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Vintners Circle Franchising recevies approval for SBA Franchise Registry

November 13th, 2009 by David in news

Vintners Circle Franchising LLC receives approval for SBA Franchise Registry

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: David Schmeltzle
908-979-9463

Vintner’s Circle, a franchised winemaking shop operating five franchised stores and one corporate store throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, announces today it has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration for listing on the SBA Franchise Registry, which will expedite the process for franchisees to get loans to start or expand their businesses with Vintner’s Circle.
Fewer than 30 percent of all franchise systems qualify for listing on the registry, which is an online national registry of franchise systems. Applicants must submit their franchise contracts to ensure compliance with strict SBA criteria.

“We wanted to give our prospective franchisees every advantage to secure financing for their new winemaking shops in this challenging credit environment,” said Vintners Circle Franchising president David Schmeltzle. “We believe getting on the SBA Registry is a major step in our franchise development plans.”

Vintner’s Circle has targeted a number of markets for growth, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

About Vintners Circle Franchising:

Vintner’s Circle winemaking shops enable friends and family to spend time together while making great tasting wine during four easy steps. With more than 80 varieties to choose from, you will be able to handcraft that perfect wine. Guaranteed.

Winemaking makes good friends.

October 14th, 2009 by David in wine lifestyle

Customers are important to business. But at Vintner’s Circle, we have great customers who become our friends and our fans. Bottling tonight at the Hackettstown store, I had the pleasure of again spending time with Beth and Joe. They were some of our first customers years ago and made wine with Vintner’s Circle at the old farmers market where we started our first store. We joked and laughed about old times and some of our early ways of making wine, and chuckled about our old building which kept blowing fuses every time we used the PVC capsule heat shrink machine.

There are so many customers that have become friends. I wanted to take a moment and thank you all. You truly make our jobs at Vintner’s Circle fun and exciting and quite enjoyable.

Vintner’s Circle continues to grow and many of our customers have become franchisees. They are now experiencing the friendships you can make while making wine.

Whether you make wine at home our in one of our stores, we promise to make winemaking easy and fun and something you want to share with friends (the experience, that is, because you will want to keep all your wine.)

We invite you to drop us an email and tell us your favorite winemaking memories or post a comment to this article.

Cheers!
-David

Vintners Circle selected as Best Practice Finalist

September 17th, 2009 by David in news

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
David Schmeltzle
908-979-9463

With more than 500,000 small businesses in the tri-state area, The New York Enterprise Report is once again honoring those who are among the most innovative. The New York Enterprise Report is proud to announce Vintners Circle Franchising LLC from Hackettstown, NJ as a finalist in the Technology category. Vintners Circle Franchising developed best practices and technology that provides operational management for their franchised winemaking shops.

Companies were chosen based on their ability to demonstrate the use of a best practice to generate competitive advantages, revenue profits and/or long-term value. Twenty-seven companies, based in the NY metro area, were selected as finalists out of dozens of qualified applicants for each category.

“We are proud to recognize the achievements and accomplishments of Vintners Circle Franchising,” said Robert Levin, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of The New York Enterprise Report. “The use of their technology best practice has given them a distinct competitive advantage and we congratulate them for their initiatives and innovative thinking.”

The New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards Gala is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2009 from 6 p.m.- 10 p.m. at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City, NY. The Best Practices winners in the areas of Customer Service, Green Business, Human Resources & Leadership, Sales & Marketing and Technology will be announced at the Gala.

Vintner’s Circle (www.VintnersCircle.com) is a franchised winemaking business that enables friends and family to spend time together while making great tasting wine. Using four easy and fun winemaking steps, Vintner’s Circle guarantees the quality of handcrafted wine you can make. With more than 80 varieties to choose from, you will be able to handcraft that perfect wine and personalize your wine bottle labels for life’s special occasions. Or simply make wine for your own enjoyment and tastes.

“The decision to build Vintner’s Circle as a franchise system paralleled our commitment to the development of technology and operational systems”, said David Schmeltzle, President of Vintners Circle Franchising. “We wanted our franchisees to be able to focus on winemaking and excel at customer service. Too many small businesses don’t have the technology infrastructure and best practices in place to effectively manage sales, inventory and operations. As a result, day-to-day operations consume business owners’ time and often negatively affects customer service.”

The New York Enterprise Report, in print and online (www.nyreport.com) features “how-to” articles written by experts for small and midsize businesses in the tri-state area. Each issue of The Report, which is the only media in the New York area exclusively for the leaders of smaller businesses, provides thousands of dollars of much needed expertise making it a must read for those wanting to grow their businesses.

For more information about the New York Enterprise Report, visit www.nyreport.com/awards or call 516/997-1950 or email info@hjmt.com.

For more information about franchises and Vintners Circle Winemaking Shops, visit www.VintnersCircle.com/franchise or call 908-979-9463 or email info@VintnersCircle.com.

Wine and Ice Cream Pairing?

September 9th, 2009 by heather in wine lifestyle

I recently had my first lesson in wine and food pairing.

Sure, I like a bold red wine like the Italian Barbaresco with a perfectly grilled fillet mignon. Or the delicious Valpolicella with my spaghetti and meatballs. I enjoy a crisp white such as the Alsatian Riesling with my seafood. But I never truly appreciated the pairings – probably because I also like all of these wines on their own.

The other day I was drinking a nice Pinot Grigio, one given to me more for the label, and it was okay. As I’m enjoying my “Mommy’s Time Out” glass of wine my husband was enjoying his Edy’s Summertime Peach Pie ice cream. I asked for a bite, typical. And then had some more wine. However, this was no longer the same okay wine I was just drinking. The entire taste and feel in my mouth was completely changed. I would now state that this wine was really good.

Now I’m hooked. I am constantly asking the team to recommend a wine with a certain meal or (since I can never think of what to make for dinner) a meal to accompany my chosen wine. The wine and food pairing chart has also helped.

I hope to share my own wine and food pairing suggestions with you in future posts. Our wine selector or the team at your winemaking store can help when choosing which wine to make.

Before the last hot summer days, you’ve got to try wine and ice cream pairing. Trust me, you’ll love it. To help you select your favorite ice cream pairing, we found a flavor finder on Edy’s website that can help you find an ice cream to pair with your wine.

Enjoy!

Summer Refreshment Wines

June 3rd, 2009 by robin in wine lifestyle

It is June, the temperatures are getting warmer and sometimes all I want to do is kick back and relax by the pool or at the beach.

This time of year, I love a light fruity wine that will be refreshing through out the day and can even be served on ice. Winexpert and RJ Spagnols both make a product line perfect for this purpose. Winexpert has their Island Mist Collection and RJ Spagnols has their Orchard Breezin line.

The variety of refreshment wines range from a Blackberry Cabernet to a Green Apple Riesling to a Seville Orange Sangria. Personally, my current favorite is the White Cranberry Pinot Gris. Angie, our Hackettstown Store Manager, leans towards the Kiwi Pear Sauvignon Blanc. David, the President and owner of Vintners Circle Franchising loves the Mango Citrus Symphony and the Exotic Fruits White Zinfandel. The bottom line is that there are many flavors available and there is something for everyone.

The best part about these wine kits is that they can be made quickly. The entire process only takes about 5 weeks and the wine is enjoyable right away. This means that it is not too late to pick one out and still enjoy it this summer. So what are you waiting for? Get to your local winemaking shop, choose which refreshment wine sounds the best to you and start making it today.

Choosing the Right Wine

May 20th, 2009 by robin in wine lifestyle

It is a question we hear almost daily, “How do I decide which type of wine I should make?” or “How do I know which wine I will like?” Whether you are choosing to make your own wine, trying to make a selection in the liquor store, or ordering from a wine list in a restaurant the question can be daunting. In all of these situations, however, there are a few items to consider to help guide your decision.

First, do you prefer red or white wine? For many people this is an a straight forward answer and will help cut your choices in half. Unfortunately, we have found that when speaking to a couple the pair often fall on opposite sides of the line. If this is your situation, understand that there are several types of wine that tend to be good compromises to suit both tastes, such as Chateauneuf du Pape (Vieux Chateau du Roi on our website) or a Bianca (Luna Bianca on our website).

So let’s assume you have narrowed your choices slightly. Next question, do you drink wine by itself or with food? If you answered “with food”, what type of food do you tend to eat while drinking wine? We have a great wine and food pairing chart to help you find a great wine style to enhance your meal.

If the food pairing selector hasn’t solved your dilemma there is one last question. Do you like a light wine or a full bodied wine. This means do you like something that feels light on your tongue or something that truly makes its presence known in your mouth. There are both white and red wines that fit into each of those categories, so paired with your answers to the previous questions you should be well on your way to finding your perfect wines.

Finally, we know how difficult these decisions can be and have created a Wine Selector Guide to help you in your decision. Just understand, there can be several answers to this important question and once you get started on this adventure of finding wines that fit your flavor/taste profile you will want to try them all. We should know, our passion turned into our business.

Italian Wine Biscuits

May 6th, 2009 by robin in recipes

This month our recipe will feature Winexpert’s Selection Limited Edition Italian Dolcetto. If you aren’t familiar with Dolcetto it is a light, easy to drink red wine that is just perfect for the warm months ahead.

Ingredients:

5 1/2 Cups of Flour
4 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Cup Oil
1 Cup Selection Limited Edition Italian Dolcetto (or a Dolcetto of your choice)
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs, Divided

Sift together dry ingredients. Make a well; add oil, Selection Limited Edition Italian Dolcetto, sugar and 1 egg. Mix well. Cut small amounts of dough. Roll into rings. Brush tops with remaining beaten egg. Bake in 350ºF oven, about 25 minutes or until tops are lightly brown.

Yield: 2 dozen.

buon appetito!

Denim Day Photo Shoot

April 28th, 2009 by robin in interesting facts

Today, April 28th, is Denim Day. The purpose of the day is twofold: to increase awareness and knowledge about sexual violence in Warren County, NJ and to raise funds for the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center. (more…)

Letting The Gas Out

April 21st, 2009 by robin in wine making

Today we are going to discuss one of the most important tools in winemaking and it is probably the most overlooked. Anyone who has made wine before knows that the process of fermentation produces two major things – alcohol and carbon dioxide.

You probably know that much of the carbon dioxide fills the open space in the fermentation container or carboy and the excess escapes through the airlock, creating that wonderful bubbling we all love so much. However, did you know that often some carbon dioxide remains in the wine bound to the molecules? It is true, especially if you are fermenting at the lower end of the temperature range.

So how do you know when you have trapped carbon dioxide and what do you do to fix it? Let’s take that question one piece at a time. Sometimes the first answer is easy. You may take a sample of your wine with your wine thief and see bubbles rising quickly inside the thief as if it were a sparkling wine. Another method is to take a small taste of your wine and see if you feel slight tingling on your tongue. Unfortunately, neither of these methods are flawless nor very scientific, so the best rule of thumb is to assume there is trapped carbon dioxide and take steps to get it out.

To remove the trapped carbon dioxide, we need cavitation. Dictionary.com defines cavitation as “The rapid formation and collapse of vapor pockets in a flowing liquid in regions of very low pressure.” Translation, we need to get the wine moving and change the direction of the flow quickly to release the carbon dioxide. To do this, you can put your wine back into a sanitized primary fermentation vessel and use a large stainless steel spoon if you’d like, but take my word for it – that method is exhausting. Instead, I recommend purchasing a whip degasser and allow a drill to do the hard work for you.

Now there are are variety of whip degassers on the market and they range in price from under $10 to over $50. My experience tells me with this, you get what you pay for and the higher priced whips will work faster and more effectively than their counterparts.

So how do they work? Put the whip inside the carboy and attach a drill. Start the whip moving in one direction. As soon as you begin to see the wine move in that direction, quickly switch the direction on the drill and spin the whip in the other direction. Continue this process for several minutes. As you do this it is important that you not move the whip vertically in the carboy or break the surface of the wine as this will insert oxygen into the wine. I would be remiss if I did not warn you at this point. Often, if you have a substantial amount of trapped carbon dioxide and you are performing this whipping technique it is as if you “hit a wall” and the carbon dioxide will release all at once. If this is going to happen it is generally in the first minute so be on alert. If your wine begins to foam suddenly, simply stop the whip and let the wine rest for a bit. The carbon dioxide will escape and the foam will dissipate. You can then whip it a bit more just to make sure you got it all, but in the end you will have removed that unwanted carbon dioxide and you can move on to stabilize and clear your wine.

Building Your Own Wine Cellar

April 20th, 2009 by robin in wine lifestyle

For those who are passionate about wine, there are few things in life as enticing as the thought of owning your own wine cellar. Whether you are an avid collector or new to the world of wine, having a safe place to store your collection can be a fun and fulfilling project that can add a whole new element to your home. While constructing a wine cellar may seem like a daunting task, by keeping a few factors in mind the job may be easier than you think.

First and foremost, when designing a wine cellar you will need to determine how many wine racks you will need. Depending on the size of your collection you may decide to construct your own racks or purchase modular racks which can grow with your collection. Classic wood wine racks are a popular choice for most wine enthusiasts, and many designs allow you to add additional storage units as they are needed. These types of racks are good for people that are unsure about how big your collection may grow. Whatever type of wine rack you decide upon, just be sure that it is sturdy and secure. The point of a wine cellar is to have a place that is safe to store your wine. If your wine racks are shabby, then you could lose your entire collection at the drop of a hat.

You also need to remember that wine is a living organism and requires very particular conditions in order to thrive. You’ll want to insure that the area where you house your wine racks is dark and free of natural light. Over time, too much exposure to sunlight can damage your wine or hinder it from reaching its full potential. By the same token, you must also make sure that your cellar is at a temperature that is most conducive to storing wine. Wine requires that you keep it at a temperature between 45 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If your cellar is too warm or too cold then your wine may not age correctly and some of the delicate flavors may be lost.

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