Wine Selection and Mixing

You learn about and taste the available wines matching your criteria.  We help you make a selection and walk you through the process of starting your own batch of wine.

First Racking

After 9 - 14 days (9 for red wines, 14 for whites) the wine is siphoned from the primary fermentor into a glass "carboy" for further fermenting. This is called "racking" and the process leaves the "lees" or precipitates behind in the fermentor. The carboy is then tagged with your name, the wine type, and status of the wine.

Second Racking or Stabilizing

On day 21, stabilizing and fining agents are added to the wine to stop the fermentation and start the clearing process.  At this point the wine is also "degassed", a process that releases the carbon dioxide created during fermentation.

Rack to Clear and Filtering

On day 28, the wine is siphoned or racked into a clean carboy, again leaving the lees behind.  At this point the wine is already fairly clear, but we like our wines to be polished, so we wait a week for any further sediment to drop out, then filter all of our wines.  We wait another week for the wines to settle down before they are ready to bottle.

Bottling and Corking

At day 45, you are notified that your wine is ready for bottling and you make an appointment to bottle your wine. We will guide you through preparing your bottles, filling them with our electric vacuum pump bottling machines, and sealing them with corks.  We encourage recycling, and are happy to have you supply your own bottles or you can purchase them from us. Corks are provided at no extra charge, and custom labels and decorative foils are available for purchase.