No vineyard? No problem! Creating excellent wine takes less effort than you might think

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How easy is it to make your own wine? It takes just two steps when you make it at Wine Excellence: adding the yeast and then, roughly four to eight weeks later, bottling the finished product. They take care of the rest.

Jennifer Jerrett and Brent Finn are the new owners at Wine Excellence and they’re inviting anyone interested in making their own wine to an open house on Saturday, February 25 to see what they’re all about and how much wine kits have evolved.

“Make-on-premise wine has evolved leaps and bounds from ten years ago,” says Jennifer. “The quality wasn’t very good. Now, they’re pulling grapes from actual regions and the kits are amazing. It’s quality wine.”

Like a bold Cabernet Sauvignon or a lighter Pinot Noir? You can make both. How about a dry Chardonnay or a sweeter Riesling? You can make those, too. A fruity summer wine? Yes. You can even blend varietals to make a wine that’s uniquely yours with the newest kit to arrive at Wine Excellence – Mivino.

While the quality of all the kits are good, there are differences in richness and flavour just as you’d find in the selection of wines at the liquor store.

No matter what kind of wine someone likes to drink, Brent suggests giving wine making a try. “They’ll find that it’s as comparable if not better. If you have a specific brand, bring that to us and we can try to match it with something similar.”

You get the satisfaction and fun of doing it yourself, the wines have fewer preservatives, and it tastes better when you do it yourself, I think.
Brent Finn, co-owner of Wine Excellence

And the price is an attractive feature – kits sell for $129-199 and make about 30 bottles of wine. That’s just four to eight dollars per bottle. With Mivino, if you choose not to blend kits together, you can make half as many bottles if 30 seems like to many to start with.

Wine making does require some patience, though. The wine from some kits will be ready to drink just four weeks after starting. Others take eight weeks from beginning to bottling and then should sit for another three to six months before you enjoy them.

So what’s going on between the time you add the yeast and when you stop in to bottle up the wine? Lots.

Adding yeast begins the fermentation process and from there the wine goes through a series of steps, checks and balances, including filtering, adding preservatives, and measuring alcohol content and sugar content. The wine is stored at a constant temperature until its ready to be bottled.

After tasting a small sample to ensure your wine is just right – more sugar can be added at that point if it’s not sweet enough – you transfer your wine to your own bottles. If you don’t have your own, you can get them at Wine Excellence. An automatic corker seals in the goodness and then you can add commercial or custom labels. Then all that’s left to do is enjoy it.

Wine making is popular – and cost effective – for big events like weddings, or anniversary and birthday celebrations, of course, or you can savour it at home with friends and family.

Jennifer Jerrett and Brent Finn can help you make wine that you’ll love

Jennifer and Brent bought the business because they wanted something they could grow to its full potential together. The pair dated in college before going separate ways. They reconnected via a dating site – where they were surprised to find each other – and went out on their first date in 25 years. The rest, as they say, is history. Brent moved here a year ago and now, with the new business, spends his days getting it up and running. Jennifer does the marketing and joins Brent in the store on Saturdays.

If you’re interested in learning more about wine making, join Jennifer and Brent at their Open House on Saturday, February 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. where you can sample Italian Pinot Grigio and Chilean Merlot juices and tour the operation. Watch for a wine tasting at Hillside Farm in May, too.