Help My Wine Making! Episode 12 Scott “The Wine Making Guy” The Resolution Keepers Wine Making Contest, How to Easily Remove Labels from Wine Bottles and Do Wine Kits Have Expiry Dates?
January 24, 2010 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Featured, Resolution Keepers, Videos, Wine Making Podcast
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Click here to sign up for the Resolutions Keepers Wine Making Contest!
See you next week where we’ll be discussing a great way to test your wines at various stages throughout the aging process … 
Have a great week!
Help My Wine Making! Episode 9 – Rocky Mountain Update, What Kind of Primary Do You Have and Why Keeping Eye on the Temperature In Your Wine is Important
November 20, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Featured, Videos, Wine Making Podcast
See you next week where we’ll be discussing what makes a wine “stuck”!
Have a great week!
Help My Wine Making! Episode 8 – Follow Up Trick To Our Carboy Discussion From Episode 7, The “Wine Flu” and Why Acid Is Considered The “Backbone” of Your Wine
November 1, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Videos, Wine Making Podcast
Help My Wine Making Episode #8
Resources Mentioned In This Podcast:
- [amazon-product text="The Wine Makers Answer Book (Answer Book (Storey))" type="text"]1580176569[/amazon-product]
- How to Adjust the Level of Acidity in Your Wine (Free PDF Download)
See you next week where we’ll be discussing why keeping an on the temperature of your wine must is important!
Have a great week!
Help My Wine Making! Episode 7 – A Quick Idea for All You Grape Wine Folks, The Dangers of Using A Plastic Water Bottle as A Carboy & A Wine Storage Alternative From “Down Under”
October 25, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Videos, Wine Making Podcast
Help My Wine Making Episode #7
Resources mentioned in the show:
Crusher & Destemmer:
Using A Water Bottle As A Carboy:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_Recycling_Code
- http://www.better-bottle.com/technical.html
- http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/ice-mountain-water-jugs-better-bottles-56936/
- http://www.drinksplanet.com/5-gallon-water-bottles-as-carboy-3223110.html
- Google “Using a water bottle as a carboy”
Flex-Tank Wine Storage:
See you next week where we’ll be discussing why acid is considered the backbone of your wine!
Have a great week!
Help My Wine Making! Episode 6 – Why You Should Go To The First Crush Wine Making Experience, Why You Should Document Your Wine Making, What To Document and Easy Ways To Keep Track of Your Homemade Wine Batches
October 17, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Videos, Wine Making Podcast
Help My Wine Making Episode #6
Resources mentioned in the show:
First Crush Wine Making Experience
Wine Making Logs:
See you next week where we’ll be discussing the dangers of using plastic water bottles as carboys!
Have a great week!
Help My Wine Making! Episode 5 – A Unique “Add-On” For Your Kitchen, Can You Add Too Much Fruit Too Your Wine, Two Easy Ways To “Gussy Up” Your Wine Bottles
October 4, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Videos, Wine Making Podcast
Help My Wine Making Episode #5
Resources mentioned in the show:
MyOwnLabels.com
Stoney Creek Wine Press
StickyBusiness.com
4th & Vine
Classic Studio
Winexpert Labels
See you next week where we’ll be discussing different ways to keep track of your batches of homemade wine as you make them!
Have a great week!
Help My Wine Making! Episode 4 – Update on Building a Wine Cellar, A Warning About Using Crystal Decanters and Some Viewer Comments on Selling Your Homemade Wine
September 24, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Videos, Wine Making Podcast
Help My Wine Making Episode #4
Study mentioned in the show:
Lead Crystalware and Your Health (Health Canada study)
See you next week where we’ll be discussing different ways to gussy up your wine bottle that’ll be sure to impress your guests!
Have a great week!
Making it Legal: Selling Your Homemade Wine
September 10, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Tips
This is a great article for anyone considering selling their homemade wine!
Source:
Author: Alison Crowe
Issue: Aug/Sept 2009
I have been making wine at home for the past five years and my friends tell me I am pretty good! They like my wine and I thought about starting to sell it at our local farmers’ market. My question is, when do I cross the line from being just a home hobbyist (which I know is legal) to being a “winemaker” in the eyes of the public and presumably the government? I don’t want to do anything wrong but I’d like to explore my options.
Jennifer Michel
Calabasas, California
There definitely has been an explosion in the number of people making and selling wine in this country! Every year, the number of brands listed with the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau — www.ttb.gov/wine) increases by the thousands. It’s no surprise that the US is now the number one wine market in the world and we’re the market everyone (and I mean everyone, from the Portuguese to the Chinese) want to be in. What that means is that there’s plenty of competition out there but it also means there are a lot of interesting opportunities. I believe that the non-traditional parts of the United States and Canada are in the beginning of a regional wine boom and that you may indeed have success marketing and selling your product locally. It takes a smart business plan, a good product and a lot of hard work (as many of my friends who have started their own brands will tell you) but it can pay off.
Back to your question, however. Technically anyone over the legal drinking age in their state (in the US) may make up to 200 gallons (757 L) of wine per year per household and not have to report anything to the government. That’s about 3.3 barrels, 83 cases or almost 1,000 bottles! Quite a lot, if you ask me. Make over that amount of wine, however, or sell any of your homemade products, and the government wants to start taking you seriously for tax purposes as well as to keep tabs on how many alcohol producers we have in our country. Long story short, the minute you sell your wine or grow your production above a certain level, the government starts to get involved. Farmers’ markets are great ideas for selling venues, but talk to your local farmers markets’ board first; often they are not allowed to sell alcoholic beverages due to their own by-laws or that of their location.
If you decide to get into commercial wine production you will want to do your homework. I recommend that everyone begin online at the TTB website, which has a link for those looking to become a bonded winery (http://www.ttb.gov/wine/federal_app.shtml). The ttb.gov website itself is quite an eye-opener into the complexities of the legal landscape you’ll be getting into. If you can afford it, I also suggest that you take a class at a local college or university extension office about wine marketing, winemaking or getting into the wine business. Increasingly, educational institutions in up-and-coming winegrowing regions are offering such courses. If you can’t get to one, and happen to live close to Kentucky, the TTB has what they call their TTB Expo in June (http://www.ttb.gov/expo09/index.html). The TTB also holds regional seminars but not every year. The TTB website lists when they are held.
Libraries and the Internet are also great places to start researching. Two of my favorite books on wine marketing just came out last year: Wine Marketing and Sales: Strategies for a Saturated Market by Dr. Liz Thach, Janeen Olsen and Paul Wagner and Wine Brands: Success Strategies for New Markets, New Consumers and New Trends by Evelyne Resnick. Both are worth picking up. The authors offer a thorough look at marketing strategy and will give anyone interested a great introduction to the terminology and technical knowledge needed to launch a wine brand.
Sometimes people in the industry say that making the wine is the easy part. It’s the selling that can be tough. There’s a lot of competition out there and small brands often have a really hard time getting distribution. But you may have a unique opportunity on your hands if you follow the rules and follow your good instincts.
Help My Wine Making – Episode 3 – A Warning About Building a Wine Cellar & 3 Ways To Truly Enjoy Your Wine
August 30, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Videos, Wine Making Podcast
Help My Wine Making Episode #3
Resources mentioned in the show:
Using Magnets To Instantly Age Your Wine – Fact or Fiction? (blog article I wrote in July)
WineBusiness.com – Wine Magnets: Fact or Fiction
Luigi Bormioli Esperienze 88-Ounce Decanter
Cilio Stainless Decanter Drying Rack
True Fabrications Aerating Wine Funnel
Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator
Eisch Breathable Bordeaux Glass
The Wine Clip Magnetic Wine Conditioner in Wood Gift Box
BevWizard Magnetic Wine Aerator, Smoother, Enhancer, Dripless Pourer
See you next week where we’ll be discussing different ways to gussy up your wine bottle that’ll be sure to impress your guests!
Have a great week!
Help My Wine Making – Episode 2 – A Tasty Spanish Wine To Try, A Cool Wine Application For Your iPhone and The Dangers of Bulk Aging Your Wine
August 22, 2009 by Scott "The Wine Making Guy"
Filed under Videos, Wine Making Podcast
Help My Wine Making Episode #2
Resources mentioned in the show:
Wine Pad 2 (iPhone application)
See you next week where we’ll be discussing if magnets can improve the taste of wine and a nifty trick from “The Pirate” to help you put labels on your wine bottles!
Have a great week!
