shine it through
the wine onto a light colored wall or paper. You will be
able to see how it diffuses in the wine and, as the wine
clears, it will become more of a pinpoint on the wall.
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
Instead of adding water to the carboy to
"top off" and eliminate air, do what I do:
Just add marbles (clean ones!) to displace
the wine until the level reaches about one
inch from the airlock.
Our thanks to Brian Dries from Wescosville, PA
for offering this winemaking tip.
Have a tip you'd like to submit?
Send it to tips@grapestompers.com
*-----------------HOT TIP------------------*
#2 The second method is to make a "gauge" on your computer.
Simply print numbers vertically on a sheet of paper. Start
with "1" at the top and work your way down to about the
number "20." Now go back to the number "1" and make it the
largest size font possible. Then go down the list of
numbers and make them with increasingly smaller and smaller
size fonts. You will end up with a large number "1" at the
top and a tiny "20" at the bottom. Sort of like an eye
doctor's chart. Print out a couple of these gauges on white
paper. Hold one behind the carboy and see which numbers
you can read through the wine. At first you will only be
able to read the larger numbers. When you can "read the
fine print," your wine will be clear.
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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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Pectin Haze
- An undesirable gelatin-like haze in wine caused by the
presence of the pectin molecule, which is usually
associated with boiling or mashing of fruit to extract
flavor or color. You can prevent a pectin haze by adding
pectic enzyme to the must 12 hours prior to adding yeast.
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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These are products that were recently added to our catalog:
- Item #3179 CSP Cabernet/Shiraz/Merlot, $88.00
- Item #2793A Peach Flavoring for Wine and Beer, $3.85
- Item #2107A Grolsch Gaskets
(replacement gasket for flipper top beer bottle), $.06 ea
If you have a suggestion for a new product, please call us
at 1-800-233-1505. Special orders welcomed for unique
winemaking items or supplies.
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THIS MONTH'S SPECIALS
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grapestompers' specials for the month of January 2005:
Item # Description Reg. Price Special
3226 CC Piesporter 72.38 61.52
3233 CC Chenin Blanc 66.88 56.85
3256 CSP Riesling Traminer 86.13 73.21
3126 AB Strawberry/Sangiovese 60.00 49.99
3219 VDV Chardonnay 47.63 39.99
3112 AB Raspberry/Pinot Nero 62.37 51.99
2601 Plastic Wine Thief 5.50 4.33
2263 Italian Floor Corker (brass iris) 95.81 76.66
2263B Italian Bench Corker (brass iris) 89.87 69.87
2260 Portuguese Floor Corker 57.75 49.03
2262 Portuguese Hand Corker 15.13 11.99
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, WA, and OB wine kits are designed to make about
thirty 750 ml bottles of great wine in as little as 28 days;
CC, CCH, GC, CSP, En Primeur, 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:
AB = Advintige Bellissima wine kit
BH = Brew House beer kit
CC = Cellar Classic wine kit
CCH = Cellar Classic Harvest wine kit
EP = En Primeur 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
VDVWT = Vino del Vida - World Tour Series wine kit
CSP = Cru Select Platinum wine kit
CSG = Cru Select Gold wine kit
RQ = Cru Select Restricted Quantities
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 Potassium Metabisulfite
And you get the following items free ($16.79 value):
- 30 Customized Wine Labels (text of your choice)
- Triple scale hydrometer
- 1.5" 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 refund of $19.95 on your credit
card... that's like getting the video at no cost! 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 also save on shipping if you can locate 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 offer 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
http://www.grapestompers.com/newsletter/archives
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Copyright (c) 2005 grapestompers.com. All rights reserved.
grapestompers.com
102 Thistle Meadow
Laurel Springs, NC 28644
Boring stuff for lawyers: 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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