Dear %displayname%,

Have the Summer months been less than kind to your wine supply?  Is your wine cellar looking a little vacant?  Well, we’ve got just the thing to help replenish your stock.  This month we’ve teamed up with our local radio station 98.1 The Tide and we’re giving away a $500.00 gift certificate from DiVine Wines.  This would be a great boost to any wine cellar.  All you have to do is join The Tide’s Country Club and then be listening for your chance to win.  Not a Country Club member yet?  No problem.  Just click HERE to sign up, then be listening.  When your name is called, you’ll have 9 minutes and 81 seconds to call the radio station.  When you do, your name goes into the draw for the $500.00 grand prize to be drawn at the end of the month.  It pays to shop at DiVine Wines and to be a Country Club member.

CHEERS! (and Good Luck)

Trevor Jordan (Owner)

September Specials

The following varieties are currently $10.00 OFF.

VINTNERS RESERVE Mezza Luna Red and Mezza Luna White.  Reg. $79.95 take home, $149.99 in-store.  Now $69.95 take home, $139.99 in store. 

WORLD VINEYARD California Zinfandel/Shiraz and German Muller Thurgau.  Reg. $89.95 take home, $159.99 in-store.  Now $79.95 take home, $149.99 in-store.

Offer expires September 30/10.

Introducing Selection Estate Eclipse: Crushendo Quality – Without Skins!

After a decade of product development Winexpert has finally done it: they have developed an Ultra Premium wine kit that delivers from-grapes tannin, body, aroma and flavour, without using a grapeskin pack.
Grapeskins for kits were a tremendous leap forward for consumer-produced wines. However, while they do bring excellent character to kits, Winexpert has never considered them the last word in wine kit technology.  Enter Estate Eclipse.
Make no mistake, Eclipse is not ‘just as good’ as Crushendo. It is much better. So much so that it ‘eclipses’ every other wine kit offered before.

In addition to the highest levels of single-strength, vineyard-specific varietal juice of any kit ever made by Winexpert, Estate Eclipse features extremely high levels of extract, the materials that give structure and intense character to wine. One of the criticisms of many consumer-produced wines is that they don’t compare well to commercial wine when very young—when many consumers typically start drinking them. Eclipse drinks much more like a mature wine when very young, while still delivering great ageing potential.

Estate Eclipse Ultra-Premium wine kits will be available in late October and this is what we can tell you about them.

• All existing Crushendo red varieties will be available in Estate Eclipse
• Varietal character will be even stronger
• People who won’t drink ‘kit wine’ will be stunned by the taste
• Avid winemakers have told Winexpert that they have deferred purchasing grapeskin wine kits until Eclipse is released because they want to reap the benefits of the new kit. Great things come to those who wait!
• Pricing for new Eclipse will remain the same as Crushendo, currently $179.95 take home, $249.99 made in-store.

We will keep you posted as to a definite arrival date for Eclipse wine kits.

Selection Limited Edition 2010

The countdown to the release of this year’s Selection Limited Edition Lineup is officially on!  Click HERE for more information on Winexpert’s annual Limited Edition program and enter for a chance to win a gift card.

Chocolate Raspberry Port and Friends are Here!

This year’s seasonal release Chocolate Raspberry Port, Blackberry Port and Okanagan Peach Icewine kits have finally arrived.  If you pre-ordered any or all of these special wine kits, you may stop by any time to pick up or get them started.  If you missed the pre-order deadline back in August, not to worry, we have extras on hand.   Price per kit: $99.95 take home, $169.99 in-store.  Click HERE for more info on these three very special wines.

BONUS:  Purchase any two or more Selection Speciale Seasonal Release wine kits and receive FREE 500 ml Port/Icewine bottles for each kit ordered and made in our store.  That’s a savings of over $25.00 per wine kit ordered.  

Free bottle bonus applies to wines made in our store only.  Take home wine kits are exempt. 

Fall Seasonal Products

French Gamay/Nouveau

We are pleased to announce the arrival of a unique new red wine kit—one that you can enjoy young and fresh, like a white wine and is actually ready to drink on bottling day! Selection International French Gamay Nouveau is now available for a limited time starting September 7th.  This unique 15 liter Premium brand wine kit includes a package of 30 clear, self-adhesive vinyl bottle labels.  Price per wine kit is $129.99 take home, $199.99 made in-store.  Click HERE for more info on this wine.  

 To help you start your own Gamay Nouveau party, We have prepared this great party planner checklist.

Download Party Planner Checklist

We are also pleased to announce the arrival our first value brand limited time offering.  Available now in store.

World Vineyard Chilean Carmenère/Malbec

Chile’s signature grape, Carmenère brings dark cherry, chocolate and tobacco, while Malbec gives black fruits, red berries, spice and great structure, all leading to a lush toasty-smoky finish.

World Vineyard Argentine Chardonnay/Torrontes

Argentina’s greatest white grape, Torrontes has enticing aromas of peach and orange blossoms, citrus and white fruit, complimenting Chardonnay’s tropical fruit and green apple notes to a mouthfiling finish.

Each 10 litre wine kit includes a package of 30 clear, self-adhesive vinyl bottle labels.  These are seasonal releases and there has only be a limited quantity of each variety produced.  Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.  Price per kit is $89.95 take home, $159.99 made in store.  Click HERE for more info on these two value brand seasonal release wine kits. 

Festa Brew LE West Coast IPA

Introducing a strong, North American-style India Pale Ale with a pronounced malt character and abundant hop flavours and aromas. This beer has a flavour profile that is second to none in the realm of homebrewing. Deep gold in colour, this craftbrewed classic will please even the most discerning ale aficionado.  OG: 1.0560 – 1.0600, FG: 1.0120 – 1.0160, Yeast: Safale US-56, Bitterness: 42 IBU, pH: 5.04, Colour: 14 SRM

Available now for a limited time only.  $39.99per kit.  Yields 23 Liters (66 bottles) of premium, craftbrewed quality beer in only 4 weeks.  Click HERE for more information on Festa Brew products. 

Tip of the Month    

Cellar Planning

One thing that books and courses on winemaking never seem to teach is how to build up a good cellar of home-made wine. If you’re like most home winemakers, you always seem to be drinking the last bottle of your batch just as it’s really perfectly aged.

1. Determine how much wine you use. This includes your daily glasses with dinner, weekend dinner parties, friends dropping by, birthdays, anniversaries, the holiday weekend, house warming presents, your thirsty brother-in-law, etc. Let’s say that comes to about three bottles per week, all together. Split it up as per your preference for red and white (don’t forget pink, dessert, and champagne as well).

2. Multiply your weekly consumption by 52, in this case, getting 156.

3. Add 15-20% for unexpected wine emergencies (there will be one). In this case 25 or 30 bottles. We’ll round the total to 180 bottles. That works out to six 23-litre (5-gallon) batches per year.

4. Make twice your yearly expected consumption, in as short a period as possible, ideally all within one or two months. This is 12 batches, all in one fell swoop.

5. Put half of the wine away in your cellar, and forget about it. Drink your young wine, as you need it.

6. At the end of one year start opening those fully aged bottles, and enjoy the tremendous improvement that good cellaring can bring. On the anniversary date of your big batch, make another six batches, all at once, and put them to the back of the cellar. In a year you’ll nearly dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back.

The problem with this is, while it is very rewarding, you need both the space and the cash to make 12 batches of wine all at once.
If you can’t quite swing it, another good strategy is to make two batches of everything, every time you make wine. Bottle one for your use, and put the other in the cellar (away from the prying corkscrew of your thirsty brother-in-law!). Try and stay on a regular schedule.  Over the course of a year you should be able to get at least three or four batches salted away for ageing, making a good start on your cellar.