ESTEVAN - While it has been open since last spring under a different name, Estevan Winery and Brewhouse is celebrating its new management.
Located at 1214 Fourth Street, in the heart of downtown, this small business, ran by a husband-and-wife duo, is now open full-time and ready to do their best to amuse those who know a thing or two about wines.
While Shane and Nadia Winter were a part of the previous operation as well, now they became the full owners, and their plans for the business had long-standing roots.
"I have thought about opening the wine store for quite a while," Shane said in an interview with the Mercury.
He added that his father in Kelowna, B.C., was into wine brewing, and he also had some experience in it, which he wanted to expand over to local people.
The renamed Estevan Winery and Brewhouse opened in early January, and Shane said it "was going very well" ever since, and before as well.
"There's been quite a bit of interest. The response from the community has been really well," Shane said.
"They're happy that there's finally winemaking here," Nadia added.
The store has a wide variety of wine kits, which customers can either take home or have the Winters brew their wine for them, and then come in and bottle it. The store also has all equipment and accessories required for the process.
"You come in and you would pick your wine preference. You can do it yourself. We provide everything for you to do it at home for yourself, or we provide the service of doing it for you here," Shane explained.
He added that at this time they are just doing wines, but eventually they may get into some beers as well.
"The wines seem to be the biggest demand as of now. Most homebrewers just grab a kit and take it home to do it themselves as far as the beer end goes. But it's been really good so far. We've had a really good response from the community for sure," Shane said.
The Estevan Winery and Brewhouse currently offers over 100 different wine kits from Winexpert and Vine Co., including reds, whites, rosés, lots of different fruity selections and even ice wines from a myriad of geographical locations. The selection varies and keeps growing, often adding some exclusive deals.
"There are several different types of fruity wines. They have limited editions, of course, like our chocolate cherry. Mango-passionfruit is another limited edition one. Most of the other flavours are readily available," Shane said.
If someone prefers to get into the wine brewing process, Estevan Winery and Brewhouse has all it takes to do it.
"You start with your fermenting pails, and then you transfer it to your carboys once your fermentation is done. Then you would transfer from your pail into another carboy. It doesn't take a lot of space," Shane said. "You need a few tools, you need your spoons for stirring, you need some cleaning equipment, of course, your auto siphons to transfer. But it's not a tough process, by any stretch."
"If they want some kind of a gift for a customer that wants to make their own wine, there's a kit and we can build a package with that kit, so they can start brewing on their own at home," Nadia added.
When it comes to in-store brewing, the customer would just pick a kit and add the yeast, and then four weeks later they can come in and bottle their wine.
"We do the de-gassing, we stabilize the wine, we filter it, clean it all and then you come in and you bottle it yourself. And when ready to go, take it home," Shane said.
Nadia added that it takes about 30 minutes to bottle the wine. They also have bottles, labels and corks for sale, and they navigate customers through all the processes.
Each wine kit produces about 28-30 bottles of wine, which brings the price per bottle down to about $3-4 for regular wine made at home, to $5-6 to have it done in store, and to about $6-10 per bottle of high-end wine.
No matter if the store does the work the wine, or people do it at home, it takes at least four weeks to brew a batch, but it depends on the type of wine, as some require six and even eight weeks. Some people also prefer it to sit a little longer to set a bit better.
"Even after you bottled it, it does get better the longer you let it sit, the wine tastes and flavours get better the longer it goes on. Not that you couldn't drink it the same day," Shane said.
While the store sees both take-home kit sales and brewing orders, having the opportunity to provide the brewers and wine-lovers with needed supplies locally is a big advantage. If someone wants to get into wine brewing, Shane said it's not that much money to start. The only costly piece would be the filtering machine, but it's not a must-have if people can be creative and prefer to keep the price low.
The family has owned and operated the next-door HomEstevan Appliances and Furniture store, which used to be Sears outlet. Their long-standing experience in business helps them navigate the new waters, while they help the community to learn everything about winemaking.
