The DC Traveler

“Here’s a bold Cabernet Sauvignon I created last season. Can you taste the raspberries and the hint of lavender?” That might be something you proudly state at your next wine tasting or dinner party.

But even if you don’t own your own vineyard or winery in the South of France, Tuscany or the Napa Valley, you can still serve friends a personally created wine from the micro-winery, Carafe Wine Makers in suburban Alexandria, VA.

The concept of a boutique micro-winery or “brew on premise” winery is big in Canada, where over 600 micro-wineries are operating. Carafe Wine Makers, a franchise company with 16 locations in the U.S. and Canada (4 in Virginia), lets customers create their own wines at their micro-winery and store on S. Alfred Street. Open since late 2007, Carafe shows people how to make wine as well as sells wines it makes and blends.

Juice from grapes grown in California and Washington state as well as places such as Chile, Australia and Italy, make up the 28 varieties of wine you can create.

Store manager Rhett Orem explained the simple process to me. After selecting your style of wine, grape juice and skins, water, yeast and other chemicals used in the fermentation process is added to the on-site mini-fermenter. Oak shavings or flavorings may be added to replace the flavoring traditionally absorbed during the fermenting and aging process. The initial wine making process takes only a half an hour.

Around 4-6 weeks later, the fermenting process is completed, your wine is filtered and it’s time for you to return to the store to bottle, cork and label your wine.

What’s great about the process, is that you won’t have to spend hours cutting and pressing grapes, or fermenting your wine in century old wood casks or expensive charred French white oak barrels, as everything is handled on the premises.

Of the 28 wines you can create, red wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and a couple Italian favorites, Amarone and the “wine of kings” Borolo. Whites include Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurtztraminer, among others.

If you are not sure which a style of wine you want to make, start off with a visit to Carafe’s wine bar, to sample a flight of your personal favorites.

Top it off with a personalized label, and you’ve got your own personal wine ready to impress your friends.

Wines should be allowed to rest for a minimum of two to four months before drinking, to help mature the flavors. And while the wines you create may never rival a Château Rothschild, you will have the satisfaction of having created a special wine with your personalized label to share with friends.

Here’s a video of the process from the Hampton Roads, Virginia store.

The cost for creating 30 bottles is surprisingly inexpensive, coming in at under $10.00 per bottle (includes wine, bottles, corks).

If you want to design your own label, just create it using your favorite software program and send it to the shop a couple weeks before bottling.

Don’t want the time and bother of making your own wine, Carafe can custom design a label and private label a wine just for you.

Carafe Wine Makers
111 S. Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA (map it)
703-739-5850

Dates and Times - Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

Cost - Starting at $255, plus tax for 30 bottles.

Nearest Metro Subway Station - King Street - Blue and Yellow lines, then take the FREE King Street Trolley or walk the 8 blocks.

Parking - Free and metered street parking is available.

Images - from personal collection © 2008 - Jon Rochetti

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