Process

Why make wine?

The Value

You can craft winery-quality wine for a fraction of what you would spend on similar store-bought wine.

It’s fun!

Socialize with other winemakers while you bottle your wine at one of our on-premise locations* or craft your wine at home with a group of friends.  You’ll meet new  people, share your passion and quickly realize why thishas been a popular pastime for decades.

 The Convenience

Have a cellar full of wine for every occasion and food pairing right at your fingertips.  No more last minute trips to the store!

Okay, so now you know why you should make wine, but how do you do it?

First, you need to decide if you will make the wine yourself at home, or at one of our retailers who offer on-site winemaking.  On-site winemaking is available in most Canadian provinces. If you live outside of a region that offers on-site winemaking, or if you’d like to have a more hands-on experience, you can make the wine at home.

If you are making it at a retailer, you’ll first select your wine – our retailers can recommend a great style based on what you already like to drink. The retailer will prepare your juice and you’ll sprinkle the yeast.  Over the next several weeks your retailer will carefully follow all of the necessary steps to create delicious wine. When your wine is complete, you’ll return to bottle it.  You can either bring your own bottles that are clean, or purchase new bottles at the store. After bottling you can apply your choice of bottle label (offered at the store, or from many online label retailers) and top it off with a coordinating shrink.

Alternatively, If you make your wine at home you’ll find that it’s easy and rewarding. You’ll need a bit of equipment, which is inexpensive and pays for itself after your first couple of batches. Many of our retailers offer starter kits with everything you need all in one box.  All of our kits come with step by step instructions and take only about 4 hours total over the course of a few weeks. The process can vary slightly from wine to wine, but generally there are 4 basic steps: Primary Fermentation, Secondary Fermentation, Stabilizing and Clearing and Bottling.

Experience craft winemaking for yourself and see why nearly 20 million bottles of Winexpert^TM wine is crafted each year.

 Wine Storage Tips

Here are some wine storage tips to ensure top quality wine:

Do:
Store your wine upright for the first 3 to 5 days.
After that, store your wine on its side in order to keep the cork moist.
Store your wine in a cool, dark place.
Your wine should be stored where the temperature is CONSISTENT… Bright light, movement, and temperature fluctuations can negatively affect the quality of your wine.

Do Not:
Do not constantly turn your wine. Red wines will sometimes dust (leave residue on the inside of the bottle). This is normal. Simply decant your wine.
Do not store your wine directly on a cement floor. Put a thick piece of wood under your wine storage boxes.
Do not store your wine on heated floors.

*on-premise winemaking not available in all areas