A select number of wine and beer kits are on sale for a 15% Discount while they last.  We want to clear the shelves in order to bring some new products into the store.

A 20% discount will be offered for wine related items such as Pasta, Sauce, cheese boards and many more items.

I expect these kits to arrive sometime after the 16th January.  Customers will be contacted when they arrive.

Wine faults can be as simple as oxidation - lack of fruit flavor and sometimes a browning of color, resulting from over-exposure to oxygen.

Wine should smell and taste fresh and clean.  If it smells musty or stale, then it is faulty.

If your wine smells vinegary - it is contaminated with acetobacter bacteria.

A wine that smells musty can be caused by oxidation or a bacterial infection.  Wines that smell "mousy" may be affected by a type of yeast called Brettanomyces.

The color of wine can give you an indication of the maturity of the wine.  With age, red wines tend to lose color and end up sort of a brick red; white wines gain color becoming golden and eventually browny-yellow.  If you tilt your glass over a white background and look at the edge, or rim, of the curve of wine, you can get an idea of how mature it is. On a mature red wine the rim will be fading.  On a very young red the color will be dark and intense right to the very edge.

That's all for now - look forward to seeing you in 2008.  Thank you again for your business and your friendship.

LAST CHANCE

All entries for the Winemaker Magazine International Wine Tasting Contest must be received in Vermont no later than the 17^th of March. Last year 10 entries were submitted and the result was an impressive Four (4) Silver Medals and Three (3) Bronze Medals.

Let’s go for the gold this year. Shipping boxes are available at the store and this year only One (1) bottle of wine has to be submitted. If you are having a hard time parting with a special wine, submitting one bottle is less painful that two bottles.

GOING TO THE DOGS

The mealybugs are small and hide under the roots and bark where they’re virtually impossible to see with the human eye. They feed and produce a sugary excretion known as honeydew that encourages the growth of sooty mold and turn vine and grape cluster into a sticky mess.

Man’s best friend helping in the vineyard.

Paula asks: Is one clarifier better than another?

Sue says: What a great question. I recently read an article from the Amateur Winemakers of Ontario Winemaking Guide. The presentation compiled by Terry Rayner addresses questions concerning various fining and clarifying agents. The following is information from the article.

There are a variety of clarifying agents we use in winemaking, such as Bentonite, Isinglass, Egg Albumen, Gelatin, Sparkalloid, and Kieselsols.

The manner in which these various agents work is based on the principle that all of the particles responsible for the clouding or haze in a wine or beer have an electrical charge. Gelatin has a positive charge so it can attract negatively charges materials. Gelatin binds to the negatively charged materials, the combined weight increases and settling occurs. I’m sure you have noticed various wine kits have different fining and clarifying agents. It is usually necessary to have fining agents of different charges added sequentially to the wine in order to remove the materials of various charges contained in the wine.

After reading Mr. Raynor’s article, I understood why one clearing product is added, then after one (1) hour the second product is added. The directions are very specific not to change the order of product use and to be sure to wait one hour prior to adding the second.

Next month I will provide more information on specific agents and how they work.

HOLIDAY AND OTHER CLOSINGS

The store will be closed on the following days:

Friday, March 14^th to take care of personal business

Easter Weekend – March 21^st through March 24^th

We will be open for business at 10 AM on Tuesday, March 25th

FROM THE VINE

APRIL/MAY 2008

NEWSLETTER

WHAT’S NEW

Brewer’s Best has added Kolsch as their newest brew kit. This kit will be available immediately and will be a permanent addition to the Brewer’s Best lineup.

LDC1015 $36.00

Kolsch is a crisp, clean, easy drinking ale.  It has a straw-yellow hue similar to a pilsner, but is less hoppy, a bit sweeter and uses pale malts and a small amount of wheat.  Using White Labs WLP029 will help achieve the lager-like characteristics this ale is famously known for having.

Witbier (LDC1051) ($41.00) is currently in the store. This is a seasonal beer and will be available only for a short period of time.

WineExpert has added Island Mist White Cranberry Pinot Gris to their summer wine collection. This will be available by Special Order only.

CALLING ALL BREWERS OR BREWER WANTABEEEEEES

WINE CONTESTS

Recently we shipped 8 bottles of wine to the Winemaker Contest. Surprise, surprise – Fed-X returned all the boxes to the shipper as "Illegal Alcohol Shipment". The boxes must have been X-Rayed because wine was not listed as the product being shipped. We managed to reship via UPS, however, the problem shipping for a contest has not been resolved. It is illegal to send wine via USPS, however, it hasn’t been a problem with Fed-X ground in the past. I’ll keep you posted as I obtain new information.

THE STUDENT BECOMES THE TEACHER

Wine and beer making is a continuous educational work in progress. There is always something new to learn and a recent learning experience follows:

OCCASIONALLY, MORE IS NOT BETTER

By Bruce Collier

      Through the years, I have purchased many wine kits from Sue, the owner of From The Vine, and not only have I enjoyed some delightful, humorous times with her, I have made some damn good wine—except for the last.

      From what I have read, and what Sue taught me—and those of us who have made wine have experienced—vigorous stirring when the instructions called for it is necessary for a crystal clear, finished product. I have always used a plastic paddle and mixed the supplied ingredients, in my primary bucket, and in the order suggested, but my brilliance kicked in and I decided to use an electric drill with a mixing attachment. Sue suggested the one she sells, but noooo, I thought, that wimpy thing isn’t large enough for a macho wine maker like me (I’m only 5'-5"), so I went to Lowe’s and purchased a mammoth, chrome-plated-drywall-putty-mixer. I added the ingredients and, as always, stirred as the instructions suggest. Man, did it make foam! "Wow!" I thought, "This sure beats the hell out of all that backbreaking, exhausting stirring."

      When I added the #1 package of clearing agent, I stirred as instructed, waited, as instructed, then add the #2 package and began to stir, again, as instructed. While stirring, I noticed the foam began to change appearance; it became thicker and resembled whipped cream. I stopped stirring and siphoned some into a one gallon jug—I do this because I use a five gallon carboy for the last racking and what’s left, I add to an appropriate size jug that an airlock will fit. (I prefer not to add water or similar wine to top off the carboy.) I topped off the five-gallon carboy—two inches from the airlock—with the wine in the gallon jug, and then filled the small jug with the remaining wine—again two inches from the top. I noticed chunks of white stuff—sort of like my gravy looks—floating around in my carboy and extra bottle; I had never seen anything like this before. When I tried to wash the empty gallon bottle, I noticed it had a coating on it that was difficult to remove. Only after soaking it in B-Brite and vigorously, brushing with a bottlebrush, was I almost successful in cleaning it.

      I checked the carboy and extra container—they were the same. Little lumps of white things were floating around and the sides were rough and hazy.

I called the 800 number on the instructions, as I had many times before, and asked: "Is it possible to stir wine too much?"

      "Yes," she answered. "Does it appear to have little cheese curds in it?"

      "Yes! That’s exactly what they look like."

      "Then, you have stirred it too vigorously, or too much. But don’t worry, it will still clear. You may want to rack it in about a week, just to help." She paused for a moment, and then added, "You can stir as much as you like before you add the clearing agents, but not after. Be sure to add the number one package, stir, then add the number two package—which I knew—but gently stir after the second package."

      "But," I began, "I have a primary bucket with these cheese curds, as you call them, on the bottom and sides, and a gallon jug with a thick, rough haze that is difficult to remove; I’m sure the carboy will be the same."

      "I am familiar with the condition, and the best way to clean this off is with Clorox."

      Clorox cleaned my primary bucket. I only hope it does the same for my carboy and extra jug. I also hope I haven’t damaged the flavor of my wine. I’ll find out in a few weeks.

      I have learned: A larger mixer is not always better. Mixing too much can do more harm than good.

Thanks Bruce, for sharing your experience.

FROM THE VINE

2008 FEBRUARY  NEWSLETTER

Only one bottle is required for each entry and the fee is $12.00. Application forms are available at From The Vine.

DID YOU KNOW

Our store carries wine concentrate kits from:

Most retail stores carry one or two brands. We want to offer the best quality and variety available. We recently discovered a company in Upstate New York that has been in business since the 1960’s and manufactures wine and beer kits. Made in the USA – what an unusual occurrence. Our plan is to order a few kits and test them for quality. If the kits meet the standards of the Canadian wine kits, we will add the line to our inventory.

A TIP

Did you know oak cubes from your wine kits can be reused on your charcoal grill? Toss them on hot coals and let them smoke while grilling. The cubes can be stored in the freezer and used when it is time to grill.

COMING SOON

Brewers Best announces WITBIER. This beer is a classic Belgian white wheat ale. And is brewed with both wheat, barley, and lightly hopped. Its unique style comes from the introduction of spices such as bitter orange peel and coriander in the brew. It is fermented with a specialty yeast strain that results in a fruity spicy refreshing beer with a dry finish.

Brewers Best Witbier is slightly cloudy with orange hues and makes the perfect summer time cooler that is great with food. The will be a special order and available by the end of March.

HOW DO YOU SAY _____________?

Given the popularity of the grape, you probably already know your way around a wine list as far as most varietals go, and we're not going to suggest that you pronounce Champagne as "shahm-pahn-yeh" because people will think you're affected. And they'd be right. Still, there are a few that are sometimes mispronounced. Here's a list for the record.

Beaujolais: bow-zhuh-lay

Cabernet Sauvignon: cah-burr-nay  sow-vee-nyohn

Châteauneuf-du-Pape: shah-toe-nuff due pahp

Gewürztraminer: guh-vurtz-trah-mean-er   

Malbec: mall-beck

Muscadet: moo-skuh-day

Muscat: muss-cat

Pinot Grigio: pee-noh gree-gee-oh

Pouilly-Fumé: pooh-yee few-may  

Rioja: ree-oh-ha

Sangiovese: san-joe-vay-zee

Sauternes: so-tern

Sauvignon blanc: so-vee-nyohnblahn (swallow the "c")

Sé millon: say-me-yohn

Shiraz: Australians call it shih-razz, Americans say shih-rahz. Now who's putting on airs?

With a little practice, no waiter will shame you and no menu will daunt you. Although, when it comes to ordering Thai food, you're on your own.