What Is It?

In-store winery services are known by various names: U-Vint, U-Brew, Brew-on-Premises, Brew-on-Site, etc.. Wine Kitz is a pioneer in bringing this exciting, innovative concept to the market, and we are proud to offer state-of-the-art winery services in our store.

This means that we provide state-of-the-art facilities for you to make wines of your choice in a controlled and clean environment:

• You need not purchase any equipment, and there are only a few simple steps involved.
• Your developing wine will be carefully stored and fermented in our temperature-controlled premises
• You will bottle and cork it yourself right in our store
• It’s fun, easy, and of course, affordable!

Read on for the full story!

The Process

On Day One, you will select the wine kit of your choice. We can help you select a wine kit style based on the type of commercial wine you enjoy (and at a reduced cost). See our FAQ’s section for more information.

When paying for your kit and the in-store winery fee, you will be asked to sign a bailment contract, which for legal purposes moves ownership of the soon-to-be wine from the store owner to you, and acknowledges that you are making wine for personal use only (not for resale).

You will then be directed to the preparation area within the winery, and the winemaking process will commence.

Store staff will pour the liquid content of the kit into a sanitized primary pail. To ensure you are legally making the wine, you will add the yeast and stir the contents, adding any extras such as oak chips, clarifying agents and other flavour enhancing ingredients.

Once mixed, we’ll attach a log card with pertinent information such as date started, wine type, contact information etc., and move it into the ‘in-progress’ section of the store with many other full pails and carboys.

Now, to wait!

You may now go home and wait for us to call you when it’s time for bottling (approximately 4-8 weeks, depending on kit type and store scheduling). During this time, your wine will progress through fermentation and clearing; store staff will perform many necessary tasks, which include hydrometer readings, several rackings (transfers), stabilizing, clearing and the final step of filtering the wine.

Of course you may bring your own bottles to re-use and enjoy the use of our automatic bottle washer/sterilizer, or you may purchase bottles in-store.

Bottling is fun and easy with our automatic bottle fillers and corkers. You may finish the bottles with labels and matching shrink tops if you choose. Note we also have beautiful personalized bottle labels for a nominal cost.

A few legal points:

• Winemakers must be of legal drinking age to use in-store winery services.

• Wine sampling prior to purchase is not permitted.

• Wine sampling prior to bottling (the day of) is limited to 170ml (five ounces) per batch by the winemaker whose name appears on the contract.

• Winemaker’s assistants must be of legal drinking age.

Getting Married? Congratulations!

We know weddings are expensive, and we can help! Whether for showers, wedding wines or favours, crafting your own wine is the perfect solution (tip: we even have luscious dessert wines that are perfect for favours or after-dinner sipping).

You can finish your wines with custom labels made just for the occasion, and it’s far more affordable than buying wine – about half the price of retail, sometimes less!

Love a certain commercial wine? Need advice on what you think will be appropriate for your guests? Just ask! We have all the advice you need, and can put together a package for your wedding or shower.

Note that bottling, corking and labelling your wine/s is a fun thing to do with your wedding party!

SPECIAL OCCASIONS

Like weddings and showers, many special occasions are made more affordable, and especially personal, with wines you have crafted yourself. Choose a wine or wines you and your guests or friends will enjoy, and we’ll help you get through the process ~ it’s fun and easy.

Add some custom labels and matching shrinks and you have the perfect answer to your wine needs. This is also a great idea as gifts for Christmas, etc. – we have some lovely personalized Christmas and winter labels, as well as a variety of beautiful, customizable labels to suit all occasions.

Not sure how much to make?

In general, we advise you to plan for 2-3 glasses per guest. Each package makes 23L (30 x 750ml bottles or 60 x 375ml bottles), which is enough for about 45 guests. The following may help you determine number of packages to consider:

1 – 45 guests = 1 package
46 – 90 guests = 2 packages
91 – 135 guests = 3 packages
136 – 180 guests = 4 packages