10 Most Important Things to Know About Wine Making In Store
Also known as on-site winemaking, on-premise winemaking, U-Vint, U-Brew or In Store Winemaking, wine making in store is a more and more popular way for wine lovers to buy their wine.
In Store Winemaking originated in the 1990’s in Ontario and British Columbia in Canada. It was an off-shoot of home winemaking when some intrepid winemaking supply stores decided to start making beer and wine for their customers. This way the customer did not have to purchase their home wine making equipment as the wine making store would priovide the equipment to make the wine.
Over the course of the next 20 odd years the concept of in store winemaking spread across the rest of Canada and in 2015 was made legal in Manitoba. Wine Sense had been operating as a chain of winemaking supply stores since 1991 and we jumped at the chance to convert our operation to include in store winemaking for our customers. This opened the world of winemaking to a whole new group of customers with many existing wine making at home customers switching to the convenience of winemaking in store.
Wine Sense has produced more than three million bottles of wine for our customers since 2015 and our customers love their wine!
There are countless reasons to buy your wine from wine making stores and here is a list of the top 10 reasons:
1. You can save 50% and more on great wine compared to the liquor store.
Everyone knows that alcohol is expensive in Canada and the price goes up every year. In store winemaking is a way for people to enjoy the wine lifestyle and still save some mondy compared to buying wine at the liquor mart. In store winemaking is fast, easy and of course the best part of making your wine in store with Wine Sense is that you save money! You can slash what you pay for wine at the liquor store with our winemaking services! Our On the House starts at less than $4 a bottle!
Our Winexpert Classic and VineCo Original Series offer easy-drinking everyday wines for under $5 a bottle. You can compare these wines to a $12 to $15 bottle at the liquor store.
Our premium Winexpert Reserve and VineCo Estate Series wines are yours for under $7 a bottle. You can compare these wines to the $15 to $20 range at the liquor store.
Finally our ultra premium Winexpert Private Reserve features wines from the world’s best wine regions are yours for less than $8 a bottle! Our Private Reserve wines are appelation specific and feature wines from renowned regions like the Barossa in Australia, Veneto in Italy and the Stag’s Leap District in Napa Valley. A Stag’s Leap Merlot from the liquor store start at $50 a bottle!
These price ranges mentioned include the price of the wine and the winery service package for us to make the wine for you. Even better is you only pay the GST on the winery fee- there are no taxes on the wine itself. At the liquor store you have to pay the GST and PST on every bottle! The savings never end!
And don’t forget- Wine Sense always has a selection of wines on sale so you can save even more on the prices mentioned above!
2. It’s Easy!
You’ll be surprised at how easy in store winemaking is!
Stop by any Wine Sense location in Winnipeg or Brandon, choose your wine and our winemakers will quickly prep your wine for you . You simply have to sprinkle the yeast (also known as “pitching” the yeast) and our experienced winemakers do the rest! You don’t need an appointment to start a wine- we’re always ready to help get you started.
It only takes about 10 minutes for our winemakers to prep your wine. In that time we’ll get your paper work ready to attach to your wine and we’ll set up your bottling appoinment. Then you’ll add your yeast to your wine.
Depending on the brand you choose your wine will take 4- 6 weeks before it’s ready for you to bottle. Our winemakes follow each batch of wine in our proprietory Winery App. Our Winery App tracks every stage and step of each batch in our wineries. Your wine is always in great hands!
Come back for your pre-arranged bottling appointment (we’ll send you email reminders to confirm your appointment) and your wine will be fermented, filtered and ready for you to bottle (each batch makes ~30 750 ml bottles). Easily clean and sanitize your bottles in our Winery Grade Bottle Washer and then fill and Cork your wine using our Winery Grade Automatic Bottle Fillers and Pneumatic Corkers. We also have Shrink Top Heaters to apply decorative shrink tops if you choose. All this is accomplished in less than 30 minutes and you go home with ~30 bottles of wine!
Don’t want to bottle? We have a Boxed Wine option that is even faster to fill- and serves your wine by the glass. Just like boxed wine you can buy from the liquor store!
3. It’s Affordable
With In Store Winemaking at Wine Sense there is no up front cost for fermenting equipment (as opposed to buying home wine making equipment). Wine Sense provides all of the equipment you’ll need. Come on in, choose and pay for your wine and service package and you’re on you way to great wine in as little as 4 weeks!
Starting for as little as just over $100 you can have ~30 bottles of wine. Thirty bottles of wine at the liquor mart would start at well over $300 plus GST and PST
You can bring in your own wine bottles or buy new ones. Either way you can always re-use your bottles for future batches- which is a sustainable way for you to save even more money!
You also save time and money on multiple trips to the liqour store when you have ~30 bottles of in store winemaking wine on hand! It’s like having your own personal winery!
4. Quality- Our wine making kits are made by a division of Andrew Peller Limited
Home winemaking exploded as a hobby in the earyly 1990s and has grown exponentially since that time. It’s grown so much over the years that in the late 1990s the Canadian commercial wine industry
took notice and bought the major players in the home wine industry.
Today our Winexpert and VineCo brands are both a division of Andrew Peller Limited- one of Canada’s largest wine companies and the world’s largest wine kit producer. From the vineyard to the glass Andrew Peller Limited knows wine. Their involement brought knowledge and buying power to the home and in store winemaking industry and elevated the finished product by leaps and bounds. Whether it be the in put of knowledge, buying power or technical production advancements- the quality of the wine kit you purchase today is leaps and bounds ahead of the wine kit from 30 years ago.
Andrew Peller Limited produces some of your favourite commercial wines like Peller Estates, Peller Family Wines, Sandhill, Trius, Copper Moon, Gretzky Estates, Red Rooster and more! With a portofolio this strong you know you can trust our wines!
And we back that trust with our 100% Guarantee! If you are not happy for any reason we will replace your wine for you!
5. There is an endless selection of wines
One of the most exciting aspects of the world of wine is the endless selection of styles and blends to choose from. Wine Sense offers more than 30 different style of table wines supported by an ever evolving selection of limited release wines. We also have more than 20 different fun and fruity Mist style wines!
From Cabernet to Chardonnay you can make any wine you like with in store winemaking. The selection rivals any liquor store! Malbec, Merlot, Motepulciano and more! Pick Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris! Wine Sense has them all
Our annual Winexpert Limited Edition program and VineCo Global Passport Series feature the current trending styles and growing regions available on a pre-order basis. The Limited Edition program is hugely popular with our customers with many ordering multiple batches of each of the 5 styles available each year.
From red to white to rosé we have something for everyone! With the selection we offer at Wine Sense-your wine rack will be the envy of your friends and you will have wines for every meal and occasion!
6. You can choose wines from the world’s greatest wine regions and countries
Just like our large selection of styles- you can choose wines from all over the world! From California to France, from Old World to New World! We have it all… California, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Argentina, Chile and more- bring your passport and travel the wine world!
Not specific enough? Our ultra premium Winexpert Private Reserve line features appelation (region) specific wines from the world’s renowned growing regions like the Barossa Valley in Australia, Sonoma in California, the Stag’s Leap District in Napa Valley, the Piedmont in Italy and more!
7. From Dry to Sweet we have a style for you
Whether you like bone dry or sweet and lush- we have it all. Choose from dry styles like Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc to sweet Moscato and everything in between. And of course we have a selection of off-dry styles that have broad, gulpable appeal! Off-dry wines have that touch of near impeceptable sweetness that is so popular in today’s modern wine world.
If you want to try something fun look for our Island Mist and Niagara Mist lines which offer fun, fresh and fruity wine beverages bursting with flavour. Twisted Mist offers seasonal releases of popular wine based cocktails that are perfect for the summer! Our Mist wines are lower in alcohol and have a touch of crisp, sweetness that have broad appeal to wine drinkers and non-wine drinkers alike!
8. You’ll always have wine on hand
With in store winemaking each batch makes ~30 bottles of wine. This may seem like a lot at first blush but before you know it you’ll wonder how you ever survived by buying a bottle or two at a time from the liquor store. (Who can afford to buy more than that at a time?)
Thirty bottles means you always have wine on hand. Whether you’re entertaining guests, heading out for an evening or need a great hostess gift you’ll a bottle to grab.
Every Wednesday can be a wine Wednesday!
In store winemaking is so affordable you never mind opening a second, or third, or fourth bottle when entertaining and any night can become date night when you have wine on hand.
Best of all- no more lining up just to get into the liquor mart when you need a bottle of wine!
9. Bottles or Boxes
Whether you like to serve by the bottle or like the convenience of “Boxed Wine” we offer both options for our customers. Bottles offer the convenience of small vessel size and ‘grab and go’ while boxed wine offer wine by the glass and compact size.
Boxed wine is becoming more and more popular as a way to serve wine. Also known as “Bag in Box” or “Cask wine”- Boxed wine is becoming a norm for the wine industry with more and more premium wines now being made available at the liqour store in the box format.
10. You can personalize your wine with customizable labels and shrink tops
Want to dress up your wine for that professional look?
Although optional- when you have large selection of different wines you need to be able to tell the difference from bottle to bottle! Wine Sense stocks a standard seleciton of easy to use peel and stick wine labels to dress your bottle and of course identify what’s in the bottle.
We also offer a selection of labels that we can personalize for you while you wait. You choose your background and we enter the text. Jones Estate Winery anyone? Add your style and bottling date and it’s a great way to keep track of what’s in your wine rack. They cost just a bit more than our regular stock labels and are a very affordable option to put the personal touch on you wine.
We also have a seleciton of backgrounds that are perfect for weddings that will make your special day perfect!
And the finishing touch is the shrink top- the colourful plastic sleave that covers the top of your bottle. Shrink tops are quickly heated to shrink on the top of the bottle. We have Shrink Top Heaters for you to use on bottling day. Choose from a variety of colours to match the labels and your dinner table will look fantastic when entertaining!
It’s hard to stop at only 10 important things when talking about in store winemaking but the above sums up what you need to know. Fom the great savings compared to the liquor store to the finishing touches for your bottles you are now ready to to start your wine at Wine Sense!
