Wine Kitz Atlantic

FRUIT WINES (MADE FROM KITS) Back in the 1990′s, fruit-flavoured wines were introduced to the consumer-made wine industry. Since that time, these products have taken a life of their own. The availability and quality of fruit wines have converted many store-bought wine cooler drinkers to successful winemakers. In some markets fruit wines have become the [...]

THE GOOD On Wednesday, March 25th, New Brunswick stakeholders in the consumer-made wine industry were invited by the Health & Safety department of the provincial government to attend a fact-finding meeting in Fredericton. The New Brunswick government is in the process of reviewing and overhauling their Liquor Act. This presents an opportunity for the inclusion [...]

Wine & Beermaking……A Recession-Proof Industry An Irish wake, a kitchen ceilidh, a Saturday night shin-dig…‘What are three good reasons to have a drink, Alex?’ Many industries have their own uniqueness or quirks. One of the home wine industry’s quirks is that the industry itself is recession proof in nature. No matter how tough and difficult [...]

I intentionally delayed my December blog in anticipation of the results of Ross’s Harrington’s December 9th court date with the Nova Scotia Provincial Government (see November blog for details). Unfortunately, December 9th was not our tell-all date as I first anticipated and mentioned in my previous blog. Other than sitting in on an hour or [...]

On Tuesday, December 9th, Ross Harrington, owner of the Wine Kitz location in Clayton Park, Halifax, NS, is scheduled to go to court to defend himself against the following charges: keeping liquor for sale; manufacture and keeping of liquor; and use of premise for storage of liquor. All three of these charges stem from Ross’ [...]

September 2008 As regional director for the Atlantic region and as a franchisee (store owner), I consider the announcement below a step forward in continuing to provide our loyal customers with the best possible products & services currently available in the consumer-made wine industry. This change of ownership will have very little impact on our [...]

August 2008 Due to holidays and time away, we’ll skip the news for this month. Let’s all enjoy the beautiful summer, and we’ll see you in September!

July 2008 Fresh Juice A long running misconception amongst winemakers is that all products sold in a large white plastic pail are fresh juice products. Truth be known, most products in plastic pails are not fresh juice. Many of these products are reconstituted. Water has been added to a concentrate on your behalf. The first [...]

May 2008 Q: Do 15L-18L wine kits make a better finished product? The short answer is a resounding yes……..but not in all cases. A large kit format does not automatically mean a superior product. Determining factors are the quality of raw material contained in these kits and of equal importance, the manufacturer’s processing standards. Quality [...]

APRIL 2008 Product Quality In last month’s blog I mentioned that one of the main reasons winemaking has increased in popularity is due to advancement in the quality and increased product selection. Most major Canadian kit manufacturers have access to commercial grade raw materials, and they source grapes and juices from top vineyards and wineries [...]