Articles & News
A huge challenge in Calgary is the process of degassing wine after it has been stabilized. We have encouraged our clients to use the Vacuvin system which creates a vacuum in the carboy sucking out the CO2. Exclusive only to The Home Vintner - after years of searching for an automatic system, Paul has found an electric degassing unit. The staff have been busy testing them by degassing their own wine - Ron tested it on the weekend by degassing two wines at the same time. As with our wine filters, these units are available exclusively for our clients. Rental is $10 for the first 24 hours and then $5 a day. Selection International French Rosé 
Our seasonal release Selection International French Rosé is a crisp, off-dry rosé from Southern France. An extremely food friendly wine, the pairing possibilities run the gamut from light salads to spicy meats from the grill - definitely a wine to keep well-stocked and ready all summer. Serve chilled. Don't miss out on this great rosé, supplies are limited and they won't last long. WINE RECOMMENDATION - NEW ECLIPSE LODI RANCH 11 WITH GRAPE SKINS 
This Californian Cabernet has been my house wine for over 12 years. This is Murray's personal favorite! I will always remember coming into the NW store and watching him kick the box and say "Buy this one". Thanks Murray, you are a great friend, hope you will be able to attend this years Limited wine tasting next week. Rich fruit and complex structure dazzle from first aroma to long, refined finish. 
Think about hand crafting an Innis & Gunn, Black Pilsner, Stout, or Belgian Wit to name a few. With the use of our Barons Beer kits, our add-on packs and liquid yeast, you can create any of these great beers. For any of you who were burned on a beer kit in the past, concluded that all beer kits were the same and gave up on home brewing, now is the time to give it another try. You will be impressed, we guarantee it! Using The Home Vintner Wine Filter 
Adding "polish" to a wine's appearance is the number one reason home winemakers elect to filter their wines. It adds a glassy and pure look to the wine that is simply appealing. Filtration will not make a cloudy wine become clear. That is not its purpose. 
Ullage is the unfilled space in a wine bottle between the wine and the bottom of the cork. When we recommend 1-1/4 inches ullage for Nomacorcs, this is to provide sufficient space for the cork to compress air ahead of it as it enters the neck of the bottle. AGEING, WHEN TO DRINK KIT WINE 
You can find information about ageing your wine in the product guide we have provided with your kit. The general rule is that a bottle will show most of its character after 3 months of ageing, and that’s usually the minimum we recommend. However, for most whites and virtually all reds, 6 months of ageing is needed to smooth out the wine and allow it to express its character in a mature way. And in fact, heavy reds will continue to improve for at least a year, rewarding the patient consumer with a delicious bouquet. What most winemakers tend to do is go by the minimum recommended ageing period of 3 months, trying a bottle at that time, then leaving the wine a few more months before trying again to see how it has progressed. 
The reason we use Potassium Metabisulphite in wine is that it is a stable source of sulphur dioxide in winemaking. The use of sulphur compounds is not a recent innovation: the great Dutch shipping empire popularised the use of sulphur in the 16th century, by refusing to ship any wines that were not treated with it. Sulphite-treated wines were the only ones that survived a long sea voyage without turning into vinegar. 
Nomacorcs are the synthetic corks that Winexpert uses and recommends most frequently. We prefer them even to natural cork, or to agglomerates of natural cork with silicone surface treatments. 
If you experience a musty smell when you open an occasional bottle of your wine, yet it doesn’t happen with every bottle from the same batch, the problem is not with your batch or with your bottles. The cause of the smell is cork taint. 
The longer you make wine kits, the more you’re likely to notice that even if you’re sure you’ll never drink 30 bottles of wine, they will soon vanish anyway. Between doling them out to friends or using them at parties or other special occasions, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll use up your wine. And sooner than you expect, you’ll be dashing out to make another kit because you’ve run out. 
Winemakers get very little help when it comes to food and wine pairing, but rest assured that it isn’t as complicated as some 'experts' make it sound. In fact, the few rules are really just guidelines for getting the most from your meal and your wine. 
Certain wines can improve with extended storage time, but you’ll find that there are a lot of incomplete ideas and misconceptions about wine ageing. What really happens to the wine in the carboy, barrel and bottle, and the role of sulphite and storage conditions, is often misunderstood. With kit wines in particular, the most common question people ask is, 'How long will my wine last once I bottle it?' 
While our wine kits are ready to bottle (depending on the kit) in 28 or 45 days, they're not ready to drink at that point. They still need at least a month to get over the shock of bottling, and to begin opening up to release their aromas and flavours. So one month is the minimum time you should wait, to allow the kit to start tasting good. But to do the wine proper justice, three months is much better, and will allow your wine to show much of its character. AGING TIMES FOR WINEXPERT PRODUCTS 
All Winexpert wines will improve with a minimum of three months ageing, and they will continue to improve over time. How long this enhancement will continue successfully depends on factors like the type bottle, the cork you used, and the conditions in which you store the wine. |
