How to enjoy superb quality and value in the wines you enjoy ... worry free and without any significant time commitment on your part.
If you are like me, the real enjoyment in making wine comes as I sip it from my glass. Personally, I get no pleasure from lugging a heavy wine kit home, starting the wine in the laundry room, taking countless hydrometer readings, racking it, degassing it, or filtering it. I don't have the space ... the equipment ... the temperament ... or the time.
But, I do have Bloor West Winery.
This neighborhood winery offers a large selection of country-of-origin wines to make, attention to detail in the winemaking process and barrels full of knowledge.
Now, when I say that my friends scoff at "my wine" – until they taste it – I mean it. And, when they ask about "my secret", here's what I say...
Not one secret, but four!
Secret # 1: High-quality wine kits from commercial wineries!
I did not know any of this stuff, until I took the time to research it, but it only makes sense that, like most products you buy, the wine you make comes in different quality levels.
In winemaking, "quality" is measured in two ways – Format and Origin.
"Format" refers to the size and composition of the wine kits. For instance, a basic 4-week wine kit is a 5L format. This will produce 30 bottles of light wine, with very little character. It is not the type of wine that I would make, ever.
But, there are also 7L, 9L, 10L, 15L, 16L, and 18L formats. (They all make the same quantity of finished wine - 23L or about 30 750mL bottles.)
Multiply these choices by several competing suppliers and, quite simply, you have too many choices. For that reason alone, I would encourage you to visit Judy at Bloor West Winery. As an independent retailer, she chooses the best from a few, and offers them to you.
Judy buys her kits from divisions of Andrew Pellar (formerly Andres Wines) and Vincor. These large, international commercial wine businesses offer two main benefits to their wine kit businesses:
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Developing trends in commercial wines can be tracked and wine kits developed which reflect these trends -- the growing popularity of varietal blends is one example of this; in essence, you can make wines that are quickly growing in popularity through retail stores, and
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Shared grape crops -- imagine a single vine being harvested, with some grapes going into commercial wines and others going into wine kits. That is precisely what happens with some higher-end wine kits.
In addition, she buys from CellarCraft International, in particular its Showcase Collection red wines which are distinguished by their Crushed Grape Packs -- ten pounds of virgin, varietal grape skins for true "on the skins" fermentation and extra extraction of aromatics, flavour, colour and body during the fermentation stage. The finished wine shows character never before possible from a kit.
Second, "origin" refers to the environment in which the grapes were grown -- the location, soil type, rainfall, hours of sunshine and so on. Since the environment contributes greatly to the grape, it is also significant to the wine that is made from that grape. A Chardonnay from Australia will taste much different than a Chardonnay from France, even though they are the same grape varietal, because of the different growing conditions.
Secret # 2: Understanding the SIMILARITIES between on premise and commercial winemaking.
The naysayers, me included, before I took the time to learn, will tell you that commercial wine is made differently than on premise wines. But, is that so?
At a commercial winery, grapes are crushed into juice and fermented in a container, then transferred to other containers as the winemaking process continues, then filtered and bottled.
At Bloor West Winery, grape juice is fermented in a container, then transferred to other containers as the winemaking process continues, then filtered and bottled.
The biggest difference is scale – at a commercial winery, the containers are usually stainless steel, each containing thousands of litres of wine. At Bloor West Winery, the container is a 23L carboy that yields 29½ bottles of finished wine.
Secret # 3: The SHEER MAGIC of bottle aging.
Another difference between commercial and on premise wine is that commercial wines are bottle aged in a warehouse before being sold to the LCBO.
With my wine, my "warehouse" is my basement! And, what a difference some "time in the bottle" makes to my wine. It was good when I bottled it, but absolutely fabulous later.
Secret # 4: Bloor West Winery
You might call me biased and, since they get my business, perhaps I am.
But, in my view, the choice of your on premise winery is as important as your wine.
Judy McFarlane, who owns the business – and who is at her business every day that it is open, except for a brief vacation in December - makes it her job to help me choose the right wines for my personal wine cellar.
She has dozens of wines in stock and ready to make ... she pays particular attention to the whole winemaking process, and she maintains a very clean location. These things may not be important to you, but they were important to me when I was choosing an on premise winery for me to use.
And, finally, there is her simple 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If the wine I make does not get my approval at bottling time – when it is at its very youngest, without any bottle aging whatsoever – I do not get to take it home. I can make another same-price selection at no charge, upgrade to a higher quality for the difference or receive a full refund on the spot.
Of course, I have never been disappointed at bottling time, but it is nice to know I have the insurance of this guarantee.
I am genuinely excited by my own wine ... and I share it with my friends and family, even the naysayers ... and I am thrilled to offer up my real-life experience with wine and winemaking to you.
Now you know the four secrets, check out Bloor West Winery. And, while you are doing that, use Secret # 5 to your advantage. Make your first on-premise wine selection and after you have sprinkled the yeast, as your invoice is being calculated, present a printed copy of the first page of this letter. This is absolute proof that you read the text all the way to the end. In appreciation, Judy will take $10.00 off the price you pay – even if the wine style that you chose is on sale! It's her way of saying "thank you" for your time and patience reading my long story.
A NOTE FROM JUDY McFARLANE
The letter you have just read could have been written by several new customers. In fact, it accurately summarizes their collective experiences as new on-premise winemakers. Perhaps just like you, these customers ...
If this accurately describes you, take the first step and visit Bloor West Winery ... just to learn more. My business is the #1 Reader's Choice Award winner again in 2007 -- that's 5 years in a row! -- because we deliver Quality Winemaking, Great Customer Service and Fabulous Value.
Cheers!
Bloor West Winery
2869 Bloor Street West
(at the corner of Bloor and Prince Edward)
Etobicoke, ON M8X 1B3
Tel: 416-604-8463
E-mail: judy@bloorwestwinery.com | 
