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GRAPES TO GLASS IN WINTER PARK, FLORIDA | |||||||
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Custom wine on your
time
By Nancy N. Glick | Special to the Sentinel
Posted August 14, 2005
Craig and Denise Karst have always enjoyed wine and decided several years ago to start making wine for themselves. They took a basic course and adopted the hobby of winemaking.
"After a while, it occurred to us that other people would probably have fun making wine too, so after researching the Internet, visiting other wine shops and learning the personal winery business by trial and error, we opened Grapes to Glass July 9 in Winter Park," Craig Karst said.
The wine industry has undergone a massive boom in recent years with the public becoming more educated about wine, its varieties and even its health benefits. "Besides the fun of making their own wine, customers can create personalized labels for the bottles or customize them for corporate gifts," Denise Karst said. "We have more than 170 designs." From vineyards throughout the world, Grapes to Glass imports 100 percent varietal juices, meaning the grapes are crushed into juice. Its inventory includes more than 57 white, red and specialty wines such as icewine, sherry and port.
After tasting and selecting the type of wine preferred, the customer is given a tour of the temperature-controlled winery room and shown how the process is started. The staff mixes the ingredients in a fermenting bucket. Then the customer has the opportunity to pitch in the yeast and put the lid on the fermenter. The staff controls fermentation, racking, stabilizing and filtering, and in about four to eight weeks, the wine is ready. The customer then oversees the bottling, corking and placement of the selected personalized label. The entire process is done on the premises, at 501 N. Orlando Ave.
The Karsts explained that a blend of only four basic ingredients is used, including the varietal juices, and reverse-osmosis water. Unlike commercial wines, minimal amounts of sulfites are used in the process, making it purer and preventing next-day headaches, common for many wine consumers.
Future plans include selling wine by the bottle, but customers will save by buying a batch, which consists of 28 bottles, or half a batch. Depending on the type of wine, prices range from $150 to $220 a batch. A wine exchange is available where customers can swap some bottles of their selected wine with other customers.
"You know, wine uses the senses of look, smell and taste and even sound with the click of the glass."
Wineries in Winter Park allow customers to
create their own blends and labels.
By Nancy N. Glick | Special to the Sentinel
Posted August 14, 2005
| PHOTOS |
Craig and Denise Karst have always enjoyed wine and decided several years ago to start making wine for themselves. They took a basic course and adopted the hobby of winemaking.
"After a while, it occurred to us that other people would probably have fun making wine too, so after researching the Internet, visiting other wine shops and learning the personal winery business by trial and error, we opened Grapes to Glass July 9 in Winter Park," Craig Karst said.
The wine industry has undergone a massive boom in recent years with the public becoming more educated about wine, its varieties and even its health benefits. "Besides the fun of making their own wine, customers can create personalized labels for the bottles or customize them for corporate gifts," Denise Karst said. "We have more than 170 designs." From vineyards throughout the world, Grapes to Glass imports 100 percent varietal juices, meaning the grapes are crushed into juice. Its inventory includes more than 57 white, red and specialty wines such as icewine, sherry and port.
After tasting and selecting the type of wine preferred, the customer is given a tour of the temperature-controlled winery room and shown how the process is started. The staff mixes the ingredients in a fermenting bucket. Then the customer has the opportunity to pitch in the yeast and put the lid on the fermenter. The staff controls fermentation, racking, stabilizing and filtering, and in about four to eight weeks, the wine is ready. The customer then oversees the bottling, corking and placement of the selected personalized label. The entire process is done on the premises, at 501 N. Orlando Ave.
The Karsts explained that a blend of only four basic ingredients is used, including the varietal juices, and reverse-osmosis water. Unlike commercial wines, minimal amounts of sulfites are used in the process, making it purer and preventing next-day headaches, common for many wine consumers.
Future plans include selling wine by the bottle, but customers will save by buying a batch, which consists of 28 bottles, or half a batch. Depending on the type of wine, prices range from $150 to $220 a batch. A wine exchange is available where customers can swap some bottles of their selected wine with other customers.
"You know, wine uses the senses of look, smell and taste and even sound with the click of the glass."
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