Frequently Asked Questions

Why make your own wine?

Because it's fun and it tastes great. More and more these days people want to know and understand what goes into the produce that they are bringing into their homes and putting into their bodies. You may have made your own pasta, your own wardrobes, but maybe not your own wine , yet.

Where do the Juices come from?

Our grape juice suppliers are one of the worlds largest consortium of grape juice purchasers. Just like Jacobs Creek and Ernst & Julio to name but a few, our suppliers go out each year attending all the juice/grape auctions bidding for the juices that eventually end up in our shop for you to make wine.

The only difference is that when our suppliers buy the juices, they don't make them into wine, but send them to us ready for you to come in and make your wine.

What is in a juice?

Grape juice – and depending on what wine you choose to make, that juice can come from anywhere in the world.

The juice will have been pasteurised before being sent to us. This happens to all juices that are being shipped or transported. If pasteurisation did not occur, the juice would start fermenting en route. This way the juice is ready to ferment when YOU want it to, and not before.

What is the difference between wine made by you at Grape Inventions and commercially made wine?

Very little. As you will see in our shop, we don't ferment in large oak barrels, but in glass jars, called demijohn's or carboys. We do oak your wines, but we use oak powders and or chips. These oak powders come from the same oak that the barrels would have been traditionally made from. We use either American oak or French oak depending on the wine. We use both toasted and un-toasted oak.

Large commercial wineries often ferment in big stainless steel vats these days and use oak staves and powders also.

You get the opportunity to design your own label, for your own private collection.

The most rewarding difference is that you get to see and understand everything that goes into your wine.

When was the last time you did that?

Who are our suppliers?

They are mainly from Canada, because the Canadians have been doing this very successfully for over 30 years now and really have it mastered. We are extremely satisfied with the quality of the ingredients they supply us with. So satisfied in fact that we sold our house and car to set up this business. Oh come on that must have brought a tear to your eye.

Our Canadian suppliers source the juice from vineyards around the world, transport them back to Canada, and prepare them just for you.

How long does it take to make wine?

About 30 minutes. However, our winemakers usually take part in a tasting session before they decide to make, and surprisingly this can take longer than the making!!! Its really important that you are happy with your choice of wine, so we spend some time with you trying different varieties.

“We allow about an hour and a half for the making part of the experience”

How long does it take to bottle my wine?

“The bottling takes about an hour. We get you to taste your wine before you bottle and after. We advise on storage and when best to drink your wine.

We also add the final touches to your labels at this time.”

How many bottles of wine do I make?

Our juices come in ready to make up approximately 24 bottles of wine. Which may initially seem a lot, but if you add up what you typically drink in a week, add the dinner parties that you either attend or throw, and the presents of wine that you give to people, you may, like Ian and I get a shock.

How many bottles of wine should I make?

Being wholly objective here, lots. The subtle point being that you drink more than you think, so you should make more than you think. (If it rhymes it must be good advice.Confuscious). Remember some of the wines you can drink young and fresh, whilst other you can leave down and mature.

How long should I wait before I drink my wine?

All the wine can be drunk as soon as it is bottled BUT, to get the best from your wine, we advise to leave it for at least six weeks to get over bottle shock. All wine gets a shock when transferred into bottles, and this shock masks and numbs some of the flavours and aromas. These come out of hiding after about six weeks.

If you could leave your wine in the bottle for 3 months, there will be an appreciable difference. We will advise you at the time, because much depends on the type of wine you make, for example our spring and summer juices like our rose's are drinkable almost straight away. And conversely some of the red wines you can make really deserve to be left a little longer, the rewards are enormous.

How long does the wine last?

Again we will advise you regarding the particular wine you have made, the wine you make at Grape Inventions can last many years, up to 10, but this is wholly dependant on your storage conditions. Some wines are meant to be drunk young, some can be drunk young but will vastly improve with ageing.

There are many more questions you will have, so keep an eye on this site as we will be constantly updating it, and it is not finished yet, or just give us a call. Better still come in and do some tasting.