by Bill Koopmans | Jun 1, 2019 | Regions, Wine
In the second chapter of this blog series, I invite you to join me on a tour of another one of the top producing wine regions of the world – France. Come with me as we travel from Italy to the second largest wine producer in the world. Weighing in at 16.5%, over...
by Bill Koopmans | May 1, 2019 | Regions, Wine
In the first chapter of my new blog series, I invite you to join me on a tour of the top producing wine regions of the world, starting with Italy. I wish to thank Wikipedia for this world map showing the main wine regions of the world. It’s circa 2009 and the...
by Bill Koopmans | Apr 1, 2019 | Crafting, Wine
Bottling your wine is quick and easy. It involves bringing 31 clean bottles, then sanitizing, filling, corking, shrink capping and labeling them. Booking an AppointmentWhen your wine is ready, one of our staff will call and book an appointment for you to come in if...
by Bill Koopmans | Mar 1, 2019 | Crafting, Wine
Filtering captures particles in your wine and it’s done 1-2 weeks after fining. Since fining, the wine has been sitting on the second shelf in the front row where we’ve been constantly watching as fermentation stops and clearing proceeds. We’re...
by Bill Koopmans | Feb 1, 2019 | Crafting, Wine
Fining is the process of adding an organic agent to your wine creating a bond with suspended particles to make them easier to filter out of the wine. It takes place sometime between 1 and 5 weeks after racking, depending on the kit. Your wine is in secondary...
by Bill Koopmans | Jan 1, 2019 | Crafting, Wine
What does racking your wine mean? Racking or siphoning your wine is done to remove solids that have settled in the bottom of the Primary Fermenter. In my first blog about the winemaking process, I took you through step 1 – starting fermentation. Primary...
by Heather | Dec 1, 2018 | Events
I’ve always been a fan of the annual Girls Night Out event in Steveston and 2018 was no exception. Since we’re open Thursday nights, I thought “Why not serve up some seasonal juice, cheese, discounts and gifts?” We thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening. Favourite...
by Bill Koopmans | Nov 1, 2018 | Crafting, Wine
You’ve chosen the wine you want to craft and now you’re going to begin the fermentation process. Don’t worry – it isn’t difficult at all and our very experienced staff will help you through the process. PreparationWe start by preparing our primary fermentation...
by Bill Koopmans | Oct 1, 2018 | Crafting, Wine
Let’s explore when it’s the right time to start crafting your wines. From Fermentation to BottlingOur kits require between 4 and 8 weeks of processing in the shop before they’re ready to bottle. However, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to...
by Bill Koopmans | Sep 1, 2018 | Crafting, Food, Pairing, Wine
Where will you start your DIY winemaking experience? This post is will help you if you’re new to the experience, but there may be some tidbits for the experienced vintner.Enjoying wine, more often than not, is enhanced by or enhances our snacks and meals. It...
