------------------------------------------------------------ THE STOMPER The Monthly Winemaking Newsletter of grapestompers.com August, 2005 Issue #61 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 welcome to pass along this newsletter to your wine- making friends; we only ask that it be sent in its entirety. ------------------------------------------------------------ IN THIS ISSUE ------------------------------------------------------------ => Feature Article - More Help Is On The Way => Tom's Cellar - Just The (Wine) Facts, Please => Feedback from Our Customers => Latest News from RJ Spagnols and Heron Bay => Guest Column - Missing In Action => 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 ------------------------------------------------------------ FEATURE ARTICLE: More Help Is On The Way By Brant Burgiss, Editor ------------------------------------------------------------ Hello again, folks... welcome to August! Let's hope this month isn't as hot as July was. We were almost melting on our beautiful Blue Ridge mountaintop! This summer has been really hectic for us, for a variety of reasons. Not only have we completely moved our retail store to the next building (our old warehouse), but we've been extra busy stocking and organizing our new warehouse as well as making wine and selling it at the winery. We've been SO BUSY that Belva has called in reinforcements! Pam Wyatt has now joined the grapestompers gang, and many of you have already spoken with her on the phone and made her feel a part of our crazy bunch of Tar Heel winemakers. Thank you for supporting her while she's undergoing some basic training - she's been a real help so far. Our web developers are still working madly on the new web site, which includes an updated design and a shopping truck application. We'll let you know when the new site launches. Lastly, we wanted to let you know about a new, premium service that we have recently started to offer - custom wine labels for small wineries and restaurants. Being associated with a family-owned winery for 4 years, we've found that the biggest costs in making wine commercially are the cost of bottles and labels. Unless you buy your labels in large quantities (50,000 or more at a time), the cost of printing per label or bottle is very high... and this assumes your winery produces wine on a large scale. We've discovered an affordable label printing alternative for owners of small wineries and neighborhood restaurants, so call us to find out more. We can even support fancy wine label shapes! Here's to you... and Happy Winemaking! You can write to Brant at webmaster@grapestompers.com ------------------------------------------------------------ TOM'S CELLAR: Just The (Wine) Facts, Please by Tom Burgiss, Owner ------------------------------------------------------------ August has arrived with all its summer heat. WHO-WHEEE is it hot, or is it HOT?? So with all this hot weather across the nation, it reminds me of all the steps we do here at grapestompers.com to take care of you, our customers. May I state the facts? Fact #1 grapestompers.com has a wonderful temperature-controlled warehouse, so neither the grape concentrates nor winemaking chemicals are exposed to extreme temperatures. We've got you covered in either hot or cold weather. In the summer we are air conditioned, and in the cold winter days we are heated. No worries! Fact #2 Our staff properly rotates all stock upon delivery from our suppliers so you will always the best possible dating on your concentrates. With approximately 12 stock turns per year, Jimmy ensures that you get only the newest and freshest products. Fact #3 We always look at your shipping address to make sure that your order will never linger over the weekend on a hot loading dock. By avoiding unnecessary delays during transit, we further ensure you get the freshest products possible. Fact #4 Each time you order two grape concentrates in any order, you get a 10% discount off the second kit (remember, the discount is taken off of the HIGHEST priced concentrate!). Fact #5 We are the only retailer that we know of that furnishes you with FREE wine labels individually designed with your specific wording to "dress-up" that fine bottle of wine to share with your friends. *-----------------HOT TIP------------------* Prevent oxidation of your wine by adding a bit of potassium metabisulfite every other time you rack. For small volumes of wine, crush and dissolve one Campden tablet per gallon of wine. If you are treating a carboy of wine (6 US gallons), add 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite crystals and stir well until dissolved. Hidden special: #5116A - Hungarian Oak Barrel w/stand, 23L Regular price: $220.00 Special: $169.00 The perfect size for barrel-aging one wine kit at an affordable price. Save $51.00. 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------------------* Fact #6 When you call our toll-free number, you do not have to punch a bunch of buttons in order to find a real person. You will be talking to a HUMAN from the very beginning! I don't know about you, but I much prefer talking to people as opposed to selecting a bunch of options on an "automated" phone system. We don't like this particular technology, and we will never subject you to this inhumane way of treating customers! So, during normal working hours, you can always talk to a person about any question, problem or information that may help you with your wine making hobby. If the phone rings and I am near, I'll pick it up myself! Fact #7 We acknowledge each order when it arrives with a personal note, and we evaluate your order to determine the best shipping at the lowest cost based on your product mix. Once we select a shipper, we email you with the total amount of the order (to include shipping), and provide tracking information on the day it leaves our warehouse. Fact #8 We appreciate your business and soon you will have a "pick-up" truck for your online shopping pleasure. Have fun with winemaking - See you next month! 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: Tom, The first two Heron Bay wine kits are remarkably smooth for being two and a half months old. For most wines it takes six months or more to reach this stage. Looking forward to trying out more of the Heron Bay. -- Robert Klaus Houston, TX Tom, We really enjoyed our visit last Saturday. Thanks for the tasting, tour, and advice. It is good to know that I am doing some things right in my basement winery!! Thanks again, -- Gene and Linda Fain Martinsville, VA Send us your comments about your experience with grapestompers... we may just make you famous next month! ------------------------------------------------------------ Latest News from RJ Spagnols and Heron Bay Wines by Brant Burgiss ------------------------------------------------------------ The big news this month from RJ Spagnols is that they have released a new line of Cellar Classic wine kits called the "Winery Series". These kits offer grape skins packed along with the concentrate and juice for a fuller, more robust taste. Here is a list of the wines in this new series: - Cabernet Sauvignon - Merlot - Shiraz - Valpolicella Learn more about this new line of kits from their web site: http://www.rjspagnols.com/pdf/11303_ENCCWinery_Price_Crd2.pdf These products are RJ Spagnols' answer to the Crushed Grape Pack wine kits that we already offer from Cellar Craft. Our supplier hasn't given us availability or price details yet, but we promise to pass the word along as soon as we can. Keep a watch on our web site for these new products! And speaking of crushed grape skins, stems, and seeds... We are hearing rumors that Heron Bay has similar products currently undergoing development. Is it true? We'll just wait and see! Heron Bay's new web site should be ready for a grand unveiling sometime in the month of August. They've been working hard on it, but as of this writing there is only a holding page at http://www.heronbaywines.com. Last month, we told you that Heron Bay Wines has announced the upcoming release of their "Blue Label" Holiday Wines for 2005... a Lodi Merlot and a North Coast Traminer- Riesling. These 8 liter / 4 week wine kits will provide you with wines of perfect balance, superb flavor, and character - just in time for the holiday season! Each kit makes 23 liters or 30 - 750 ml bottles' worth and includes 30 designer self-adhesive wine labels for that commercial wine look. Only limited quantities of these holiday wines are produced. They are only available on a pre-order basis, with release dates in mid to late September 2005. The suggested prices are $59.99 each, so if you are interested in reserving one or more of these wine kits, please let us know by calling or emailing. ------------------------------------------------------------ GUEST COLUMN - Missing In Action By Nobody's Home ------------------------------------------------------------ We're sorry, but no one volunteered to write our guest column for this month. It really isn't that difficult to write a short 3 or 4 paragraph article about your favorite hobby - just think of all the tall tales you're already telling your friends about the exploits of making your own wine at home. All you have to do is put it in words - and we'll publish your story and (perhaps) make you famous! *-----------------HOT TIP------------------* Have a wine that's too sweet? If your wine is too sweet, there are a couple of things you might want to try to fix it. Either try and restart fermentation, or else blend the wine with another, drier wine. Learn how to restart a stuck fermentation: http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/stuck_fermentation.htm Learn how to blend wines: http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/blending_wine.htm Have a tip you'd like to submit? Send it to tips@grapestompers.com *-----------------HOT TIP------------------* The story doesn't have to be technical at all - we're not expecting some treatise on anaerobic fermentation, we just want an entertaining story or tip that you learned while making your latest (or first) batch of wine. It can be funny; it can be dramatic... the choice is up to you. Please send your inputs to Brant at: articles@grapestompers.com ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------ Still Wine - A finished, non-sparkling wine; a wine that contains no noticeable carbonation. Look for other wine-related definitions by clicking on the 'Glossary' button from our home page at http://www.grapestompers.com ------------------------------------------------------------ NEW PRODUCTS ------------------------------------------------------------ See our article entitled "Latest News from RJ Spagnols and Heron Bay Wines" above. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ THIS MONTH'S SPECIALS ------------------------------------------------------------ grapestompers' specials for the month of August 2005: Item # Description Reg. Price Special HB972 HB Cranberry/Shiraz 47.80 39.99 HB909 HB Valpolicella, 8L 53.44 44.99 HB982 HB San Luis Obispo Syrah, 8L 68.18 57.93 HB940 HB Vieux Reserve, 16L 79.98 67.99 2205 3-Gallon Glass Carboy 13.90 10.99 2701 Red Star Montrachet Yeast - 3 packs for $1.00 3200 Complete White Wine Starter Kit 232.29 180.00 3100 Complete Red Wine Starter Kit 241.42 190.00 NOTE: The following items were shipped to us by mistake by one of our suppliers. We don't normally stock 3 of these, but you can get a whale of a bargain if you act fast - the specials shown below are limited to stock on hand. #S8-2 GC Sauvignon Blanc - Now only $59.00 #S8-3 CSP European Merlot - Now just $59.00 #S8-4 CC Vidal Ice Wine, just $69.00 in August 3155 CSP Rioja Neuve Cru Select $59.00 3172 CSP Australian Shiraz $ 59.00 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, HB, AB, & 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', Summer Mist and 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 = Advintage Bellissima wine kit BH = Brew House beer kit CC = Cellar Classic wine kit CCH = Cellar Classic Harvest wine kit CF = Cellar Craft wine kit EP = En Primeur wine kit GC = Grand Cru wine kit HB = Heron Bay 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 VHS 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. If you'd rather upgrade to the DVD version of the video, just let us know when you place your order, and we'll add $5.00 to the overall package price. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ NEXT MONTH'S HIGHLIGHTS ------------------------------------------------------------ - More Winemaking Stories from Tom's Cellar - Another Surprise from Brant - More Specials - 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) 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 ------------------------------------------------------------