Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Regional Classics Italian Riserva Pinot Grigio

Italian Riserva Pinot GrigioThis Cellar Craft wine ingredient kit features a star variety from the Alto-Adige area in the far north of Italy. This medium-bodied wine features lively, fresh citrus notes and a subtle spiciness. Italian Riserva Pinot Grigio is usually enjoyed young but it may also be aged for several months.

BlueStem Winery is your complete source for both Cellar Craft kits and WinExpert wine ingredient kits along with all of the winemaking supplies and brewing equipment you need.

BlueStem stocks a very good selection of WinExpert kits and a growing inventory of kits for making wine from Cellar Craft. We feature our own line of beer ingredient kits (BlueStems Best) and have a full array of wine making equipment and homebrew supplies.

Relax! Have a home brew (or a glass of homemade wine!). Now is the perfect time to get started, to reinvigorate a hobby you have let go for awhile or to accelerate your production to meet the growing demands of your friends! Winemaking equipment and home brew supplies are in stock and ready to ship within 24 hours of your order. Our beer brewing supplies are fresh and our home brew equipment packages are just what you need for Christmas! Have a Happy Holiday season from BlueStem Winery.

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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Classic Port Specialty Dessert Wine

Cellar Craft Classic PortCellar Craft's Specialty Dessert Wine Classic Port, in the Portuguese tradition, is made from a blend of several grape varietals.

This wine exhibits intense fruit character and depth of flavor at bottling. Like any port, however, you will be rewarded if you can keep some bottles in the cellar for a year or two.

This kit produces up to 17.5% alcohol. Brandy may be added to elevate the alcohol even further and add to the true Port taste.

This Cellar Craft wine ingredient kit along with many others from both Cellar Craft and WinExpert kits are available both in our store and on our website. BlueStem Winery inventories a large number of WinExpert ingredient kits and will be expanding our line of Cellar Craft kits in the near future. Both Cellar Craft and WinExpert limited edition kits for 2008 are now available for pre-order on our website.

In addition to the WinExpert wine ingredient kits and the Cellar Craft kits, BlueStem Winery also carries a complete line of homebrewing supplies, home brew equipment, our own line of beer brewing ingredients kits (BlueStems Best), plus all of the winemaking supplies and wine making equipment needed by the home brewing or wine making enthusiast.

We specialize in personal, prompt, knowledgeable and friendly service for our purchasers of winemaking equipment and home brewing supplies. Stop by the store if possible! We love to visit with our friends about making wine and beer brewing!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Regional Classics Washington State White Merlot

Washington State White MerlotThis salmon colored Washington State White Merlot is one of the wines in Cellar Craft's Regional Classics white wine collection.

All the essence of a fine Merlot but with the freshness and softness that comes from juice which is quickly separated from the skins. Incredibly fruity! This is a blush wine you simply must try!

Are you interested in making really fine wine at home? BlueStem Winery has the winemaking equipment you need plus we stock a very large selection of WinExpert kits and Cellar Craft kits for your wine making enjoyment!

If you prefer to home brew, BlueStem also stocks a complete line of homebrewing supplies and home brew equipment. Beer brewing ingredients stocked include malts (grain, liquid and dry), yeast, hops and other additives.

Whether is its home brewing supplies, brewing ingredients or the stuff you need for making wine, we hope you will look to BlueStem Winery for your hobby needs.

Check out our latest How To article on our website on dealing with stuck fermentations.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Specialty Dessert Wine Porto Corinto

Porto CorintoOne of Cellar Craft International's Specialty Dessert Wine series is Porto Corinto (exclusive to Cellar Craft!).

This wine is a full-bodied, slightly oaked ruby port infused with the flavor of black currants. Intense, rich, and savory sweet! 16% alcohol.

This classic dessert wine can be enjoyed within two to three weeks of bottling but its best after a year! Cheers!

BlueStem Winery features several dessert wines including Porto Corinto and Classic Port from Cellar Craft and WinExpert's Selection Speciale Cabernet Franc Icewine, Cream Sherry, Port, Millennium Sparkling Wine, and Riesling Icewine.

Great customer service, prompt shipping, knowledgeable advice, homebrew supplies, wine making equipment and making wine are what is important at BlueStem Winery! Our customers are first . . . always! Our specialties are WinExpert wine ingredient kits, Cellar Craft ingredient kits, winemaking supplies, homebrewing equipment and home brew ingredients. We also dabble in Iowa soy products, antiques, Amish quilts, and gourmet foods (when we have time!).

Beer brewing supplies
are fully stocked for the amateur Zymergy enthusiast and our pantry is always full of WinExpert ingredient kits and winemaking equipment. If you are an amateur wine making enthusiast or an avid homebrew hobbyist please look to BlueStem for your hobby needs. Our web prices include shipping to your door anywhere in the lower 48 and we ship worldwide.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Regional Classics Washington Reserve Late Harvest Riesling

Washington Reserve Late Harvest RieslingMature grapes from Cherry Hill Vineyard in Washington provide the foundation for Cellar Craft Classics Washington Reserve Late Harvest Riesling.

Yours truly made this wine as one of the first ones tried when we started carrying the Cellar Craft line and it is absolutely delicious! No waiting! We started drinking this wine when it was very young and it was luscious right from the start!

Notes of honey, apple and apricot dominate the aroma and taste! A long rich finish makes this late harvest wine special. On a scale of zero to ten with zero being dry and ten being an ice wine, this wine would rate a six. Although we have been carrying the Cellar Craft line for only about four months we have customers coming back for seconds on this wine already! Delicious!

BlueStem Winery is a licensed and bonded Iowa winery making our own label BlueStem wines. In addition, we carry WinExpert wine ingredient kits and also Cellar Craft ingredient kits. Our shelves are stocked with a complete line of winemaking supplies and homebrewing equipment and we are always willing to take the time to teach you about wine making or beer brewing. Our ingredients are always fresh and our service is always knowledgeable, courteous and prompt.

Shipping of our wine making equipment and homebrew supplies is by either FedEx or the post office (based on package size and weight) and we try to ship within 24 hours of your purchase. If you have questions about our winemaking equipment or homebrewing supplies please do not hesitate to ask.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Regional Classics Italian Reserva Nebbiolo

Cellar Craft Regional Classics Italian Reserva NebbioloCellar Craft Regional Classics Italian Reserva Nebbiolo comes from Italy's most noble red grape. This grape comes from the central Piedmont area of Italy and is the grape of the great Barolos and Barbarescos.

Ruby in color with a soft and moderate body with suggestions of violets and raspberries. Accented by French oak, this wine benefits from aging for 12 months or more.

BlueStem Winery offers a large number of both WinExpert kits and Cellar Craft kits for the discerning home wine making enthusiast. Winemaking supplies and home brew equipment are featured parts of our business along with making wine varietals from all over the world.

Whether it is winemaking equipment, homebrew supplies or ingredients to put together your own recipe, BlueStem Winery has what you need and will deliver it promptly. We stock a complete line of homebrew equipment and home brewing supplies and are always at your service with friendly, knowledgeable service.

So, if you are shopping for brewing equipment, home brew supplies, beer brewing ingredient kits such as our own BlueStems Best, or a superior winemaking ingredients kit from either Cellar Craft or WinExpert we hope you give BlueStem Winery a try. Our website pricing includes shipping to anywhere in the lower 48.


Thursday, November 22, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Showcase Yakima Valley Pinot Gris

Cellar Craft Showcase Yakima Valley Pinot Gris provides notes of green apples and lemons against a floral and honey background. The flavor reserve package provided with each kit creates a rich mouth-feel with tangy fruit acid balanced by a hint of sweetness.

The wine's character become most apparent after several months of bottle aging and this wine should show well for up to 18 months.

A great choice to accompany dishes rich in butter and oil, garlic and spices. Serve just slightly chilled.

BlueStem Winery
features wine ingredient kits from both Cellar Craft and WinExpert. A fairly complete line of WinExpert wine ingredient kits features wines from their Vintners Reserve, Selection Premium (sometimes called Selection Original), Selection International, Selection Estate, Selection Speciale, World Vineyard, Island Mist and Selection Limited Edition series. We have just begun marketing the Cellar Craft ingredient kits and feature wines from their Showcase Collection, the Cellar Craft Classics premium 6-week line and from the Specialty Dessert Wine kits. More of the Cellar Craft ingredient kits will be added in the future for your home wine making enjoyment. WinExpert ingredient kits and Cellar Craft kits are among the industry leaders for superior quality wine ingredient kits for the home wine making enthusiast.

In addition to wine making supplies and winemaking ingredients, BlueStem Winery also offers a complete line of homebrewing supplies, homebrew ingredients and homebrew equipment. Our brewing ingredients include an ingredient kit line called BlueStems Best which are ingredient kits which are complete right down to the bottle caps.


Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Showcase Gewurztraminer-Riesling

One of our store favorites!! Peach and melon from the Riesling blend beautifully together with the spice, mango, and grapefruit of the Gewurztraminer in Cellar Craft Showcase Gewurztraminer-Riesling. Elegant with a hint of sweetness! Enjoy this wine young and fresh or cellar it for a more harmonious profile. Extremely food friendly!! Enjoy this one just slightly chilled.

BlueStem Winery is your retail source for both Cellar Craft kits and for WinExpert kits! BlueStem stocks a complete line of winemaking supplies and winemaking equipment and for our beer making clients we stock a complete line of homebrew supplies and brewing equipment, too.

Even though we are a licensed and bonded winery, home brew supplies and homebrew ingredients are stocked at the same inventory levels as our wine making equipment. Our beer making ingredient kits are our own BlueStems Best kits with over 20 different ingredient kits to choose from and more to come.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Showcase Cabernet-Merlot

Cellar Craft Showcase Walla Walla Cabernet-MerlotBare Ridge Vineyard in Walla Walla, Washington is the grape source for Cellar Craft Showcase Walla Walla Cabernet-Merlot. Walla Walla reds were what first put Washington on the world wine map. Washington reds are now grouped with world standard reds from Bordeaux, Napa and Sonoma. Walla Walla Cabernets and Merlots are consistently in the top ten of the finest wines from America.

This wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet and Merlot but it also typifies the unique Walla Walla profile of intense fruit and spice flavors and aromatics. Subtle currant, cherry and plum notes are backed by hints of black pepper, anise and coffee. The wine is oaked in a two-stage process using French and Hungarian oaks which very nicely mellows the tannins and adds jut a hint of toastiness.

BlueStem Winery features both Cellar Craft kits and WinExpert kits in their wine making product inventory. We also feature a complete line of winemaking supplies and brewing equipment in our Parkersburg, Iowa store.

Beer brewing supplies and winemaking equipment are available Wednesday through Saturday from 11-5 or Sunday Noon-4 at the storefront location or on BlueStem Winery's website 24/7.

Just got to have some homebrewing supplies or homebrew equipment and its Monday or Tuesday? Give us a call! We are usually in the store working with our wine or packaging internet sales. If we are in the store we are open for business!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Showcase Lodi Old Vines Zinfandel

Cellar Craft Showcase Lodi Old Vines ZinfandelDirect from Ferrero Vineyards in Lodi, California comes wonderful Cellar Craft Showcase Lodi Old Vines Zinfandel wine bursting with concentrated and complex flavors. Sandy, clay loam soil, hot days and cool nights combined with 35 year old vines produce this unique grape wine.

It starts up-front with aromas of blackberries and cherries. Blueberries, raspberries, cranberries and dried plums follow. Beneath this are hints of chocolate, almond and exotic spices. This all finishes with an unmistakable sensation of black pepper.

You can enjoy the first bottle of this wine when it is only two to three months old. The fruit flavors will dominate at this point in its life. Cellar some for months (or years) more to experience a more refined balance and complexity.

BlueStem Winery is your home for Cellar Craft ingredient kits. We feature this kit and many others with more to be added approximately May 1, 2008. Pre-order now to purchase this year's line-up of Cellar Craft Limited Editions. WinExpert Limited Edition kits are also posted on our website for pre-orders. BlueStem Winery features Cellar Craft kits and WinExpert ingredient kits for our wine making clients and BlueStem's Best ingredient kits for our home brewing customers. Our website features a complete line of home brew equipment, home brewing supplies, winemaking equipment and winemaking supplies. Our web store is open 24/7 and we promise prompt, friendly and knowledgeable service.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Showcase Viognier

Cellar Craft Showcase Yakima Valley ViognierMe either! The first time I saw this wine I had not a clue how to pronounce Viognier! The correct pronunciation is vee-yon yay. Now you know!

This is one of the Cellar Craft ingredient kits and is part of their Showcase collection. The grapes used for this wonderful white are from the Yakima Ridge Vineyard in the Yakima Valley of Washington.

Full-bodied and aromatic with a creamy mouth-feel, the unbelievable aromas and flavors of apricot, mango, pineapple, guava, kiwi, tangerine, orange blossoms and spiced pear dazzle your senses. The provided flavor reserve pack balances the grape's edge and creates a full, off-dry lingering finish.

If you drink it on its own, one glass will almost exhaust your palate. Pair it with spicy Asian foods and it is magic! Drink this one while it is young and don't over-chill it!

BlueStem Winery is your full-service source for both Cellar Craft kits and for WinExpert kits. Located in northeast Iowa, we are centrally located for shipment anywhere in the lower 48. We also ship homebrew equipment and winemaking supplies to Canada and to other international destinations. Winemaking ingredients and home brew supplies are our specialty! We are large enough to stock the items you need while small enough to take the time to help you.

Making wine is also part of who BlueStem is! We are a licensed and bonded winery with our own "Once in a Blue Moon" (a Riesling dessert wine) on the wine rack already and two more scheduled for very early 2008 ("Red Crescent" is a Cabernet Franc dessert wine and "Dark Side" is a dry Chilean Montepulciano). We will also be releasing Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner wines and a Gewurztraminer dessert wine in mid-2008 and a Zweigelt in early 2009 as these wines mature.

Wine making is a great hobby as is beer brewing! We have the Cellar Craft ingredient kits (or the WinExpert wine ingredient kits) you need and we also have a full line of homebrew supplies.

Don't know how? Not a problem! We will take the time to nurture you through the process (phone calls and e-mails are never a problem!). Cheers!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Featured Wine Ingredient Kit -- Cellar Craft Showcase Yakima Valley Syrah

Cellar Craft Showcase Yakima Valley SyrahCellar Craft Wine Ingredient Kit Showcase Yakima Valley Syrah is bold and lively and easily in a league with wines from the northern Rhone and southern Australia. Richly perfumed with a kiss of elegance.

Experience a blast of red and black fruits, chocolate, coffee and licorice followed by the black pepper spiciness of this Washington State Syrah. Two-stage oaking keeps the fruit in check and adds great structure.

A deep-purple wine which shows well after only three months, this Syrah benefits from extended aging. One or two years in the cellar will allow this wine to reach its full potential.

Homebrew supplies and homebrew equipment along with wine making equipment and winemaking supplies are specialties at BlueStem Winery. We feature both WinExpert wine ingredient kits and Cellar Craft kits for home winemaking and our own BlueStem's Best beer brewing ingredients kits including our very special Morrison Hill Pale Ale (a Sierra Nevada clone). At your service 24/7 on the web or stop by our store at 305 Third Street in Parkersburg, Iowa for all your home brew supplies, winemaking ingredients or even to purchase a bottle of BlueStem label wine. We feature knowledgeable and friendly service with prompt shipping of your website order.