Limited Release kits are exclusive and available in limited quantities. This line-up looks fantastic, and with Cellar Craft quality they are sure to be memorable, special wines. Details below.

See in store, call us or email us to reserve yours!

Bella Sonoma Vineyard PINOT NOIR – Sonoma Coast, California

18 liter format with Sonoma Coast, virgin, crushed grapes

January 2012 Release

The Sonoma Coast is California’s “hottest” Pinot Noir region because it is California’s coolest temperature wine region where soils are generally demanding with high rock, gravel and clay content. These conditions result in low crop yields and wines which are concentrated, complex and elegant with ageing and attracting a rush of new plantings within the region.

The Bella Sonoma Vineyard in the south-west part of the region has rocky, shallow soil and was planted 15-16 years ago with a variety of Dijon clones. It is heavily influenced by marine fogs which flow freely inland though the Petaluma Gap keeping temperatures low for ideal flavour development.

This bright ruby-hued wine is medium-bodied with classic aromatics dominated by bright cherry, fresh raspberry, elegant spice and subtle notes from medium toast Hungarian oak introduced post-fermentation.

The palate shows more cherry, a suggestion of black fruits and licorice with a balance of vibrant coastal acidity and fine tannins.

Sensory refinement and elegance will begin to develop after 12 months and should continue through the third or forth years of cellaring to become a very special Pinot.

With moderate tannins and bright coastal acidity the wine will compliment a wide range of foods – from white fish to beef steaks and most dishes in between. Classic pairings include coq au vin, duck, pheasant, rabbit, salmon, shellfish, and smoked foods. Of course, it is also the first choice as a red, social sipper for your special guests.
Don’t fuss it – just serve it!

Erickson Farm NEBBIOLO – Madera, Calif.

The Barolo varietal with a 2 liter, virgin crushed grape pack

February 2012 Release

The Nebbiolo grape is most famous for being the primary varietal in Italian Barolo and Barbaresco wines. It has also been slowly making inroads in California vineyards.

We have been running trials with Nebbiolo grapes from Erickson Farm in Madera, California for nearly a year and are pleased to now offer you the chance to discover Nebbiolo in our take on an American-style Barolo in this year’s Limited Release program.

The wine that we present captures the classic profile of Barolo and Barbaresco. It is indeed a very BIG wine with deep, brooding red colour, dense and traditional in style with highly extracted ripe fruit, dark spice, tobacco notes, high alcohol and very pointed tannins that give a sense of power and majesty.

The secret that enabled us to achieve this lofty profile was found when we introduced some rich Syrah juice from Rattlesnake Valley Vineyard in Yakima Valley, Washington into the main bladder and blended Yakima Syrah skins with the Nebbiolo skins into the crushed grape pack. Fermentation on robust crushed grapes seems to be essential to make this blend achieve the levels of intensity that is found in Barolos.

The assertive tannins do demand that this wine be aged at least a year (most Italian Barolo or Barbaresco wines require 5-10 or more years before they are considered approachable) but the rewards for patience are high.

After a year the cherry fruit aromas and flavours begin to show balanced integration with the spice notes, the 2- stage Hungarian oaks, the maturing tannins and the elevated alcohol level. Further ageing will pay further rewards but the wine does retain its signature chewy, dry texture.

This BIG wine demands big foods as pairings. Think game meats (venison, duck, and pheasant), braised beef and lamb, cured meats, truffles and mushrooms, heavy tomato-sauced pasta, rich risottos or break the bank and serve with foiegras. Appropriate cheeses would include Pecorino Romano and a favourite blue cheese.

Lake County, Calif. , Yakima Valley, Wash. SAUVIGNON BLANC / SEMILLON / CHARDONNAY – A New World Take On French Standards

March 2012 Release

This wine without borders looks to 3 grapes originally from 3 French areas – Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Loire Valley and uniquely blends them together in a new world fashion. The result is fabulous wine that still cannot be produced in their most important French Homelands.

Our exclusive blend is 37% Sauvignon Blanc from Lake County California; 35% California Semillon and 28% Chardonnay from California and Yakima Valley, Wash.

Sauvignon Blanc from cooler climate Lake County establishes a base with gooseberry, citrus and grassy notes amid a bright framework.

Semillon adds lushness, softness and fullness to the mouth feel.

Chardonnay contributes apple, pear, melon and more structure.

A flavour Reserve of Chenin Blanc is included for recommended, but optional, use.
American toasted oak is included and is optional based upon personal preference. Our panel was evenly split.

This wine drinks well after 2 or 3 months and is best enjoyed with 18 months.

The wine is a great social sipper and cries out for goat cheese as appetizers or in salads. Pairs nicely with fish, scallop, chicken, pork, veal, pasta and vegetable dishes.

Serve lightly chilled.

Sunset Ridge Vineyard RED MOUNTAIN TRIO – (Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot)
With 2 liter virgin Red Mountain crushed grape pack

April 2012 Release

Each of these Red Mountain varieties has been offered in prior Limited Release offerings to great acclaim. Red Mountain Cabernet has been awarded more gold medals than any other Cabernet in recent competitions and both the Syrah and Merlot have shown similar success.

While Red Mountain Cabs, Syrahs and Merlots continue to receive acclaim as single varietal wines, Red Mountain has been developing an identity and solid reputation for unique blends combing all three, as we are doing with this offering.
This offering has been styled by our Washington supplier to mimic his most successful blend: 65% Cabernet; 35% Syrah and 15% Merlot… Both juices and skins will share these proportions.

Of particular note, the Syrah stock will include a combination of Cote Rotie and Hermitage clones which have proven to be particularly well suited to Red Mountain. The wine will be truly special and unique on several levels!

The wine will be of the highest quality stock available anywhere. The power of RM Cab with its black currant, unique notes of orange essence and notable minerality and chalk will drive the blend. Syrah will add brightness, black fruit and peppery spice while Merlot helps integrate and soften the whole for earlier approachability.

Two-stage Hungarian oak treatment will add its distinctive nuances and provide the structure upon which the fruit will be built.

To say that we are excited to be able to offer this wine is an understatement.

Cellar at least a year and up to 3 or 4.

Food pairings include your favourite beef, lamb, game and pork dishes as well as hearty pastas, fowl, pizza or wherever you would be reaching for a red wine but want to make the meal more special.

Spring 2011
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What’s New at Markham Heritage Wines:

Heritage Cellars Four Week Wine Kits: Our in-house brand. We’ve added three exciting new wine styles to our in-house brand lineup – Muscat, Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer. Regular price $122.00 complete, great value!

Heritage Cellars Elite Fruit Wines:
As above, certified contents will guarantee you the best fruit/grape wine you have ever made. Available in Cranberry Shiraz and Raspberry Pinot Noir. More varieties coming soon. Price $122.00 to make 23 litres (30 bottles). Perfect for Summer!

Heritage Cellars Elite: Without a doubt, the best quality wine kit we offer!! The only wine kit certified by the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) for production in commercial wineries in the States. 100% California varietal. No sugar or filler grape added. Available in Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot. Priced at $219.00 complete with our exclusive grape CrushPack for an unforgettable winemaking experience. Many more varieties arriving as they become available.

. . .

Bring A Friend
Don’t forget our ongoing ‘Introduce A Friend To Winemaking’ promotion. Simply bring us a new customer and we will reward you with a batch of wine equal in value to the new purchase. You only have to pay the handling and taxes fee of $51.00! And remember, ALL new customers receive FREE BOTTLES for their first batch!

. . .

New Bag-In-A-Box Packaging

Now up and running, this easy to use storage/serving concept gives you the equivalent of 30 bottles of wine in 3 easy to handle bladders. Simply place the bladder in the convenient plastic holder and presto! Your wine on tap! Price at $19.95, the system comes with a sturdy plastic container and three bags with convenient taps. Bags are reusable. Just rinse well and store in your freezer until you are ready to bottle your next batch. Bring them with you and we will sterilize each and you are ready to fill.

. . .

Plastic Wine Bottle Carrier

These popular 6 bottle carriers/holders make loading and unloading your wine so much easier. Stackable, heavy duty black polyethylene, on sale at $7.99. Regular price $11.99. On sale until June 15.

. . .

Purified Water

If you buy filtered water we now offer this refill service at our store. Water goes through reverse osmosis, fine filtering and finally a UV process. This is NOT distilled water, which has been showing up in supermarkets in larger sizes recently.

*First fill is free.* With a wine purchase from us a fill is discounted to $2.00 and regular price is $3.00.

. . .

CrushPack Grape Skins

Our CrushPack has been an overwhelming success. Whether added to whites to produce a great blush or to our great reds, this inexpensive addition to your wine is well worth the cost in improved taste and nose. Pack contains hand sorted California Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.

Price $12.99.

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Summer Hours

Please note we will be closed the following Saturdays: May 21st, July 2nd, July 30th. and September 3rd. for the long weekends. Normal Saturday hours 10 till 2 until September. Tuesdays through Friday, 10 till 6.

We hope you all enjoy the long awaited warm weather. Please do not hesitate to call us for any of your winemaking needs.

~ John, Mike and Shauna

As those of you who are on our e-mailing list will already know, Markham Heritage Wines has just introduced a fantastic NEW Pricing Policy. Please see below for details, and we look forward to seeing you in store soon as you take advantage of the great savings!

Effective Friday, January 07, 2010, we are introducing a new discounting policy. Very simple and a great saving for you and a great opportunity to keep your wine cellar full.

How it Works:

When you choose to put on another wine during your bottling visit you will be given the following discounts:

Buy 1 wine          $10.00 off invoice!
Buy 2 wines       $25.00 off invoice!
Buy 3 wines       $50.00 off invoice!

Notes: This pricing is available only on regular prices. If a wine is on sale you will automatically get the lower of the discounted or the sale price.

**P.S. Don’t forget our ‘Introduce a Friend’ plan! Simply bring in a new winemaker (sorry, no spouses) and we will give you a FREE BATCH equal to the value of the new customer’s pick. All we ask is that you pay the $51.00 fixed handling fee which also takes care of the corks, capsules, lables and taxes. On top of that, the new winemaker will get free bottles for their first batch!**

We are happy to be able to offer you, our valued customers, this great pricing plan and hope to see you soon.

John, Mike and Shauna

Dear Friends:

One of the great pleasures of being in Markham is the chance to renew acquaintances with the many customers and friends we have made over the years and we really appreciate the new customers coming in as a result of your kind words. Thanks again. We are also delighted to discover how active many of our customers are in the Markham/Stouffville and Ballantrae community affairs.

Bring us Your Extra Wine Bottles

Two fine ladies, Patricia Conlon and Linda Signorell were in last week bottling their wines and asked if we had any used wine bottles they could have. Seems they take all they can get to the beer or liquor store and any money they receive goes to supporting an orphanage in Bouda, which is 20 miles outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. These orphanages take abandoned children off the street and need all the support they can get, so if any of you have extra bottles you would like to donate to the cause please bring them in and we will act as a depot for Patricia and Linda. Well done!

ReCork

ReCork is a Portugese organization dedicated to the preservation of their cork industry. It takes many years for a tree to grow a healthy cork layer after stripping, which is stressful to the plant. ReCORK is an organization collecting used corks from around the world and reprocessing them into many cork-based consumer goods. So…start saving your used corks and bring them in. We will have a collection bin shortly along with information pamphlets. For more information, go to http://recork.org.

Swan Lake in Markham

A special hello to our many customers from Swan Lake. After checking all the activities available on their website, it is amazing they find the time to come in and make their wine but we are very happy they do!

Markham Little Theatre

Still going strong after 45 years, many of our winemakers are members of this Markham/Unionville favourite. Please pick up one of their pamphlets at our counter and treat yourself to professional quality productions. www.markhamlittletheatre.com

Other Notes:

HST

You will be pleased to learn that the HST will have no effect on current prices. After much coding and testing, it turns out to be a four cent difference.

How To Remove a Cork Without a Corkscrew

Interesting video. We tried it against a telephone book and in a shoe and it really works!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq7DBjCzSuE

Have a Safe and Happy Summer!

The most familiar phrase we have heard over the last few weeks is “See you in the fall!”
We hope everyone has a fabulous Summer and especially hope you enjoy your great wines. We look forward to serving you when you come in next!

~ John, Mike, Shauna and the other Mike

If you are like most Markham Heritage Wines customers, you know of someone who is interested in joining you in making fabulous wines…especially after they try yours! We’d like to reward you for introducing a new customer, and give them a little incentive too.

How It Works

Bring in a new customer and we will extend any sale prices, and also provide free wine bottles for their first batch – a $30 VALUE!

NEW!

To say thank you to YOU, our valued customer, choose any wine kit of equal or lesser value than the one your friend put on (must be same day) and receive it FREE!*

*You pay only the in-store winery fee of $50…that’s well OVER $100 IN SAVINGS!

♦

Personal Alcohol Tester

A popular item at most locations where liquor is served or simply to carry in your car for use if in doubt.

The BREATHALYZER ALCO-TUBE PLUS is a small personal single usage breathalyzer (breath alcohol tester) that will tell you if your alcohol level is superior to the legal limit. It’s an inexpensive breath test, you can use on many occasions. Within 2 minutes, you obtain a precise result. Use it whenever there is an event where alcohol beverages are served.

High-performance device – $5.99 each

Small and discreet, it measures only 4 inches long and it has a diameter similar to a pencil. It glides easily in your pocket or a handbag.

Precise, with any error margin of only ± 2%.

Reliable, easy to use. The time required to breath out is indicated with the colour change of an indicator located on the tube. If it turns from red to white, you have blown long enough.

Result is obtained in only two minutes. Shelf life equivalent to 18 months.

♦

Home Winemakers

For winemakers who prefer making their own wines at home we carry complete equipment kits and we are glad to loan you one of our floor corkers and pressure filters.

♦

Stay in the Loop

This April we sent out notice of two overstocked wines that we discounted to get them out the door. They sold out in 3 days! If you are interested in getting these emails, please join our Newsletter Email, and please also feel free to submit your comments and ideas.

Till next time, Salut!

~John and Mike Arthurs

We received a huge order of great wine kits last week and intend to maintain a great selection at all times. We can also ‘special order’ any wine for you not normally carried. Delivery is generally 2 days. 

Our automatic bottle washer is now operating as intended. Once more, remember, if you are a male, always take a quick gander at the installation instructions before starting any new project. Everyone is welcome to use the washer, which will wash and sterilize 30 bottles in just 3 minutes. Outside labels are unaffected as only the inside is cleaned. We suggest a quick rinse of each bottle after emptying to make washing more efficient. 

We have 3 handy two level carts you can use to move your bottles to and from the winery with 2 more carts on order. These save a lot of the backbreaking lifting involved. 

For those customers who purchase bottled water in the 19 liter polycarbonate bottles, we will be installing our own dispenser in the next few weeks and will offer the cheapest refill York Region. We will also be retailing home, under the counter filters and Reverse Osmosis systems as soon as we do a bit more remodelling. 

It was a surprise seeing so many familiar faces once again. After 40 years in the business we’ve met a lot of great winemakers and hope to meet many more. 

All the Best, 

John, Mike and Shauna Arthurs 

**SPECIAL FOR NEW CUSTOMERS**

FREE Wine Bottles with First Batch!

A $25 VALUE

Please allow us to introduce ourselves…

In 1968 we opened Ontario’s first winemaking supply store, Wine-Art, catering to winemakers seeking quality supplies for making wine at home. The business grew over the years into the world’s largest manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer supplying discriminating wine and beer makers around the world.

In 1987, we developed the first 4 week wine kit, meeting a growing demand for a quick fermenting, kit type product that could be made in a home or apartment. In a few short years, Wine-Art customers were making over 8 million bottles of great wine annually.

The business continued to grow and eventually merged with Wine Kitz to form the largest chain of retail winemaking shops in the world.

Now, after a short retirement, we are back in business, ready to bring Markham/Stouffville and York Region a whole new experience in making your own wine. Whether you are looking to make your wine at home or at our fully equipped wine shop, we are ready with answers to any questions you may have. Our offerings from around the world can satisfy your requirements for good quality table wine to the very finest wines suitable for special occasions and for long term cellaring.

Please drop in and say hello!

We’ve made some changes and will continue to improve your winemaking experience over the next little while. We’ve installed an automatic bottle washer and will be installing a reverse osmosis bottled water system, offering the cheapest 5 gallon refill anywhere.