Wine FAQs
What kind of wines do you sell?
We carry a large selection of wines from the best wine regions in the world. From 6 week wine kits to fresh juice and fresh grape production, you can be sure you're making the finest wine in the North. We have a great selection and state-of-the-art equipment with the knowledge to help you make excellent wine, everytime.
How do I make a batch of wine?
Choose a wine and we'll prepare it for you. Then you pitch the yeast and you're done. Takes about 5 minutes. Six to ten weeks later, you have wine ready to bottle!
How big is a batch?
Each batch is 22 liters of world class wine. Thats about 28 bottles to share with your friends.
How long before it is done?
Our batches take between 6 weeks and 10 weeks. If you choose our real grape wines, they generally take about six to ten months. But the real juice and oak barrel aging are worth the wait!
Can I age it afterwards?
Absolutely! You can drink your wine right after it's bottled. But we have found that wine really improves with age. The flavours and character will develop and improve immensely with time.
What's the difference between synthetic corks and natural corks?
Natural corks are made from cork trees. Synthetic corks are made from plastic. If you are cellering your wine for 3 or more years, we recommend synthetic corks.
What's the difference between a 6 week wine and a 10 week wine?
The difference is the amount of juice. A 6 week kit has 6.3 liters of concentrated juice. The 10 week kits have 16 liters of fresh juice and 2 liters of concentrated juice. The more juice, the longer the fermentation and production time and the greater the cost.
What's the average price of a wine?
Our entry-level kit wines start at around $100. Our most expensive kit wine is just over $200. That puts the average at about $155 (plus bottles).
What does my price include? Are bottles included?
The price includes all production and equipment costs, taxes, small identification labels and corks. Bottles are not included. Large decorative labels and shrink caps are available (separately or as a "dress" package) for a small fee.
What kind of labels come with the batch?
You get small identification labels with each batch. The labels state the name of the wine and the date of bottling only. They are not "dress" labels and do not have large graphics. We have the larger "artsy" labels available separately.
I heard you have oak barrels in your shop. What is that all about?
We do indeed! Every year, as part of our "Fresh Grape" program, we get in tons of fresh grapes. We process them and age them in our oak barrels. However, we often allow customers to put their own batch into our oak barrels as well. For a modest $15, you can have your own wine oak barrel aged! We even have a smaller barrel that will hold two batches of wine. By popular demand, we've made that oak barrel available all year round.
What if I don't like oak? Can I get my wine customized to my taste?
Absolutely! We can customize the oak level in any wine. From no oak at all to a ton of smoky oak flavour, we've got you covered.
Do you make port and dessert wines?
We have a few different ports and dessert wines. We carry port and orange chocolate port seasonally. For dessert wines, we usually have a Vidal style ice wine. Great dessert drinks at a fraction of what you'd pay elsewhere! And don't forget to check with us occasionally; we bring in different things all the time.
What is the "Caribou Collection"?
We wanted to help some of our German white wines taste more like traditional German wines. So we take our premium German white wines and pump them up to transform them into our "Caribou Collection".
First, we use a custom German yeast to start the process off in the right direction. We also add elderflowers to our "Caribou Collection" Gewurztraminer and Piesporter wines to enhance the natural elderflower essence that comes from the grape.
Then, to keep it rolling, we add fresh juice to the wine after fermentation is done to add deeper flavour and depth to the finished wine. If you like German white wines, you simply can't do better than our "Caribou Collection"!
Why do you have rooms with special temperatures?
Yeast requires a certain temperature range to convert sugars into alcohol. Your wine ferments in our "warm room ". We keep it between 68 - 73 Fahrenheit to help the yeast convert the sugars. After your wine has fermented, we move it into cooler rooms. The cooler temperatures stop fermentation and allow us to age your wine gently. Cold aging really helps develop the flavours and character of your wine.
What are "Reward Points"? How do I use them?
Every batch of wine you make has a "point value". Every time you make a purchase, our computer automatically adds up your points. You can then trade your points for beer or wine merchandise. Good deal!
How do I clean my bottles at home?
Hot water is great. No soaps or detergents please. They can leave a film and make your wine taste funny.
