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I am a certified Sommelier and I teach wine appreciation to people just starting out in the wine world. It’s hard to believe I know, but at least 1 in 3 would tell me that they didn’t like wine. It used to shock me a little at first because my entire world revolves around wine, but then I got to thinking. There was a time not so long ago when I myself did not like it. I knew I was supposed to, but at first the taste was really not my cup-o-tea.

Then I realized why: I was drinking the wrong wines. It wasn’t so much that I was drinking wine that wasn’t good, it was that I was drinking the wrong wine for me. And that is a common mistake.

A lot of people who try wine for the first time and dislike it tend to write it off completely because they don’t realize how truly diverse wine can be. Some wine is sweet, and some wine is bone-dry. Some wine is spicy while other wine is buttery with lots of oak. There is tart wine and sparkling wine, light wine and full-bodied wine. Some are crisp, some are creamy; some wines are better served chilled, and some at room temperature. Plus, external factors like the glass, how much the wine has aerated, and even the food you eat with it can all affect how the wine tastes. See what combinations you can come up with. Explore a little and have fun with it.

You might like full-bodied Cabernet/Shiraz blends because they taste a little peppery with touches of dark berries and mocha, or you might prefer the softer tannins and mushroom notes in a Pinot Noir. If you don’t like how sweet Rieslings are, try Pinot Grigio.

And so, I have come to the conclusion that nobody actually dislikes wine as a whole. It might not be everybody’s favorite beverage, but there is certainly something for everyone in the wine world. In my case, opening myself up to that fact brought me to the point where I would be more willing to try different wine varietals - and started sipping a slew of wines that I previously would have sniffed and swiftly put back down.

I encourage all of you to taste every type of wine you can get your hands on. Some vintages are better than others, and some regions might be more suited to your style. New World wines in California and Oregon taste completely different than the Old World wines of Bordeaux and Medoc. There is no right or wrong answer. As unique as a single brush stroke on a canvas, every palate is different. So, basically, the “right wine” or “good wine” is really up to you. If you like it, it’s good. If not, something else will be.

You may even enjoy making your own wine.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, and Riesling.

So go ahead discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com
Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com
Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number:
1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

Last night I had the opportunity of checking one anxiety-inducing thing off of my list: successfully partaking in the office Secret Santa gift exchange.

You see, the company I work for decided to host their annual office Christmas party and, when it came time to draw names, I drew Jon’s.

Jon’s a cool cat for the most part. He’s one of our photographers and has always been into comic books and Anime, but when it comes to buying gifts that fit within the preset budget, it tends to get a little difficult.

I could buy him comic books, but he gets those sent to him on his Kindle. Photo equipment is out because it generally doesn’t fit within the aforementioned budget, and I can’t go with anime because even if I knew the type he watches, I could never scour his collection to see what he does and doesn’t have already.

I could probably go all James Bond and break into his office after hours by lowering myself through the AC vent, but I don’t think I have a long enough rope and I’m pretty sure that, given my luck, I’d wind up breaking into my boss’s office by accident.

As fun as concocting an acceptable explanation for that would be, the scratches I’d get lowering myself through said vent don’t seem worth it. I’m scrappy enough, thank you.

And so I resigned to go about this the normal, adult way and spy on him while he talks to others. I figure that way I still get to pretend to be a private detective and successfully extract the information I need.

During my little covert operation, I found out that he has a dog named Ares, that his mother lives in Fort Myers, Florida, and that he drinks wine.

Wine it is.

Fortunately, I happen to be a bit of a wine-o myself. Last year, my vino-fixation led to my sister buying me an Artful Winemaker kit for Christmas I just finished handcrafting 12 bottles of Cabernet/Shiraz (because, now that she’s had it, my roommate refuses to drink anything else now).

Perfect! Not only do I have a gift well within the set budget, but I won’t even have to venture out among the public (a concept that, given the holly-jolly spirit of the season and the gift-buying that comes with it, leaves me feeling oddly sympathetic to the Grinch).

So I took one of the bottles and wrote Jon’s Reserve on the label. I even raided my niece’s art kit and put a gimmicky little sticker of a camera on the back. Jon’s enough of a nerdy nerd to accept, if not fully appreciate, the corniness.

And he did. He got such a kick out of it that he cracked it open that night and drank it with every one.

Now everybody wants a bottle. Looks like I’m starting up a new batch for New Year’s.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels.

By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet/Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, and Riesling. So go ahead – discover the winemaker in you! For more information, visit:

www.artfulwinemaker.com or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com

Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com

Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number:
1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

Initially, wine glasses all looked the same. For centuries, they were made of a relatively thick glass and designed in the traditional tulip shape. It wasn’t until the late 1950’s, when Claus Riedel took over the family business of designing stemware (a legacy which dates back to 1756), that wine glasses were given a different approach.

Riedel felt that by simply changing the rim, diameter and depth of a glass, he should be able to direct a wine to particular areas of the palate. Riedel also believed that wineglasses should be made with a thinner glass or crystal. This is a general rule of thumb that still remains today believing that the less that comes between the wine and the palate the better. Cheaper glasses tend to have thick or rolled rims, and so they don’t manage to focus the delivery of the wine properly.

The fact of the matter is the quality and style of your glassware is every bit as important as the quality of your wine. The right glass can enhance a wine’s bouquet, bringing out its complexities and even its textures. The wrong glass, however, can destroy the taste of a wine. After having worked hard and patiently on your own batch of Artful Winemaker wine, it would be remiss to serve it in a glass that throws off the balance and masks the taste.

If you have crafted your own signature Chardonnay, for example, the goal is to come out with a properly chilled glass of wine that is full and lightly toasted. If you serve Chardonnay in a large red wine glass, it becomes sharp. The delicate bouquet is completely lost in this type of glass, as the wine is not meant to handle such a large bowl. It is better to serve it in a proper Chardonnay glass The wine will even taste more chilled, as the alcohol and wood attributes are tempered by the glass designed to serve it in.

Now, if you take that same glass and use it with Pinot Noir, the wine tastes tart and thin. Pour Pinot Noir into a larger glass-like a Burgundy glass-it becomes fruit-driven, smooth and silky.

That Burgundy glass is not meant for Cabernet, however. If you pour Cabernet into a Burgundy glass, the result will be very dry and almost gritty. Pour that batch of Artful Winemaker Cabernet into a taller Bordeaux glass, however, and it is positively liquid velvet because Bordeaux glasses guide wines to the front of the palate.

The Personal Winemaking System is available now from Artful Winemaker, www.artfulwinemaker.com.
For more information on how to discover the winemaker in you, please contact:

Artful Winemaker
www.artfulwinemaker.com
Toll free: 1-800-263-4790.

The right glass can enhance a wine’s bouquet, bringing out its complexities and even its textures. The wrong glass, however, can destroy the taste of a wine.

In the case of Sauvignon Blanc, it is best to use a glass with a small bowl. This is because Sauvignon Blanc is a fairly acidic wine, and the smaller glass will bring the wine to the tip of the tongue, where your taste buds pick up on “sweet” tastes. It is here that your palate will pick up on the fruit first, bringing that characteristic forward instead of the acidic nature. If you use a Burgundy glass, not only will the fruit flavors become lost, but the wine will reach the sides of the tongue first, bringing out a bitter or tart flavor.

When serving a batch of your own Artful Winemaker Riesling (the newest varietal in the lineup), a classic tulip shape is the best. Rather appropriate, given the name of the glass style, this glass will retain Riesling’s floral character, concentrating it in the glass.

Another rule of thumb is to stay away from stemware that has silver or gold on the rim. Wine reacts with metal, and the lining on some glassware can actually change the taste completely. Similarly, glassware that has been etched or carved in anyway can adjust how the wine hits your palate.

Newer among wine-glass-fanatics is the concept of a more “laid-back” approach: proper bowl styling but without the stem. This style is fantastic but for one minor problem. Wine is ideally served at the proper temperature. The warmth of your hand can affect that temperature, and can wind up throwing off the entire character of the wine. Nobody wants to drink a luke-warm Chardonnay. Classic stemware allows the taster to avoid touching the bowl, and so it is still generally preferred.

When you are serving wine for your guests, pour it up to where the glass begins to bend back inward. This will give them enough room to swirl the wine without spilling it.

So How Many Glasses Should I Have? You can get ridiculous with expensive stemware. While you certainly don’t want to ruin the taste of the wine you’re drinking (especially if you made it yourself and you’re presenting it to someone), you also don’t want to add another wing to your house just for glassware. Even Georg Riedel himself (the current head of Riedel Glas Austria) keeps only eight glasses at his home. If you keep three to four glasses, you should be fine: a smaller Sauvignon Blanc glass, a Chardonnay glass, a Bordeaux glass and a Burgundy glass should do the trick. Spend on a glass what you would generally spend on a bottle—and keep these nice glasses for the special occasions. )

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels.  By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

So go ahead and… Discover the winemaker in you!

The Personal Winemaking System is available now from Artful Winemaker, www.artfulwinemaker.com.
For more information on how to discover the winemaker in you, please contact:
Artful Winemaker
www.artfulwinemaker.com
Toll free: 1-800-263-4790.

Once your wine is made, there are some important things you’ll want to keep in mind to ensure quality and longevity.

For one, keep your wine in the dark. UV rays can cause your wine to have an unpleasant smell, which distorts the bouquet. This unfortunate situation is known as being “light struck” and it causes the wine to age prematurely. While the darker green bottles are better protected, it is still important to take extra precautions to be sure that your wine is not over-exposed. If you are unable to keep a bottle of wine entirely out of the light, try wrapping it in a cloth or putting the bottle in a box.

Whether you have a cellar at home, you’ve made a cellar yourself out of a closet or storage unit, or you are keeping your wine in a wine refrigerator, be sure to keep the temperature at a constant 54 degrees, Fahrenheit. Rises in temperature will force the wine through the closures causing air to be sucked back in; if the temperature fluctuates at all, it should never be by more than 3 degrees per day or 5 degrees per year. One helpful technique is to keep minimum and maximum thermometers where you’re storing your wine. Because heat rises, try keeping your white wines at the bottom of a wine rack and the reds at the top. 

Pay attention to the humidity. Too much humidity creates mold, whereas too little humidity may result in oxidation. This may result in your wine becoming distasteful. An ideal level is between 65-75%. In order to track the humidity level, you may want to purchase a hygrometer.

Oxidation is an unopened wine bottle’s worst enemy. Akin it to a brown apple: the color, taste and smell will be thrown off completely if too much oxygen gets to the wine. Because of this, it is important that you store your wine bottles on their sides. Also, if you store your wine label-side-up, it will be easier to select the bottle quickly. You can also spot sediments that might have formed in the wine when you do eventually pick it up. Another note on the label: if it’s peeling off, it’s a sign there may be mold in your makeshift cellar.

Wherever you store your wine, keep it away from foods like fruits, cheeses and vegetables. These foods go bad quickly and if they are stored near your wine, the unpleasant flavors may affect your wine. Good ventilation is also important.

When serving your wine, you’ll need to adjust the temperature. If wine is too cold when it is being served, its flavor will seem weakened. Dry white wines are best when they are served at 46-56 degrees. Light reds can be served at 55 degrees, while deep reds are better between 59-66 degrees, Fahrenheit. A good practice is to let a bottle of red sit out overnight before serving so you can bring it up to room temperature.

Keep your white wines in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Reds can stay out, so long as they are kept out of the sunlight, for up to 3 days.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com
To friend us on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker
To follow us on Twitter, visit http://twitter.com/#!/ArtfulWinemaker
To watch our videos, visit our YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/theartfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us:
Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ
Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com
Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-983-6671

Which do you prefer? The names all sound fabulous, but it can be quite daunting if you don’t actually know what the differences are. Let’s discuss the four white wines that just happen to be our favorites. Chardonnay is the best selling white wine in Europe and the USA. Chardonnay is a medium, soft wine with a deep yellow color and a bouquet which includes delicate spice. Tropical fruit and ripe apple notes finish with a touch of refreshing citrus. Enjoy with: Cream sauces, smoked salmon, roast chicken, scalloped potatoes, or mushroom risotto.

Pinot Grigio Pinot Grigio originated in Italy but is now grown in many parts of the world. Pinot is a crisp, very light, refreshing easy drinking wine and should be enjoyed fresh and young. It is lemon-yellow color with fresh fruit aromas of apple, pear, and lemon with a touch of floral that unfolds on the palate. Enjoy with: Fresh-water fish, seafood pasta, light cream sauces, grilled chicken or pork chops. This white wine is quite acidic and would normally be paired with seafood, pasta or cheese. Riesling is lovely and fresh and offers a wonderful balance of crisp acidity and a hint of sweetness with delicate aromas of citrus fruit and flavors of green apple and pear on the palate. Wonderful and refreshing on its own or paired with spicy chicken dishes, salmon and seafood entrées, or pork with a hint of sweetness such as honey glazed ham. With flavors of peach, apple and pear this is a very fruity white wine. As well suited with an Asian dish as it is with a poultry dish, this is a great “all round” wine. Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon Blanc is a pale straw color with aromas of pineapple, guava and pears; this light to medium bodied wine offers crisp green apple flavors with light herbal notes and a refreshing finish. Enjoy with shellfish, delicate fish, pork, cream sauces, Asian and Indian dishes This light refreshing crisp wine also works very well with earthy foods such as largely vegetable dishes, Thai dishes and salads.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you! For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com To friend us on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

To follow us on Twitter, visit http://twitter.com/#!/ArtfulWinemaker To watch our videos, visit our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/theartfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-983-6671 1-800-263- 4790 ext. 6449

Contrary to popular belief, not all wines are meant to age. In fact, the vast majority of wines on the market are best served within 1-2 years of bottling. Wine is a living, breathing thing. It changes—it matures—and, as all things in nature do, after a certain amount of time, it will gradually begin to fade. In a way, that is what makes enjoying a wine served at its “peak” so special: it will never be lovelier than it is at that moment. Its balance and character…its nose and flavor…everything clicks. The impermanence of how delightful a wine can be is part of its ever-alluring beauty.
Once you open your wine, something very specific will happen. Many of us have heard the phrase “let it breathe.” Letting a wine breathe means allowing oxygen to swirl into the glass or decanter, bringing out all of the subtleties and nuances that cause it to pair with certain dishes and taste and smell a certain way.

Breathing is a good thing—up to a point. If your plan is not to polish the bottle off at the get-go, it is important to understand that your wine will continue to change even after it is re-sealed. There is a type of bacteria that is naturally present in grapes. This bacterium is safe to consume, but it will turn your wine into acetic acid when it comes in contact with oxygen. This isn’t a problem during fermentation because, as the yeast turns the sugar into alcohol, a great deal of carbon dioxide is released. Any wine that is left open for long enough will become oxidized. It is a natural process. After about 3 days, your wine will begin to taste and smell like vinegar. The good news about this is that you can then use said vinegar to cook with—it actually goes really well with chicken and tofu dishes once it hits a hot skillet.
Generally, you can push it to 5 days if you keep your wine well sealed and in the refrigerator. If you do that, remember that reds are best served at room temperature and that they will at some point loose a bit of their flavor once they’ve been opened and subjected to drastic temperature changes (like the chilling factor in a fridge).
There are products out there that work to elongate your wine’s lifespan after opening. These products—which are generally either vacuum pumps or nitrogen sealants—work to push the oxygen out of the bottle.
All that being said, your Artful Winemaker wines should be consumed within 6 months of bottling if you have used the hand applied closures included in every wine kit. However, if you have access to a corker and corks (available at local wine supply stores) your hand crafted Artful Winemaker wines will last up to a year or more after bottling, especially if properly stored on their sides, are not exposed to too much light and are kept in a cool area (generally 55 degrees is ideal). If you keep your wines in the refrigerator or in a wine cooler, be sure to allow any red wines to sit for about half an hour before serving. This will allow the sediments to settle and it will bring the serving temperature up (serving and storing temperatures are not the same for reds). Reds should be served at room temperatures; whites should be served chilled.
The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com To friend us on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker To follow us on Twitter, visit http://twitter.com/#!/ArtfulWinemaker To watch our videos, visit our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/theartfulwinemaker
There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

Few joys in this world can compare to uncorking a nice bottle of wine. There just isn’t much that can compare to it.

The anticipation — the slight pop as you carefully pull the closure out — the delightful swirling fusion of blackberry, mocha, tobacco and earth as the wine begins to breathe. Wine has been called liquid poetry. It is, at its very essence, sunlight within a bottle.

And yet, the life of a bottle of wine relies on a delicate balance. There are elements that can severely destroy good wine.
It is a commonly held understanding that wine should be kept in a cool, dark place. This notion is grounded in the fact that cooked wine is, quite frankly, undrinkable. It will look brown around the edges of the glass and might even smell caramelized. If you keep your wine in the trunk of a car during a summer day or above your stove—or even in an attic or a poorly air conditioned building—the wine will become ruined. One good indication that your wine is cooked is if the closure is raised slightly above the rim of the bottle.
If you look at a wine that is unusually cloudy-looking (especially if this hypothetical wine smells bad) you’re probably holding wine that has gone through a secondary transformation within the bottle called going through malalactic. This is done on purpose by many wine makers after the yeast fermentation, but if it happens in the bottle it can ruin the wine.

Another issue is oxidation. While it is true that wine is supposed to breathe, too much air can bring on a weakly acetic vinegar smell. Keeping your wine corked and in the fridge can help this. Another helpful tactic is to pour your wine into a 375 ml half-bottle with a tight lid. This will keep oxygen out of the bottle a bit longer and lengthen the life of your opened bottle.
Another tactic used to help prevent oxidation is the inclusion of sulfites. Most wines will contain sulfites (unless you’re buying organic wines…in which case they will boast that they are practically sulfite-free.) In large quantities, however, these sulfites can ruin your wine and make it smell like matchsticks. It will prickle your nose and might even smell like rotten eggs. Naturally, this wine is undrinkable and will probably make you feel sick to your stomach.
By taking care of your wine (refer to a previous Artful Winemaker blog outlining proper storing methods) you can avoid a lot of these problems.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you! For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemakercom or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

People like to tinker. That’s why they build model ships in bottles and collect pocket watches and take them apart only to put them back together again. There’s a puzzle aspect to it and it also presents a challenge.

These days, tinkering generally involves some new toy or gadget. For the do-it-yourselfers out there, technology has taken tinkering to a whole new level. With the Artful Winemaker, for instance, you can teach yourself to make and bottle your own wine.

The Artful Winemaker home winemaking system hones in on the tinkerer and hobbyist’s love for new projects and crosses it with the thrill of a unique gizmo that you can show off. Unusual and educational, the novelty of a personal winemaking system allows you to delve in the creative process of vinification (to convert the juice of grapes into wine by the process of fermentation) without the hassle of planting grapes or investing in exceptionally expensive equipment. You can now craft your own wine without picking up and moving to a wine growing region. The system is designed to fit on your kitchen counter.

An excellent conversation starter, the Artful Winemaker system teaches you about different wines while you make and taste them yourself. Best of all, the refill kits are affordable and each yields enough wine to fill 12 bottles, each with your own personal label on it. Enjoy the wine at parties or bottle up and give it to friends and family as a gift.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemakercom or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us:
Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ
Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com
Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

By: Kara Mae Adamo

There has always been something so fantastic about the idea of blending wines. When I think about it, I get this picture in my head of a mad-vino-scientist with purple wine stains all over his lab coat, hovering over two test-tube-like decanters.

And, truthfully, the visual is more accurate than you’d think. While, in essence, blending wines together to form new ones is just a matter of mixing them, there is a touch of science to it. You can use blending to enhance the aroma of your wine, improve its color, add or minimize the flavors and tastes, or to adjust the sweetness. You can lower or raise the acidity, alcohol levels, Ph levels and amount of tannin…or even correct a wine with too much oak in it.

Think of blending as a way of refining the creative process: of personalizing that which you’ve created. It’s a wonderful creative tool…but it can also go horribly awry. When blending, it is important to have a fundamental understanding of the things that are affected by mixing wines together.

My first recommendation when it comes to blending is to get to know the wine that you’re starting out with. Start with its color and clarity. Is there a bit too much sediment? Is it sweet, or is it too dry? Do you like the color? Then take a whiff: evaluate the bouquet. Does it smell too acidic or sweet? Is there enough fruit on the nose? Do you like the floral or tobacco touches? And then, of course, how does it taste? Is it balanced? Do the flavors blend well together? How does it finish? Is there too much alcohol or is it weak? This will help you set up a specific goal and reason for blending instead of just going into it blindly.

Weigh out the pros and cons. This is your decision-making time. Pay attention to the good things about your wine, too. Understand that if you adjust the Ph levels, you’re also adjusting the residual sugar, the alcohol content, the acidity, etc. While there is a bit of elementary math that forms the framework for successful blending, it’s important to realize that it all comes down to taste. You have to decide how much of one thing you’re willing to sacrifice for another.

Now that you’ve decided you do have specific things you want to fix, keep in mind that the rule of thumb is to blend like-wines with like-wines. For instance, a heavy red like a cab should be blended with another heavy red like a merlot or syrah. Don’t blend a red with a Reisling. You might luck out, but chances are you’ll just end up with something really disappointing.

Now for The Pearson Square.

A side note for those of you who are fellow math-o-phobics: I’m not a math person, so rest-assured that if there was an insane amount of complicated math involved in the blending process, I’d drop my decanters on the ground and run screaming from the room. For this process, you really just have to be able to subtract successfully…and even if you can’t do that, your smart phone can.

The Pearson Square looks like this:

Now, say you have made a Cabernet (A) that has 15% alcohol and you have another Cabernet (C) that has 11% alcohol. You want to have a Cabernet (X) that has 12% alcohol.

Seeing as we all know blending is simply the process of combining the two Cabs together to create a new one, we know that all you have to do now is pour one into the other. But how much of Cab “A” do you add to how much of Cab “B”?

Simple. You subtract the goal (12%) from Cab “A” (15%) to equal “D” (which is the amount of Cab “B” you’ll need). The answer, of course, is 3. So you’ll need 3 parts of Cabernet “B”.

Then you find the difference between Cab “B” and the goal (which in this case is 1) and you’ll get the answer to “C” (which is now much of Cab “A” you’ll need).

So you’ll need 1 part Cab “A” and three parts Cab “B” to get a wine that has an alcohol content of 12%.

You can use this formula for all other aspects that you are trying to change. Keep notes while you’re doing this and test it out with friends to see what they think (I’m sure you won’t find it hard to find willing participants). Remember to test only small amounts of wine at first until you reach a blend you really like. After that, wait at least a day to allow your palate to relax and recoup. Then, re-taste it. The sober standpoint will help you make a decision.

Ultimately, as I said before, it all depends on what you think tastes good. Feel free to make Pinot Noir and Merlot and Cab/Shiraz and then just mix them together. Keep with the formula so that you have a guideline, but don’t be afraid to add and subtract. It’s chemistry, but it’s only wine. No test tubes will overheat or bubble over or explode. You don’t even need safety goggles for this (though you might want to keep a little food handy). Have fun with it.

Feel free to visit us on Facebook and tell us what you come up with!! http://www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you! For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemakercom or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

Sauvignon Blanc is a distinctly aromatic dry white wine that is grown in many cooler wine regions around the world.

In 1997, through DNA profiling, it was determined that Sauvignon Blanc, along with Cabernet Franc, were the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon, the result of a spontaneous field crossing.

This varietal, with its roots in Bordeaux France where it is often blended with the white grape varietal Semillon, is also grown in many other famous French wine growing regions such as Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, and Sauterne.

Around the world Sauvignon Blanc has seen tremendous success in regions such as New Zealand’s Marlborough region, and the cooler vineyards of Australia, Chile, South Africa, and Canada.  California and Washington in the United States also produce Sauvignon Blanc, where oak aged versions are often called Fumé Blanc.

In North America a blended white wine consisting of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon is often referred to as a ‘White Meritage’.

Sauvignon Blanc is enjoyed by many, more so by its fruit forwardness and its approachability in youth, rather than for its aging ability. Descriptive words often used to describe this wine include grassy, herbaceous, gooseberry, bell pepper, asparagus, and citrus (especially grapefruit), and even tropical fruit, melon and passion-fruit notes in riper fruit styles.

This dry, light to medium bodied wine has refreshing acidity and is built for immediate consumption. Sauvignon Blanc is not only a refreshing wine for casual sipping and as an aperitif, but is also very food friendly.

Seafood:
Clams
Mussels
Oysters
Crab cakes
Pan-fried perch or trout
Sushi

Chicken:
Chicken with fresh herbs and or lemon
Chicken with a light, garden fresh tomato and herb sauce
Chicken skewers with lemon thyme pesto
Chicken Souvlaki

Cheese:
Goat cheese stuffed chicken
Goat cheese on pizza
Goat cheese tossed on a salad
Goat cheese on baguettes

Thin crust pizza:
Topped with arugula, basil, tomato slices, asiago and sautéed onions
Topped with zucchini, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, basil, oregano and goat cheese
Pesto pizza
Margherita pizza

Vegetarian:
Green salads with light vinaigrettes
Lightly spiced vegetable stir-fry
Asparagus
Basil pesto on pasta
Lemon herb risottos and pastas

Gazpacho
Savory, delicately spiced Indian dishes
Pasta primavera
Fiddleheads
Fresh spring rolls

Other:
Corn beef and cabbage
Quiche

Serve chilled at 10 to 12 C and enjoy the refreshment of Sauvignon Blanc on its own or with your favorite recipes.

Cheers,
Dave Larocque

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels.

By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemakercom There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

The Personal Winemaking System is available now from Artful Winemaker, www.artfulwinemaker.com.

For more information on how to discover the winemaker in you, please contact:
Artful Winemaker
www.artfulwinemaker.com
Toll free: 1-800-263-4790.

It’s actually kind of amusing. The question is a very simple one and completely valid, and yet every time it’s asked people seem sheepish…almost as if they feel foolish for not knowing the answer.

The reason for this is that the obvious—albeit incorrect—conclusion would seem to be that, during the winemaking process; the items we think we taste are actually present. Some wines have such a distinct vanilla scent to them, for instance, that it would seem that vanilla must have been added at some point. A pleasant enough thought when the scent is vanilla or chocolate or raspberry—but if you’re dealing with the earthier notes or the tobacco aroma found in other wines the appeal goes out the window.

Rest assured, if you’re drinking an earthy wine, you are not drinking dirt. Also—and it seems funny to even mention it, but while I’m on this track, I might as well—if you have allergies to, say, strawberries, but your pinot noir tastes like strawberries, you can rest easy knowing that you’re not going to have a reaction.

There are quite a few factors that affect the flavors of wine. The first thing to understand, however, is that you’re not actually tasting vanilla or strawberries. You’re smelling vanilla and strawberries. You actually only have four “tastes”: bitter, salty, sweet and sour. In Asia, they like to add “hot” to the mix…but that’s it. These very basic tastes form the framework of the eating and drinking experience. The nuances come from the aroma of the food or drink.

The flavors, you see, are an illusion. The scents we are picking up on are indicative of the things we are most familiar with. The description of tobacco in a Cabernet/Shiraz is more of an analogy because it is the closest thing our minds can think of to describe what it actually tastes like.

Now that that’s covered, let’s go into some of the different factors that make the wine smell specifically of butter or pear or pepper.

For one thing, each grape varietal is unique. Some are sturdy and some are delicate, and they all react differently to the fermentation process. Yeast turns the sugar in grapes into alcohol. When oxygen is present in the vat, that alcohol is further converted into acid. The acid and the fruit in the vat intermingle a bit and become something called an “ester,” which is a flavor compound. Depending on the different types of grapes involved, these esters can have different aromatic notes.

There are actually odoriferous molecules that the wine and the apples, pears, currants or raspberries you think you taste share. Chardonnays, for example, are often described “buttery” because the yeast is working overtime and producing something called diacetyl, which is what gives butter its flavor. This is a result of a secondary fermentation process called malalactic fermentation.

Leather aromas are a result of the presence of tannins (which come from the stems, skins and seeds of the grapes…these are mostly present in red wines because you don’t keep the grape skins when fermenting white wines). If something is tannic, it tends to have a bit of a leathery scent. This is partly because leather itself is tanned as a preservation method—and the tanning agent is actually a tannin in of itself.

Something else to consider when talking about the tastes of wine is that, like your palate, your olfactory system is completely unique to you. When I drink Pinot Noir, I smell chocolate and blackberries. When my best friend drinks it, he picks up on dark cherry notes. Both are completely valid. Similarly, just because one Pinot Noir smells like strawberries doesn’t mean that the next one won’t smell like lavender. It depends on where the grape was grown and how it was handled. Wine tastes also vary depending on the amount of oxygen invited into the wine during decanting or swirling, the vintage itself, and even the shape of the wine glass (see the blog on wine glasses for more on that subject).

Training your palate and your nose to pick up on the varying aspects of wine is incredibly enjoyable. Try going to a wine tasting or hold your own using your Artful Winemaker wines and see what you can come up with. Discuss it with whoever you’re with. If they smell something different, try the wine again and see if you can pick up on it. It’s a challenge and it’s a lot of fun.

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com. Go ahead, discover the winemaker in you.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemakercom or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker
There are three ways you can reach us:
Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ
Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com
Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

Delight and impress your friends and family with a specially labeled bottle of your own personal homemade wine using the Artful Winemaker.

Enjoy the wine at parties or give it to friends and family as a personalized gift. Start by creating one varietal and then try another. Wines can age for up to 6 months when stored in a cool dark place like a cabinet, closet or wine fridge. The resulting wine is impressive—holding its own in customer blind tastings with comparable bottles.

In many cases, Artful Winemaker wine has actually been preferred against same-varietal wine from leading wineries: “Just finished my first batch and my friends and family went crazy over it. I threw a party and had a selection of wines ranging from $15 to $20 on the table… everyone kept pouring mine instead. I think a bunch of them may purchase the system in the next month or so…” – Kraig, North Providence, RI

Artful Winemaker has received rave reviews by consumers from all over the country: “I bought this for my husband’s birthday (he loves wine) and it was fun for us both to make together, it was very simple to use and it came out great. We’ve tried Cabernet and Merlot, yummy! I can’t wait to try Riesling next. All my neighbors were impressed and ordered their own.”– Jackie, Fort Benning, GA”This was the best thing I could have ever purchased. I was a little skeptical at first. Wine in 28 days, wine made at home. And I was pleasantly surprised. I shared a few bottles and got nothing but rave reviews. I made the cabernet/Shiraz, cant’ wait to try the others.” – Jocquetta Briscoe Harris

“This kit is a breeze to use and makes a decent product. I’m not an expert, but the final product was delicious by my standards. Clean-up was easy. This was my first time making wine. I had avoided making wine in the past because I didn’t want to make an investment in equipment only to be disappointed in the process or final result. Now I’m excited and want to do it again. I shared the wine with relatives who thought it compared favorably to retail purchases. -Karen E. Poles, Philadelphia, PA

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you! For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com

Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number:
1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

Hosting a wine tasting makes you think of upscale restaurants with trained experts holding expensive glassware by the stem and making that strange face as they swirl it around on their palates. There seems to be this pre-conceived notion that you need to be a master sommelier in order to conduct a wine tasting.

For some reason, if you really think about it, it brings on the same nervous feeling you get when considering singing karaoke or performing at an open mic night.

When it comes down to it, hosting a wine tasting is really senseless unless you and your guests are enjoying yourselves. So relax—don’t stress out. Every time a glass of wine reaches your lips, you technically taste it, so there really isn’t anything to stress about. Figuring out the nuances in wine is not an exact science; it is about opening your eyes and really seeing the wine. It is about taking the time and paying attention to the difference scents and how they play such a big part in the tasting process. It is also about really feeling what your palate is telling you. The best part—and perhaps the most effective assurance that helps the most when easing tasting-anxiety—is that there is no wrong answer. You may taste leather in a wine that reminds another person of straw. You’re both right. That’s one of the reasons tasting wines with other people can be so helpful.

Here are a few pointers to help you plan for your wine tasting: When you are planning your tasting it is important not to have too many wines. If you try to do twenty different bottles it can become overwhelming and very expensive. My advice is to stick to six to ten bottles, eight being ideal. Four reds and four whites is a good rule of thumb. Be sure to properly chill the white wines. The taste can be a bit muddled if they are too cold or too warm. Keep them at around 50-55 degrees. Reds should be brought to room temperature and given about an hour or so of breathing time before they’re really ready to be consumed. Try to stay at about 60-65 degrees with red wine. Ideally, I would say to decant the reds, but that’s not only difficult given supplies, but it messes with a blind tasting because the wines should be concealed. Just uncork the bottle for a bit and it should do the trick in this case.

Remember to provide palate cleansers. Crunchy French bread, lightly salted fresh mozzarella and neutral biscuits or crackers are all good choices. Stay away from foods that are overly flavorful as they will detract from the wines themselves. Decorations can be fun and even ease the tension of a wine tasting, but try to avoid using scented candles and such because most of the tasting process actually involves your nose more than your palate. You may think you’re detecting floral notes, but chances are it has something to do with the potpourri in the corner. Line your table with a white tablecloth or place the wine glasses on white paper. This will help your guests when they try to explain the colors in the wine. While we’re on the topic of decorations, I would also try to be careful about the music selection (if you choose to provide music). Try some quiet jazz or classical piano to set the mood.

When you’re tasting the wines, use this guideline: Whites always go before reds, light-bodied wines before full-bodied wines, “unoaked” before “oaked,” dry before sweet at the end. Here’s what you’ll need: Pens and paper for taking notes Foil or paper with which to wrap the bottles and obscure the labels Numbered cards to place in front of the bottles A long table with the aforementioned white tablecloth Spittoons (You can use empty pitchers as long as they aren’t made of clear glass. Glasses (Riedel standard red wine and white wine glasses work well) Bottles of wine (of course). A note about how many bottles to buy: A standard sample is supposed to be about 2 oz. and the standard bottle of wine holds about 24 oz of wine. If you have 12 people or less, one bottle per wine should suffice.

There are a myriad of different types of tastings out there. To help you pick the right one for your occasion, I’ve outlined the most common ones: Grape vs. Grape—i.e.: Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Merlot The Price-Test—Present obscured bottles and a sheet of paper with different prices on it. Tell your guests to try and match them. The results may surprise you. Half-Blind Tasting—Tell all of your guests a piece of information about the wine but not everything Blind Tasting—The bottles should be completely obscured and you don’t give away any information about the wines. You may even want to use blind folds for this.

It can be intimidating at first, but it’s kind of liberating to take away any preconceptions while tasting. Just let your nose and your palate pick up what they will. When your guests jot down their notes, encourage them to talk about the aromas and flavors, the textures and the weight, the balance and the persistence on the palate. Consult one another and then taste the wines again—build off of what you all learn. One person might taste some grapefruit in a Chardonnay that tastes buttery to you. Search for the grapefruit the second time around and so on. Again, have fun with it. If you do decide to have dinner afterwards, talk about how the wines have changed when they are paired with the food. It’s interesting and fun to see how flavors enhance and detract from one another.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you! For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ or email us at:
help@artfulwinemaker.com
or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number:
1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

By: Laura Roberson October 17, 2011.
Story appeared in MensHealth The Regulars Blog
A Men’s Health Blog About The Best Stuff to Imbibe

Nothing cures a broken heart like booze and loving. Or so I’ve been told.

So when I dumped my boyfriend, a winemaking kit that showed up—through serendipity—in my work mailbox seemed the obvious remedy. My heart wasn’t exactly broken, but my Artful Winemaker Kit did look tricky. And my ex (a different one) is an engineer. I called him.

My bargaining chip was this: If he helped me make the wine, I’d drink it with him. I’ve always refused to split a bottle with him—long story—so I knew it was a tempting offer. He agreed. I chose a merlot—complex, fruity, romantic—just in case my feminine wiles turned out to be, well, resistible. A seductive wine would pick up the slack.

The winemaking kit wasn’t as confusing as I expected. With the help of the old man on the instructional DVD, we assembled the plastic barrel, sanitized it, poured in the grape-juice concentrate, and added the oak sachets. I cleaned out the bottom of my coat closet—it’s the only pitch-black place in my apartment—and shoved the barrel in. For the next 28 days, I lived the life of a divorcée.

Day 2
The Ex: “Did you check the temperature on the wine?”
Me: “Yeah, I’m concerned. It’s up to 88 degrees.”
The Ex: “Well maybe if your apartment wasn’t so hot…” [Translation: If it stayed at my house, it’d be much better off.]

Day 4
Me: “It’s starting to stink. I don’t know what to do.”
The Ex: “Leave it alone. It’s a normal part of the aging process.” [Translation: Stop being an overprotective mother.]

So went the next couple of weeks—a constant back-and-forth about our troubled, alcoholic child. (It stopped stinking, by the way. Just a phase.) On Day 14, we removed the oak sachets, and added potassium metabisulphite, a compound that prevents bacteria from growing and keeps the wine aromatic and flavorful. Finally, we stirred in a chemical to clarify the wine. Back to the closet for two more weeks.

Bottling day arrived, then two weeks later, it was time for our tasting. I, admittedly, halfway expected to uncork a bottle of red wine vinegar. But in a blind taste against two other merlots (one $6 bottle, one $20 bottle), I actually selected the homemade wine as my favorite. The Ex, who has a more experienced (and discerning) palate, preferred the expensive bottle—but rated our wine as more full-bodied and better tasting than the $6 bottle. Satisfied, we agreed that we’d repeat the whole process.

Then something funny happened. Funny, as in, The Ex was no longer The Ex. As we sipped on homemade wine and ate takeout Italian, he kissed me. I could taste the merlot on his lips. It tasted pretty damn good.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemakercom There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

The Personal Winemaking System is available now from Artful Winemaker, www.artfulwinemaker.com.
For more information on how to discover the winemaker in you, please contact:

Artful Winemaker
www.artfulwinemaker.com
Toll free: 1-800-263-4790.

When I was in college and consequently broke, I found myself in quite a bind over the holidays (the Ramen Noodles Budget doesn’t exactly allow for a lot of wiggle room). As the weeks preceding Christmas descended upon me, I quickly entered a sort of yuletide panic. I had a lot of people on my list and I was driving home on gas fumes.

Fortunately, I’m a bit crafty. I found a value pack of inexpensive canvases and locked myself away in my room. A week and a half  later, I resurfaced covered head-to-toe in paint holding no less than twelve paintings. Each of the pieces suited the receiver’s personality. It was budget friendly, it was from the heart, and it was actually really refreshing. For the first time in years, I actually enjoyed the process of putting together Christmas gifts, I sipped spiked cider, blasted Christmas songs, and even got creative with the wrapping. It was a lot of work —but I had a lot of fun.

Too often we seem to find ourselves so stressed over the act of gift-giving that we manage to take the fun out of the holiday season. Intended to be a source of merriment, gift-giving will give you an ulcer if you let it —especially in a struggling economy like ours where we have so many other things to worry about.

But if you really think about it, the simplest homemade gifts are often the ones you cherish the most. They are creative expressions; reflections of the relationship you have with the other person and entirely unique.

As I write this, I am bundled up in the quilt my grandmother made me fifteen years ago. The ornament my parents made me last year has a permanent spot on my Christmas tree. It’s not only that I love the gifts themselves (which I do); it’s that I love the people who made them for me.

This year, my family is making wine for everyone. Each bottle of Artful Winemaker wine you make is not only a creative expression on your behalf, but is an incredibly personal sentiment to those enjoying it because you crafted a vintage just for them.  How many people can say they had a bottle of premium wine crafted start to finish just for them?

Bottles of Artful Winemaker wine are an excellent gift idea, and a refreshing, creative and budget-friendly way to share the holidays with your loved ones. Plus, they’ll go great with your favorite holiday meals.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, and Riesling.

So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemaker.com or at www.facebook.com/artfulwinemaker

There are three ways you can reach us:
Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ
Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com
Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help,
please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

Mixed drinks are fun, creative, and can be made to fit every season, event and gathering because you can do so much with them. Heat them up for the winter and add spices or serve them over ice and add a peppermint stick for a jazzy yuletide cocktail.

Whatever the occasion, the more interesting and unique your drinks are, the more your guests will appreciate them. What better way to create unique holiday cocktails than to make them with wine you made yourself? Try this recipe for Brazilian Sangria, there are any number of ways to share your wine—even if your guests don’t usually drink wine.

This mixed drink recipe can be made starting with a bottle of your Artful Winemaker hand crafted wine. Try it out and see how you like it. If you come up with your own unique mixed drink and you’d like to share it with other winemakers, please post it on our Facebook page.

Brazilian Sangria

For this special Brazilian twist on a traditional favorite, you’ll use cachaca instead of rum. Cachaca is a Brazilian spirit similar to rum.

Ingredients:

Fresh fruit (recommended: strawberry, lime, orange, kiwi and passion fruit)

1/2 oz Lucid Absinthe

1 1/4 oz Cachaca

1/2 oz Spanish Brandy

1/2 oz orange liqueur

1 oz red wine

Preparation:

Muddle the fruit with Lucid Absinthe, Cachaca, Brandy and Orange liqueur in a shaker. Pour it into a wine glass of your Cabernet/Shiraz, Pinot Noir, or Merlot. Stir it up and enjoy.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels.

By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. So go ahead and…Discover the winemaker in you!

For more information, visit: www.artfulwinemakercom There are three ways you can reach us: Visit us on the web at: www.artfulwinemaker.com/FAQ Or email us at: help@artfulwinemaker.com Or if you prefer direct assistance or more help, please call our toll free number: 1-800-263-4790 ext. 6449

The Personal Winemaking System is available now from Artful Winemaker, www.artfulwinemaker.com.

For more information on how to discover the winemaker in you, please contact:
Artful Winemaker
www.artfulwinemaker.com
Toll free: 1-800-263-4790.

My mother is a Christmas fanatic. She is a five-foot, bubbly blonde Christmas elf who prances (pun intended) all over the house, decking the halls and boogieing to any and all holiday songs the moment Thanksgiving is over. She would probably start in with the festivities earlier, but dad thought ahead long ago and implemented a rule that she can’t start until Black Friday; a genius move on his part, because if he had not put his foot down she’d probably be one of those people that leaves their lights out all year around.

Needless to say, she dives into it immediately. As such, I have many fond (and not so fond, given the amount of decorations that are put up and taken down) memories of classic holiday movies, baking Dutch thumbprint cookies, and (of course) going caroling and looking at all of the Christmas lights in the neighborhood.

I also have fond memories of waking up to the smell of warm, spiced mulled wine brewing on the stove. Fruity and delicious with notes of fresh cinnamon and cloves, mulled wine is one of my mother’s favorite things to serve during the holidays. It warms you from the inside out and smells delicious. It is, quite simply, a classic: one that my family has enjoyed for years.

My parents have recently begun making their own wines using their Artful Winemaker. This year, they will be adding a bottle of their specially crafted Cabernet/Shiraz or Merlot to the Mulled Wine.

This mulled wine recipe is a long time family favorite:

Mulled Wine

Ingredients:
1 bottle of Cabernet/Shiraz or Merlot
1 orange, peeled and sliced (keep the peel so you can add zest to the cooking pot)
¼ cup brandy
8-10 cloves
2/3 cup honey
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp fresh (or 2 tsp dried ground) ginger (you can also use allspice)

Preparation:
Combine all of the ingredients into a large pot (a slow cooker works well, too) and cook it over low-to-medium heat. Don’t let it boil. Stir occasionally for 20-25 minutes until all of the honey is dissolved. When the wine is steaming, it is ready to serve. Ladle the mulled wine into your thermos or mugs, leaving the seasonings in the pot.

The Artful Winemaker all-inclusive package includes everything you need to make 12 signature bottles of your very own wine in just 28 days. The clean, easy to handle system fits on your kitchen counter and comes with all winemaking ingredients including grape juices sourced from some of the nation’s finest vineyards, cleansers, an instructional DVD, and 12 glass bottles with closures, foils and bottle labels. By purchasing additional refill wine kits, the Artful Winemaker System can be used time and time again to produce all of the great tasting wines available including Cabernet/Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, and Riesling

So go ahead – discover the winemaker in you!
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