Winemaking FAQ

Yes!! Wine made in-store or at home can now be served at family events in Saskatchewan!

You are required to have a Special Occasion Permit from SLGA and you cannot charge guests for this wine.

The same rules apply to other small family events including reunions, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

Prices range from $6 – $9 per bottle for red, white and blush/rose. Fruit wines (like a wine cooler)  are $5.35 per bottle. This price includes corks, colorful shrink caps and a basic label. You can bring your own custom labels if you choose.

Contact the store for more info. 306-955-4455, info@wine4you.ca

Each bottle yields about four 6oz glasses of wine. A common guide is to have ½ of a bottle per person. Some guests will drink more than 2 glasses and some will drink less. The amount of wine required also depends on if there will be wine bottles on each table, this can increase the amount of wine needed.

Any leftover wine is great for extra house guests, at planning and rehearsal events, as a thank you for special helpers, and to enjoy after the wedding.

We are so excited to finally be able to offer this service to you and we will be with you every step of the way, helping with all of the details.

Your first visit will take about 15 minutes. This includes choosing the wine, paying for the kit and winemaking service fee, and adding the yeast to start the wine process. No appointment or scheduled time is needed for this step.

The wines take 4, 6, or 8 weeks to be completed depending on the wine you choose.

Typically it’s a 50/50 split of red and white wine, with many people also including a blush or fruit wine, depending on the time of year. We are always happy to recommend our favourite wine kits, but in the end, it’s up to you!  

One detail you do always need to consider is how much time the different kits take to make.  Don’t get caught without enough time to finish the wine before the wedding! 

Don’t worry – we will be there to help you with your wine choice. We have tasted all our wines and can narrow down your options by asking some easy questions, based on your tastes, preference and budget.

You do not need an appointment to visit the store, purchase your wine, or start the winemaking process.  

You do need an appointment to bottle your wine once it’s ready. 

Most wine kits make 30-750 ml bottles. You can use any size bottle. Bring/buy enough bottles to hold 23L of wine. Dessert wines make 15-750 ml bottles or 30-375 ml bottles.

Absolutely! We have 4L bags available that hold 5 bottles of wine. You can bag the entire kit or just some of it. Wine ages faster in a bag and should be consumed within 6-8 months. We also have boxes to hold the wine bags, cardboard or plastic.

Sorry. Under the terms of our liquor permit we are not allowed to provide samples before you purchase the wine. We do our best to understand your tastes, preference and budget in helping choose the best wine for you.

Yes – we believe it is better!

The wines take 4, 6, or 8 weeks to be completed depending on the wine you choose. We will call or email to let you know your wine is ready to bottle.

No – we will take care of your wine, monitoring, transferring, filtering, etc. everything that is needed to make a great wine for you.

For sure! Just make sure they are clean and free of any debris, mice, spiders or mold. Check for cracks, and chipped necks. Bring your bottles to your bottling appointment.

Our winemaking service fee includes corks, colourful shrink tops for the bottles, and a basic label for the type of wine. Bottles and bags are not included. Government regulation requires the winemaking service fee and the wine kit to be paid for at the start of the process. Each wine kit made in our store requires a winemaking fee of $71 + tax.

Leave bottles standing upright for two to five days.  This allows the cork to expand and properly seal.  After that, lay bottles on their sides.  This keeps the cork moist so it won’t dry out.  You can just tip the boxes over also.  Don’t stack more than two boxes high. See the question about storing the wine for long term storage advice.

Although the wine is very drinkable at bottling time, it will continue to change if allowed to further mature.  Allow your wine time to age to reach its potential.  This means leaving it alone for a little while!! With time, your wine will soften and mellow and the flavours will improve. 6 and 8 week wines should ideally age for several months. 4 week wines will also improve after a month or so. Fruit wine kits are ready to consume after bottling. This is a very personal preference so it is hard to give a definite answer. Try the wine as soon as you want and at regular intervals.

Even two weeks after bottling, the wine will taste better.  The bottling process agitates the wine causing what is called bottle shock.

4 week kits will generally last 12-16 months after completion, 6 to 8 week kits average 2 years. Red wines will typically last longer than whites. Storage is very important and can affect the life span of the wine.

Ideally, wine should be stored in a dark, humid, cool place (12-15°C, or 50-60°F) with little temperature fluctuations and no movement. Bottles are best stored on their side to keep the cork moist.

Your refrigerator is not an ideal place to store wine long term as it is too cool, too dry and has vibration. Opened wines with a proper seal on them can last longer when refrigerated.

Yes you can make your own label. Bring the labels with you at bottling time. There are several on-line sites where you can order labels, or print your own at home.

We carry most of the equipment and supplies for your home wine making needs.

Clean your wine bottles as soon as they are empty, rinse well, place upside down in your sink to dry, then store upside down in the box.  Return to Wine 4 You to bottle your next batch of wine! For stubbornly dirty bottles soak the bottle in hot water, use a bottle brush, or purchase a cleaner from us.

We don’t recommend dishwasher cleaning or sterilizing. Placing the bottles upside down in the dishwasher will not guarantee sufficient water/detergent inside the bottle to thoroughly clean the bottle.

We do not provide custom labels at this time, but you’re more than welcome to bring in your own custom labels when bottling your wine.

The labels we supply at Wine 4 You should peel off relatively easy. If they don’t, first try filling the bottle with hot water and allow to stand. You may have to scrape the label off with a knife or steel wool, or an abrasive pad. We don’t know of any magic solution for removing labels from commercial bottles, scraping, soaking, Goo Gone, and elbow grease might work.

It is impossible to make a sulfite-free wine, because wine yeasts make sulfites themselves during fermentation. Wines with no added sulfite contain from 6 to 40 ppm of sulfite, according to most experts.  Without added sulfites, the kit will oxidize and spoil very rapidly. Sulphites have anti-microbial and antioxidant properties.

Also, if the sulfite is left out, but the sorbate is added, the wine will be attacked by lactic bacteria. These bacteria will convert the sorbate into the compound hexadienol, which smells like rotting geraniums and dead fish.

Decanting is simply pouring the wine into another container. Aerating is exposing wine to air. Both methods allow the wine to ‘breathe’ before drinking. This helps a young, more harsh, wine to mellow and soften.  Simply opening the bottle 15 minutes or more before consuming will help aerate the wine. You can also pour the wine through an aerator. Pouring the wine slowly into a decanter container will also allow any sediment to be left behind.

Sediment is harmless (it is the organic content of the grape), something that occurs naturally in all wine as it ages. As the wine ages, pigment and tannin get together get together to form a chain and become so heavy that, eventually, they fall out of the wine as sediment. However, if there is a lot of sediment and the wine has a cloudy appearance, it might indicate the wine has spoiled. Giving the wine a sniff and a quick taste will help you determine whether or not a wine has spoiled.

Although crystals on your cork or “gunk” in your wine are unattractive, it doesn’t mean the wine is bad. Sea salt like crystals on the cork of your wine or in the bottle are actually potassium tartrate crystals, a by-product of the natural tartaric acid in wine grapes. These crystals are innocent and harmless and will not affect the taste of your wine. Decant or pour slowly, or pour through an aerator with a filter.

Your wine may just need to be stored and aged for a longer period to allow the tannins to soften. Is it just one bottle or all the bottles? Single bottles may mean there was contamination in that bottle. Occasionally, production issues or off-quality kits can cause the wine to be ‘off’. Bring us in a bottle to try and we will replace your wine or refund your money. Life is too short to have bad wine. We want you to have a wine you are proud to share with your friends and family.