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New Seasonal Beer at Wild Rose Brewery 
Paul & I headed down to Wild Rose Brewery to celebrate his birthday on the weekend. We both ordered the Jerk Chicken and decided we would try their new Seasonal beer - which is the Belgian Style Dubbel.Inspired by the traditional beers brewed by Trappist Monks WRB Belgian Style Dubbel is a great way to ward off the Alberta winter chill. Reddish brown in colour with a rich malty sweetness, this complex brew had us noticing new flavours with each sip!Brewed using the best Alberta-grown malted barley...
POSTED February 7th, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Can our wives attend your next class? 
Last night we had a full house in our NE store with the average age at 25! "My husband and his brother in-law were at the course last night in London Town Square and they LOVED it! They have told my sister in-law and me that it is a MUST DO course so now we are interested! Is there any special promo available?" Good news for you, we have recently introducing a new Wine & Beer Making Class Referral Program; anyone who has attended...
POSTED February 2nd, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
On January 28th, our Airdrie store hosted 27 people eager to learn the art of wine and beer making of award winning calibre. Airdrie has a permanent classroom, and a "Continental" style breakfast was offered. Paul demonstrated the start-up of a classic Red Meritage ( Bordeaux style ) along with the addition of a liquid yeast to enhance certain characteristics of the wine. During the beer portion of the class, Paul started a Barons Canadian Golden Ale.
POSTED January 31st, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
This past week, my father and I have had the chance to enjoy some of Canada’s finest boutique wine in one of Canada’s least known wine regions- Lake Erie North Shore. Often overshadowed by it’s beter-known brethren such as Peelee Island and Niagra regions, Lake Erie North Shore has much tooffer. Many long established wineries continue to make great wines from the local varieties like Baco Noir and Vidal, to more internationally planted varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet...
POSTED January 22nd, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT My newest adventure was entering the world of wine making 
"When you are an artist, creativity flows into all projects you undertake! My newest adventure was entering the world of wine making. This past year The Home Vintner Airdrie was wonderful and displayed my art in their store. As a result, they have captured me into making my own wine! Of course standard labels will not do... I had to design my own and of course feature one of my paintings "The Can... Can Dancer" on the label. Thank you to the wonderful staff for assisting me...
POSTED January 12th, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT New Vintners learning the art of home crafted wine and beer 
Another great class last night at the NorthWest Calgary store, with 23 new vintners and brewers showing up to learn from award winning wine and beer makers! Thanks Ron & Wayne for all your help! Still can't get used to the applause at the end of the class! Reminds me of those "old days" when passengers used to clap when the pilot safely landed the plane!! Paul
POSTED January 11th, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Beer Pairings With Your Holiday Meal! 
With Christmas coming, it's time to bring on the food, drink and other merriness-inducing supplies. We all know what wines we prefer with our festive meals! Which is why we're looking at what beers will complement your Christmas dinner.ROAST HAM - a gloriously glazed ham is a great Christmas option. Sweet and salty, a Brown or Amber Ale will let you enjoy both, without wiping your palate clean, while a Czech Pilsner's malty sweetness matches the sugar even as its hoppiness cuts...
POSTED December 23rd, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
Our 7 Sensational WinesWe are proud to announce that 7 of our wine kits were named the top wine kit in their varietal category in the December issue of WineMaker Magazines Top 100 Wine Kits. These 7 kits also won Gold Medals at the 2011 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition including Best in Show Kit Concentrate for our Estate Series Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon.Selection Estate Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon ...
POSTED December 22nd, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Nova Scotia Jost Winery Maple Wine 
One of the attendees of our Home Vintner Wine Guild's Christmas party brought a 200 ml bottle of Nova Scotia's Jost Winery Maple Wine. Paul & I agreed that this was the best Maple Wine we had ever tasted! Jost Vineyards is located in Malagash ( I am familiar with Nova Scotia, but have never heard of this place! ). One of our guild members mentioned that one summer while travelling in Nova Scotia they tried to find this vineyard and got totally...
POSTED December 13th, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Home Vintner Wine Guild Christmas Party 
Wow! What a great turn-out for our annual Guild Christmas party! And a big welcome to the new members that showed up, showing such enthusiasm to learn all they can about the wine making process and making their own award winning wines & beer! Everyone brought a pot-luck dish and the table and side counters were just groaning with the amount of food, not to mention many fine wines and beer. Every time the doorbell...
POSTED December 13th, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Dirty Laundry Wine, British Columbia 
I spent 5 days during my birthday in beautiful BC, visiting my son and daughter-in-law, plus a dog and a guinea pig! My first night there Sara shared one of her hidden treasures - a 2009 bottle of Kay-Syrah from the Summerland, BC winery of Dirty Laundry. I have never been to this winery, but the name has always intruiged me, and it has long been on "the list" - just never made it there. But, after drinking this bottle (...
POSTED December 7th, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Thumbs up to Paul and Ron (and, lest we forget, Wayne) 
"My wife and I attended the Wine and Beer making class last night (ala Groupon). Although we have been making Wine for several years now and we attended mostly for the beer making aspect, we learned a lot about our wine making process and how to improve it. It turns out the Beer making is not much different from the Wine making. We have most of what we need in hardware already, but we did end up buying a couple of primaries that will be used strictly for Beer making, We also bought a couple...
POSTED November 30th, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Recipes for Limited Edition 2011 Food Pairings 
Portobella Mushroom and Gorgonzola Blue Cheese Quinoa Salad with White Truffle Oil for pairing with Winexpert Limited Edition: JANUARY, Washington Meritage 1 cup rinsed quinoa2 cups low sodium chicken broth1 shallot minced fine or 2 tbsp minced red onion1/2 yellow onion minced fine1 1/2 large cloves garlic or 2 small cloves minced fine1 1/2 tsp truffle oil3 oz chopped button mushrooms3 1/2 oz chopped...
POSTED November 30th, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
Last Thursday night we had a wonderful time with Dave as he introduced 5 fantastic wines! Thanks to all the volunteers who pitched in. We tried a new venue by having everyone seated and tasting the wine with food pairings during the presentation. Remember the deadline for pre-order is December 4th. click here for a copy of the order form Check out our Facebook Page for the complete photo album!
POSTED November 27th, 2011 | 1 COMMENT | POST A COMMENT I don't have time to make wine 
I hear it almost every day, I suggest to clients that they get 3, 4, 5 carboys going to get ahead of the aging process. The usual response is, "I don't have time". So this month I am going to do a Selection Original kit and actually time every step. Today from finding my carboy right through to putting the lid on with the air lock took 25 minutes. I will continue to time the entire process to the end. click here to follow me...
POSTED November 20th, 2011 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT |
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I just posted a Photo Album on The Home Vintner Facebook page. Check it out !