As we approached our 20th Anniversary we wanted to do something different to celebrate with our customers. Yes- we have fantastic offers until the end of April and yes we have a special Sales event each weekend. This past weekend’s Door Crasher Sale was a huge success as customers lined up to get the 3 Door Crasher wine kits (saving up to $20 a kit!) and this weekend’s Spin to Win with more than $4000 in prizes to be given away is sure to be just as popular! And then we have the Take Home an Estate event on Saturday April 23rd followed by our 20% Off Equipment Sale on April 30th. All very fun events that offer spectacular deals for our customers- But the question remained…

What can we do that’s different?

What is wine about if it’s not about celebrating, pairing with food and sharing with good people? The question was answered- We decided to offer a Winemakers Dinner!

If you’ve ever spent time in wine country (Niagara, Okanagan, Napa etc.)  many of the larger wineries have their own restaurants which offer Winemakers Dinners. Typically multi-course meals with each course paired with a specific wine to showcase the wine and the food. The dinner is hosted by the winery’s winemaker who explains why the courses and wines are paired.

What can make more sense than a winemakers dinner attended by winemakers and hosted by a winemaker?

Please join us on Wednesday April 20th for the Wine Sense 20th Anniversary Winemakers Dinner. Tim Vandergrift will guide you through a fabulous four course dinner featuring 5 wines at the Peasant Cookery. You’ll learn why the particular wines were chosen with each course and Tim will share his insights on the art of food and wine pairing. The Peasant Cookery is a wonderful French Bistro style restaurant and provides the perfect atmosphere for the wine experience.

We have an exciting menu and 5 great wines to go with it. It’s an evening about all things wine- good wine, good food and good people.

There are less than 20 tickets remaining so please contact your favourite Wine Sense Location as soon as possible to reserve your tickets. Tickets are $97 and include all taxes and gratuities for the evening.

Don’t Forget… If you spend $170 before taxes in April you get a Free $20 Wine Sense Gift Card so a purchase of two Winemakers Dinner tickets will be eligible for the Free Gift Card. If  you buy your tickets on Saturday April 16th you’ll also be eligible to Spin to Win! We have over $4000 in prizes and every spin wins!

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

Craig, Wine Sense

Filed under: Events, General by WineSense

Well as we can all see Old Man Winter still has a choke hold on us to the equivalent of a MMA Champion Fighter. He just doesn’t want to let go. But as all good athletes know- training for the next season starts NOW!

Sometimes to make a difference we may have to change things up, like where we train, how we train and who trains us! Well folks I’m here to give you some good news! Wine Sense has the best Trainer in their corner for YOU this spring and summer wine season. Some of you may remember him from last year so let me reintroduce you to our Summer Time Fun Trainer (STFT)… TIKI MAN. Yes he is back and he has brought some new strategies in the artform of Twisted Mist to help us fight for that summer time fun lifestyle that we all so long for.

“STFT” Tiki Man and the Twisted Mist crew have been training hard all over the world learning from the locals of exotic countries new techniques and developing new and exciting strategies to help us fight against those long hot summer days when the best thing is to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours with great new summertime wine cocktails!

Let me show you the art form of ”Twisted Mist” In round one ”STFT” Tiki Man will show us the well known favorites like “Mojito”

In round two he brings out the ever popular “Strawberry Margarita” – improved flavouring – a little less sweet but still as effective!

In round three he shows us a New style called “Lime Margarita” – Equally as effective as Strawberry” but with a refreshing Lime Twist to it.

And in the Knock out round four “STFT” Tiki Man has developed an absolutely new technique the “Strawberry/Lime Margarita Combo Pack” This will be the final move that will crown you CHAMPION of the Summer Time Fun Series!

These series of strategies will certainly guarantee you victory this summer and make you the envy of all your friends and family as you all gather to celebrate what we all know as the “Manitoba Summer!”

So fight hard my freinds and remember that ”STFT” Tiki Man and his whole training team here at Wine Sense are IN YOUR CORNER!

Know go out there and have some fun!

Note: Check out Tiki on facebook and follow his travels and learn from his philosophical musings: http://www.facebook.com/tikimann

Chhers,

Neil, Manager (WIne Sense- Brandon)

Filed under: General, New Products by WineSense

You know when they say that you should change the batteries in your fire alarms when we change our clocks each spring and fall, well I have another suggestion. It’s time to inspect some of your winemaking equipment. Example 1 would be that your Primary Pail is scratch free and stain free. Example 2 would be your Syphon Combo is nice and clear and the colour of clear plastic. 

My neighbour was concerned about his recent wines- I gave him some advice and left it at that. He recently knocked on my door to borrow my Syphon Combo as his was broken. He had his in his hand and the plastic tubing was about the colour of an orange and you could see red wine staining on it.

Wine residue on your equipment is not your friend!

I explained to him that his wine never had a chance- his dirty Syphon was contaminating his wine. Syphons are very difficult to clean- if yours looks dirty it may be time to replace it.

Cheers,

Bob, Manager (Wine Sense- Springfield Road)

Filed under: Equipment, General by WineSense

Barbeque season is around the corner and a modern, rustic wine is perfect with grilled steak! At our Wine Sense Limited Edition wine tastings this year we used Crasto Douro Red ($20) to represent our Limited Edition Douro Tinto. This wine is lovely. From an old Portuguese winery, combining the traditional winemaking with the modern skills of the winemaker.

Winexpert uses the same indigenous grapes, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz to create the well structured, solid, yet fruit forward earthy combination, in their Limited Edition Portuguese Douro Tinto. This wine has a rich and vibrant palate with soft lingering tannins.

Regardless of how you like your steak, well seasoned and rare or well done (overcooked), the Douro Tinto is my selection, glass in hand when I fire up the grill. Try it with Chourico (Portuguese sausage) and red pepper pizza, amazing casual wine – and Douro Tinto is almost sold out, call your favourite Wine Sense location to reserve yours.

Ciao!

Victor, Manager (Wine Sense- McPhillips Street)

*Remember always put 6 bottles away for longterm storage.

Filed under: General, Wine by WineSense