Selection International – Winexpert – Seasonal Releases – Pre-Ordering Now – Before 1st December 2011

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Phil

The latest batch of WinExpert’s 2011 seasonal release programme is now ready for pre-order! We’re able to take deposits of £40 to secure your shipment of the latest mouth-watering premium 30-bottle kits released annually by WinExpert in their Selection International range. The varieties offered will suit the adventurous wine lover who wants to try unique varieties from up and coming wine regions across the world.

All the kits are shipped to order so you can only guarantee to get hold of them by pre-ordering during a very short time period. Between now and 30th November 2011 we are taking a small deposit for the kits, and these are available to secure online – just click through on one of the items below!

IMPORTANT We are unable to guarantee stock for orders placed after 1st December 2011. These kits are not normal items and although we will order a few of them for shop stock, they will only be available of a first come first served basis. So don’t miss out, place a deposit today.

Winexpert Limited Edition – Washington Meritage. £87.50

March 2012

The Region: The Red Mountain AVA is Washington’s smallest, at approximately 3,600 acres. Grape growing conditions are almost textbook perfect: slope, exposure, weather conditions, good air drainage, large day/night temperature swings, gravelly soil with high calcium carbonate content and high pH and the nearby Yakima River to moderate temperature extremes—there could hardly be more positive flavour influences to grapes grown here.

The Wine: A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot, this wine features great extract, deep colour and intense aromatics of dark berry fruit, cassis, peppery spice, cedar and smoke. The seductive nose of this wine foreshadows magnificent texture and flavour, including dark berries, liquorice, vanilla and warm brown spices that glide across the palate. The texture and mouthfeel of the wine offers up silky tannins and a velvety smooth structure.

The Food: Marinated & Grilled Flank Steak with Blue Café De Paris Butter.

Ageing: The complexity and structure of this wine will require three to six months to unwind, and it will continue improving for several years. Due to the ripe tannins it will also benefit from decanting before serving

Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)

Winexpert Limited Edition – German Traminer Spätlese. £85.00

May 2012

The Region: Germany’s most famous growing region, the Mosel Valley, with its mineral-laden soils, produces some of the world’s finest off-dry wines. The sheer mountains and rugged steep slopes make the most of the northern sunshine, but they also mean that vineyard work must be done by hand, and yields are very low. This results in carefully crafted, very intensely flavoured wines.

The Wine: Traminer is the parent of the more familiar Gewürztraminer and Spätlese is a German wine term meaning ‘late harvest’, indicating a wine made from fully mature grapes that are picked at least 7 days after normal harvest, so they are riper and have higher sugar levels. This is a gently golden-coloured wine, unmistakable in its heady, aromatic intensity, with a pungent fragrance of lychee, tropical fruit and rose petals. Its flavours are ample, lusciously fruity and spicy.

The Food: Vanilla Bean Glazed Peach Cobbler

Ageing: The intense fruit character will be apparent immediately in this rich wine making it a tempting sipper right away, but the deeper floral characters of rose petal and lychee will become much more apparent after six months to a year.

Sweetness Code: 1 (off-dry)

Winexpert Limited Edition – South African Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon. £85.00 March 2012

The Region: Known as ‘Valley of Wine and Roses’, South Africa’s Robertson Valley has a very hot climate with minimal rainfall—less than a foot per year. Luckily the calcareous red clay loam and clay Karoo soils have excellent water holding capacity, and the gentle slopes and varied microclimates allow for precision planting to maximise grape quality.

The Wine: Sauvignon Blanc has wild, herbaceous flavours and tart, grapefruit-like character, which shows strongly in the young wine, while Sémillon has flavours of honeydew melon and sweet honey that take a bit longer to come out. Together the two grapes make a lush, balanced wine with great up-front fruit and a satisfying, rich finish.

The Food: Pan Roasted Digby Bay Scallop, Jewel Yam Purée, White Truffle Oil & Salsa Verdé.

Ageing: The citrus notes of the Sauvignon Blanc make this wine tempting to drink right away and after three months the Sémillon will rise up to give a mellower white wine. It will improve for at least a year, giving deeper flavours of melon and honey as it goes.

Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)

WinExpert Limited Edition – Spanish Matador Trio Red. £87.50

June 2012

The Region: From the green damp north to the arid south, Spain is the country with the most land under vine in the world. Mancha is Europe’s largest denominated wine region and its hot, dry growing conditions yield intensely flavoured red grapes.

The Wine: Tempranillo are deep blue-black berries, high in colour and extract, with delicate aromas. Cabernet Sauvignon’s small berries yield high tannins and intense structure, while Monastrell adds grip, earthiness and ripe red fruit. Lush, tannic and complex, with intense black fruit flavours of black cherry, raspberry, black currant and notes of plums and tobacco, the wine takes gracefully to oak, adding layers of vanilla, cedar and rich coffee nuances.

The Food: Mediterranean White Bean Salad, Marinated with Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano& Fine Herbs.

Ageing: With soft acidity and lush tannins, this wine is enjoyed after only three to six months, but the black fruits, cherry and plum notes will take six months to show well, and the vanilla/coffee nuances will show best after one year.

Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)

WinExpert Limited Edition – California Petite Sirah / Zinfandel. £87.50 April 2012

The Region: Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Amador County is sometimes called ‘California’s Piedmont’. With vineyards running from 250 to 2900 feet in elevation, and summer temperatures ranging from 80 to over 100 degrees F, the excellent growing conditions have encouraged diversified plantings.

The Wine: Grippingly tannic, bold and deeply coloured Petite Sirah complements the jamminess of Zinfandel, taming the abundant blueberries and blackberries with a hint of dark cherry and vanilla. Full-bodied with a lingering palate and peppery spice, this is a wine of unprecedented power and length.

The Food: Apple Cider Brined Thick-Cut BBQ Pork Chops.

Ageing: This is a wine that shows best with ageing. After one year the blackberries will come out, and at two years will tame the tannin’s grip, showing the black pepper and rich dark fruits.

Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)

Posted in News, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

The Westmorland Cider Press – from Aug 2011

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Paul

You will be soon able to purchase a fabulous Westmorland Cider press in the shop here at Brew2bottle, Northwich. We have a fine specimen in store that, given the quality of the build, the materials and the sheer beauty, might not be around for too long – has to be seen to be believed!

The Westmorland Cider Press

Westmorland Cider Presses

Traditional Design, Hand Built, Stunning

The Westmorland Cider press is hand-built in limited numbers from only the finest quality Oak and Steel. This traditional design has been honed and painstakingly improved - the quality of the engineering and components combining to deliver an efficient pressing with the minimal fuss. The basket has approx 12-15 litre capacity. The Westmorland Cider press uses finest quality finished Oak which needs no oiling, or any other treatment – for the most natural juice pressing!

The Finest Oak and Steel

Magnificent, Unique, Beautiful

Every One Unique

As all Westmorland Cider Presses are hand-built, whilst they are built to exacting standards and high-quality finish, no two are the same. The natural grain of the Oak gives an unique visual character to the every press, ages beautifully and possesses all the strength to deliver a fantastic pressing. The Westmorland is tough enough to keep going season after season.

Magnificent, Unique, Beautiful

At Brew2bottle we have been able to negotiate a £25 discount off the RRP (£375) for our customers, so you can buy at the shop for £350. Every year they are hand-built in very limited numbers, so grab one whilst you can and whilst the apple season is upon us. Drop us a line on 01606 359 137 for more information, or pop in to the shop.

You can check the latest directly on the shop site.

Due to the logistics of moving these around we might not be able to deliver these on our  usual service, so for now they are available through the website but at a delivery cost of £20, or please call to discuss any specific delivery requirement as we may be able deliver from the shop, or potentially from the Westmorland workshop up in Cumbria.

Cheers, Phil

Posted in Cider, Country Wines, News | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Fruit Pressing @ the Brew2bottle Shop From 1st August

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Phil

Some apples are ready early this year so the pressing days at the shop will begin a little sooner than planned.

Bring your fruit down to the shop and for £3 per hour* you can have the use of one of our presses. In order for you to get the best yield from your fruit you will need to break it down into a course pulp, you can do this at the shop as we will have a cutting table and pulpmaster for you to use. Please remember to bring your own knife, for fruit preparation and juice containers. If you don’t have a suitable juice container you can always purchase PET demijohn’s from us on the day (£2.59 each).

The equipment is available to use whenever the shop is open but you will need to book your slot in advance. To book please email, phone or pop into the shop and tell us when you would prefer to come and how long you would like to book the equipment for. For email bookings please can you include your name and a contact telephone number in your email.

*minimum 2 hours + you will need to buy a straining bag if you haven’t already got one, these are £4.99 each

 

Posted in Brewing Techniques, Cider, Country Wines, News, Wine | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Selection International – Seasonal Releases 2011 – Strictly Limited To Order End July 2011

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Phil

We’ve just received details of the varieties and prices of Winexperts 2011 seasonal release programme and we’d like to give you the chance to grab hold of these great kits in time for Christmas. This years line up builds on previous years but has a particularly unusual twist.

All the kits are made to order so you can only guarantee to get hold of them by pre-ordering during a very short time period. Between now and 30th July 2011 we are taking 50% deposits for the kits on the order forms in store supplied with this letter.

IMPORTANT We are unable to guarantee stock for orders placed after Saturday 30th July 2011.  These kits are not normal items and although we will order a few of them for shop stock, they will only be available of a first come first served basis.  So don’t miss out, place an order today.

Okanagan Peach Ice-wine – Limited Release

The Okanagan Valley lies in the rain shadow of British Columbia’s Coastal mountains. The region’s very low annual average rainfall means that part of the valley is a true desert! In this climate grapes ripen to perfect intensity, with notes of honey, apricot, and spice. Winexpert’s Okanagan Peach Icewine style has deep floral notes, stone fruit and perfect sweetness, balanced with the sun-ripened perfume of a luscious peach.
Food pairings: Can be enjoyed all on its own, it’s an excellent accompaniment to earthy or salty cheeses like Danish blue or Tilsit, or spicy snacks like tapas or flavourful Asian dishes.

Sweetness: Sweet | Body: Full | Oak Intensity: Medium

Chocolate Raspberry Port – Limited Release

Hugely popular last year, this wine is bursting with rich, intense flavours and aromas, has traditional Port character of warm, rounded cherry and plum, supported by a racy zing of bright raspberry. Perfumed and gently tart with luscious liquid chocolate, beguiling with dark, bittersweet aromas of coffee and vanilla. Toasty hints of oak guide the way to a long, rich finish. Excellent within three months, this wine will age gorgeously – if you can keep any that long!
Food pairings: Delicious on its own or with any dessert, or serve with toasted nuts or shortbread.

Sweetness: Med-Sweet | Body: Full | Oak Intensity: Medium

Blackberry Port – Limited Release

Selection International 2011 - Chocolate Raspberry PortNative to the Americas, Blackberries are bursting with intense fruit flavours. Often used to describe Cabernet Sauvignon, blackberry aromas are deep and richly fruity. This, along with lingering tannins and a gorgeous deep purple hue make it an excellent foil for the broad richness of Port. Bright berry notes lift up this wine, making it a superb foil for intense cheeses, roasted nuts and especially chocolate desserts.
Food pairings: Delicious on its own or with any dessert, or serve with toasted nuts or shortbread.

Sweetness: Med-Sweet | Body: Full | Oak Intensity: Medium

The Unusual Twist – Gamay Nouveau (Gah-MAY noo-VOH)

Like many wine regions of the world, Beaujolais in France has always made vin de l’année, a young wine to celebrate the end of harvest season. Fresh and juicy, these wines are a bold purple-pink colour and bursting with an amazing array of fruit aromas, while their low tannin levels make them extremely drinkable when young.

Made with Gamay grapes sourced directly from France’s Beaujolais region, Winexpert’s Gamay Nouveau is a departure from their usual wines, where its is recommended to wait three months or even longer to taste the first bottle. Gamay Nouveau is ready to enjoy on bottling day, and while it will improve for a year, its bursting fruit, joyfully hedonistic aromas and easy-drinking character will make it unlikely for any bottle to last that long.

Order before end July 2010 to avoid disappointment

These kits are only produced to order, so plan ahead for your Autumn and Christmas wine-making. Selection International limited editions are high quality fortified wines at around 16% abv, the kits make 15 x 750ml bottles.

Pricing

The prices and varieties for the Seasonal Releases are:

          Code                     Variety                                                        RRP  

          2592z                   Chocolate Raspberry Port                  £59.99

          2593z                   Blackberry Port                                       £59.99

          2589z                   Okanagan Peach Ice-wine                  £59.99

          2577                     Gamay Nouveau (Beaujolais)           £85.00

To order

Please drop us a line on 01606 359 137, or e-mail to sales at brew2bottle.co.uk, remember though we can only place the order with our suppliers if your order is placed before July 30th 2011 with a 50% deposit.

Cheers, Phil

Posted in News, Wine | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

New Product from Brew2bottle – Elderflower Champagne Kit

Posted on May 4, 2011 by elaine

Elderflower champagne is a great summer brew, very refreshing on warm days and very easy to make. The elderflowers will soon be blossoming across the countryside and towards the end of May/early June they will be at their best for picking. The recipe that is included in our kit requires you to pick 15 heads of blossom, in full bloom (avoid the off white/creamy ones they are over ripe) in order to produce 6 litres of champagne.

The sparkle is achieved by bottle conditioning ( a little residual yeast is left in the bottle, and priming sugar is added then the bottle is sealed) – this is a great way of introducing yourself to sparkling wine-making if you’re not familiar. It really is very easy, and the results are very satisfying.

Being a “sparkler” the bottles have to be capable of withstanding the pressure – so some pressure resistent PET screwtop bottles are essential. These are included in the kit, and are suitable for re-use on all of your future sparkling wine brews.

The kit contains:

  • 10 Litre food grade plastic bucket and lid
  • Muslin straining bag
  • 6 x 1 Litre PET ‘pressure’ bottles
  • Sterilising powder
  • Wine yeast and nutrient
  • Elderflower champagne recipe
  • Elderflower cordial recipe

All for just £11.99

We only have a limited number of these kits so get yours while you can!

Other useful equipment:

  • A second bucket or container for straining the champagne into
  • A mixing spoon – preferably plastic

The delicate, yet distinctive floral Elderflower taste is really well suited to a champagne style fizz that you’ll really enjoy. Once you have made, and drunk your champagne you can use your equipment to make the champagne from dried elderflowers or give the cordial recipe a go.

 

Posted in Country Wines, Equipment | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Solomon Grundy 7 day Wine Kits

Posted on April 14, 2011 by elaine

Here at Brew2bottle we have a range of wine kits that can be made in just 7 days (we also have the Cantina that can be made in 5 days).

Solomon Grundy kits start from £8.95 for a 6 bottle kit, we currently stock 6 fruit flavours – strawberry, elderflower, elderberry bilberry, peach, cherry. We also have a medium dry white, medium sweet white, medium dry red and a rose. Just sugar and water to add.

For wine making on a larger scale we have Solomon Grundy Gold 30 bottle kits. These are £23.99 and come in Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay styles.

We also stock the very popular Solomon Grundy Platinum, this is a sugar-inclusive 30 bottle kit for £31.50. This kit contains more grape concentrate than the gold kit, but still only takes 7 days to make. We have 5 different flavours: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Rose, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Even at the higher end of the range with the Platinum you get wine at just £1.05 per bottle, excellent for enjoying with friends and family, social gatherings, bbq’s etc all in just 7 days!

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

The Beaverdale Range at Brew2bottle

Posted on March 13, 2011 by elaine

Beaverdale Wine KitBeaverdale wine kits offer you the opportunity to make great value wine in the comfort of your own home.

Beaverdale kits have been around for over 20 years and in that time have grown to become one of the best value brands on the market.

With trial size (6 bottle) kits available you can explore the whole range at very low cots. When you find one that you love you can then buy in the larger 30 bottle kits which work out at just £1.50 per bottle. The larger kits actually produce a slightly better wine and this wine can be enjoyed straight away however, it will improve with age so if you can hide a few bottles away for 6 moths or so you will be in for a treat.

The Beaverdale range has everything for lovers of varietal wines, and also some of the more “regional” styles not tied to one particular grape. The reds are well represented with the varieties you’d expect: Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. Also check out the velvety blackcurrent of Pinot Noir, and the Chateau du Roi, which emulates the eminence and style of a Chateauneuf Du Pape. Italy is represented with a fine Barolo.

Lovers of whites are spoiled with choice of Chardonnay, Semillon/Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and a gem of a Pinot Grigio. Don’t miss the chardonnay-styled California white, and the charismatic Gewurtztraminer.

The process involved in making a Beaverdale wine kit is really simple and only takes around 4 weeks. Beaverdale also do an equipment starter kits which are £16.50  for the 6 bottle set or £32.95 for the 30 bottle set.

Beaverdale represents a perfect balance of uncompromised quality, at a price which enables the whole range to be brewed in large batches!

Beaverdale Shiraz | Beaverdale Merlot | Beaverdale Cabernet Sauvignon | Beaverdale Pinot Noir | Beaverdale Chateau du Roi | Beaverdale Barolo

Beaverdale Chardonnay | Beaverdale Semillon/Chardonnay | Beaverdale Sauvignon Blanc |Beaverdale  Pinot Grigio | Beaverdale California white | Beaverdale Gewurtztraminer

Posted in Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Free Delivery to Knutsford, Middlewich, Winsford, Appleton, Holmes Chapel and More!

Posted on February 11, 2011 by elaine

For orders over £20, we can deliver within a 7-mile radius of Northwich for free, using our own delivery drivers. This can be at a mutually convenient time such as evenings and weekends.

We will call you to arrange, after you have placed your order on the website. We can collect payment upon delivery, either cash, Card or cheque (with guarantee card). (NB on check out, select ‘Cheque’ as payment option, but don’t post it!). If you prefer to post a cheque then we will await clearance before desptaching the items. We are happy to deliver evenings and weekends subject to driver availability – you’ll never have to re-arrange a delivery again!

There is a map below that shows the approximate qualifying area for our delivery service – this will be an available option in your checkout. We cover Northwich, Middlewich, Winsford, Weaverham, Dutton, Antrobus, Comberbach, Great Budworth, Pickmere, Knutsford, Allostock, Holmes Chapel, Byley, Peover, Stretton, Cuddington, Sandiway, Little Budworth, and everywhere in-between!

Free Delivery Area

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Still Spirits Now Available at Brew2bottle

Posted on February 10, 2011 by elaine

As home distillation is illegal in the UK, the nearest you can get are these ranges of fermented high alcohol spirit kits and ingredients to produce the effect of quality liqueurs and spirits. All can be made at home using your usual wine making equipment, but great improvements can be made through the use of some extra purification equipment. If you have made wine at home before then this should be fairly straight forward for you, if you have not there is no need to panic because help and advice are available from the shop.

Still Spirits Turbo PackThe first thing you need to do is to buy a Still Spirits Triple Distilled Turbo System Pack and make it up as per the instructions with water and 7kg of Glucose Powder (Dextrose monohydrate if you want the scientific stuff!) and after fining, in about 8 days, you should have 23 litres of ‘spirit wash’….a very pure alcohol/water mix of around 15% abv. 

The three sachets contained within the Turbo System Pack can also be bought seperately along with other types of yeasts so that you can experiment and find your own prefered combination. 

Our New Zealand Cousins would then run this wash through a still (sometimes used as a water purifier in UK), to create a concentrated spirit of between 60% and 95% abv before dilution to 40% and onto the flavouring stage  Still Spirits Rum

Your next step is to choose your essence and correct base, to add flavour to your alcohol. A ‘base’ is a the mix of sweetener and thickener which imparts the most appropriate mouth feel and sweetness for the flavour you are creating. There are three types of base for the liqueurs A, B, or C (as noted on each flavour), one for the Cream liqueurs and one for the Schnapps.There are so many flavours to choose from! Each 50ml bottle of Spirit Flavour contains enough to produce 3 x 75ml bottles of alcohol or 2.25 litres. We are currently stocking 14 different spirit essences: Irish Whiskey, Tequila, Ouzo, Scotch Whiskey, Smokey Malt Whiskey, Vodka, Aussie Gold Rum, Rye Whiskey, Citrus Vodka, Jamaican Dark Rum, Southern Haze,  Dry Gin, Absinthe and French Brandy  at £2.95 each.

If you are a fan of Schnapps you can make any of the 10 Schnapps flavours that we have including Peach, Pineapple, Pear and Blackberry, each of these 50ml bottles will flavour 1.125 litres of base and cost £2.40.

We also stock 32 different liqueur flavours like the schnapps these make 1.125 litres when mixed with the correct amount of base and are £2.40 each. Some of the more popular flavours include Creme de Caco, Candy Shots, Amaretto, Coconut Rum Apricot Brandy, Cherry Brandy and  Sambuca.

Last but not least we have the cream liqueurs, these require a cream base and flavours include Irish Cream, Chocolate Cream and Caranilla Cream (a combination of Caramel and Vanilla) and are £2.40 for a 50ml bottle that will make 1.125 litres when combined with the correct amount of spirit wash.

For each flavour, the process is the same..choose the Style then the flavour and then the base before mixing them and leaving for a few days to complete the infusion.

A final thought….if you want an easy life, some people buy cheap vodka and flavour that….just be warned, the results can vary. An improvement can be made by passing the vodka through a carbon/ceramic filter (like the Essencia) which usually removes a large proportion of the flavour and/or colour to leave an almost pure spirit.

Posted in News, Spirit Style Brews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Apple Pressing Days Sept/Oct 2011

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Phil

It is always sad to see so many apple and pear crops being left to waste every autumn because we haven’t the facilities to use or store them.

Hopefully now that we have a press, Brew2bottle can help to change things so that more people will be encouraged to press and store/brew their crop so it can be enjoyed well after the season is over.

Later on in the year we will be holding some weekend pressing sessions at the shop where you can bring your fruit to the shop and use the pulper and press for a small charge per kilo, we will be on hand for those who have never used such equipment before and to help with some of the lifting etc.

If this is something that you may be interested in please drop us a line so that we can keep you up to date with further details.

Posted in Cider, Country Wines, News | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off