The Village of the Enchanted Forest

Beer and wine as non timber forest products are more related to local shrubs producing fruits such as berries or even tree sap rather than grape, although it is surely possible to establish a vineyard depending on the location of the available land property. In our immediate vicinity, the boreal forest, we are familiar with a "cherry wine", wich is a delightful desert wine made according to an old local recipe with Chokeberries (Prunus virginiana) as the basic ingredient. At the Village, we have tried to produce a dry blueberry wine as the shrub is found in abundance in our local area. We found the experience interesting, but we realized that we will have to consent some more effort and trials to obtain a decent result. That is to say, it can be a lot of fun as a hobby but if you want to draw regular customers from your homemade nectar, you will have to become serious in aiming a top quality product.

From our experience, the first key to success is to work with clean sterilized tools, from the spoon to the bucket. Secondly, use fresh ingredients. The berries, for instance, have to be picked the day you plan to start a wine batch. Wash them out thouroughly with water. Even if the recipe doesn't mention it, we prefer to bring the basic ingredients (berries, suger, juice, etc.) to boil (except yeast, of course) in order to kill any undesired elements such as bacteria and germs. Some winemakers say that boiling will cause your must to become opaque, but it never happened to us. If opacity occurs after boiling your fruit, you can freeze the fresh material for a couple of days instead. Thirdly, let us mention the importance of following the recipe exactly as written. With time and experience, it will be possible to put your personal touch to your product if you like.

For beer production, birch sap is an interesting ingredient for forest land owners, as birch beer is already commercialized on the market. In addition, the sap can be easily collected in spring in larger quantities than maple sap. There are also possibilities with ingredients such as salsaparilla (root beer) and fir tree needles (spruce beer), not to mention apple for cider, honey for mead, and also more domestic ingredients like ginger (for ginger ale) that will add to your production variety. Domestic wine or beer is surely an attractive product when they are used to propmote a tourism activity like bed and breakfast or sugar shack, but you will have to comply with strict regulations in most countries if your plans are to sell in stores. If your product is original, very tasty to most people and a top quality product, it is certainly worth it to bring it to a value-added state.

We suggest to focus on at least two different productions if possible, beer or wine, based on ingredients easily found on your property. As an example, spruce beer and blueberry wine should be interesting productions for boreal forest properties because the basic ingredients are generally available in sufficient quantities year after year, unless a climate irregularity occurs. If you can cultivate your berry shrubs (see our link on Berries and Nuts), you will benefit of a controlled regular supply.

REFERENCES AND LINKS

Beer recipes
Ginger beer
Root beer and spruce beer
Root Beer (Mother Earth News)
Dandelion beer
Banana Beer (Appropedia)
Miscellaneous recipes
Dandelion wine
Berry wine
Birch sap wine
Apple wine
Mead
Cherry wine
Wine recipes

BEER AND WINE PRODUCTION
An Introduction to the Fruit Wine Business in Alberta
Commercial Cottage Wine Industry: Fruit Wine (Alberta)
Cottage Wine Industry in Alberta
Winemaking (Wikipedia)
Homebrewing (Wikipedia)
Elizabethan Homebrewing (Tofi Kerthjalfadsson)
Homebrewing (www.about.com)
How wine is made (www.about.com)
Home Brewing the Easy way - part 1 (YouTube - Craig Farraway)
Home Brewing the Easy Way - part 2 (YouTube - Craig Farraway)
Home Brewing the Easy Way - part 3 (YouTube - Craig Farraway)
Home Brewing the Easy Way - part 4 (YouTube - Craig Farraway)
The Total Wine Package - Exploring the Opportunity (Iowa State Univ. Extension) (Dial-up - DSL - T1)
The Total Wine Package - Behind the Scene (Iowa State Univ. Extension) (Dial-up - DSL - T1)
The Total Wine Package - Growing the Business, Selling the Package (Iowa State Univ. Extension) (Dial-up - DSL - T1)
The Total Wine Package - Frequently Asked Questions (Iowa State Univ. Extension) (Dial-up - DSL - T1)
Ciders and wines (Appropedia)
Mead (Wikipedia)
Making Delicious, Unthinkable Wines (Backwoods Home Magazine)

THE VILLAGE STORE

WINE

Majestic Wine Warehouses is the UK's biggest and best retailer specialising in sales of wine by the mixed case, with 144 stores throughout the UK. As Majestic sells wines and spirits with a minimum purchase of 12 bottles, any mix, we can offer an extensive range of superb wines in large quantities, giving our customers real choice and value. We recognise that this might not appeal to everyone, but by doing so we feel we can offer our customers a higher level of service. Our staff are passionate about wine and are always on hand to give advice on what to buy. We're also the only wine retailer to operate a FREE delivery service throughout mainland UK. To deliver gifts of less than 12 bottles find out about our Gift Solutions service. We are also different from mail order and internet wine merchants, who may try and tempt you with artificial savings on a mixed case of indifferent wines. Our promotions last several months at a time and boast hundreds of multibuy offers which represent genuine savings. We're famous for our 'one-off' special parcels which are worth looking out for! Majestic Wine Warehouses Ltd, Majestic House - Otterspool Way - Watford - Herts UK WD25 8WW

Baileys Wine Merchants specialises in Spanish Wines. With over 175 different wines from 27 different wine regions from Spain you are sure to find a wine that suits your taste. You can mix your own case or select one of the many assorted cases that have been carefully created. Huge savings are available on all wines. As an independent retailer Baileys Wine Merchants offers a fast and personalised service which often means you will receive your wines in 2 days from the moment you place the order. Baileys Wine Merchants - 2 Hungate - Beccles - Suffolk - UK NR34 9TL

Express delivery of Champagne, Wine and Liquor gifts to offices and homes worldwide. All gifts are delivered  in a gift presentation with a personalized message card and can be marked for delayed delivery.  Deliveries are handled via our network of thousands of local liquor stores and via special courier services both in the USA and around the world. SendChampagne.com - 100 Canal Pointe Blvd., Suite 204 - Princeton - NJ - USA 08540

winemarket.com.au may look likejust another online wine store but in reality it'a anything but. winemarket.com.au is your insider on the ground with access to the kind of deals the big retailers wouldn't see in a month of sober Sundays. That's because we're part of the winemaking communauty, not a bottom-line driven behemoth that feeds off it. We can get the deals no-one else can. The kind of deals you used to only get if you married the winemaker's ugly sister. winemarket.com.au -- its all about Real Brands and Real Deals. We sell only by the straight case -- this keeps the price down to the lowast possible amount, giving you sensational value for money. We have some great parcels from the most famous of Aussie brands, many in very limited volumes so you better be quick...    winemarket.com.au - PO Box 345 - Angaston - Barossa Valley, SA - Australia 5353

Winemakers Choice is a major customer of all major wine companies in Australia, as well as having tracking accounts with most boutique wineries. Winemakers Choice has tremendous buying power and is able to negotiate very favourable prices and also has access to limited release wines otherwise inaccessible to the consumer in the market place. Winemakers Choice carries over 3,500 product lines. Winemakers Choice - PO Box 6105 - Silverwater NSW - Australia 2128

Footy Wine Online is a dedicated website devoted to providing you with the complete range of Official AFL (Australia) Port and Wine merchandise for every AFL Club. Whether you want to drink them, give them, save them or collect them, these quality Australian wines have been specially selected and blended for wide appeal. These unique products featuring your club colours, logos, photos and stats are a 'must have' for all AFL enthusiasts. Some are packaged in a stylish gift box, making them the ideal gift for family, friends and work associates. Footy Wine Online (Heyman Liquor Group Pty Ltd.) -  58 Queens Parade - North Fitzroy, VIC - Australia 3068

Signature Wines & Beverages offers high quality and affordable custom label beverages including premium California wine, pure spring water and California champagne. Our competitive prices, fast delivery, low minimums, and complete online design and ordering destination make us your perfect personalized beverage resource for any occasion. For personal use, unique gifts, special occasions, weddings, and corporate events, Signature Wines & Beverages’ goal is to provide our customers with Signature convenience, Signature quality, and Signature savings. Signature Wines & Beverages - 2536 Barrington Court - Hayward - CA - USA 94545

Welcome to the Wine Messenger, the nation’s leading specialty retailer of fine wines. Since 1995, we have built ourselves into the source you can trust providing you with good wines – often award-winning in their home country – at reasonable prices. All of our wines share the following characteristics: All have undergone a lengthy vetting process – Our tasting panel reviews thousands of wines each year to bring you the very best, and we offer only those wines that meet our exacting standards. Our direct import model allows us to bring you new wines from exciting regions faster than through conventional channels, and we never have distributors forcing us to sell their unpopular wines. All are thoroughly researched by our wine staff, and each receives a detailed written description from our President complete with production information, regional and winery information, as well as detailed tasting notes and a rating. All are backed by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, one of the best return policies in the business. If for any reason you are unsatisfied with the wine you have purchased, let us know within 30 days and we’ll pick up the wine and refund you for all unopened bottles. The Wine Messenger - 628 Waverly Avenue - Mamaroneck - NY USA 10543

The Morrell family always says that as merchants we have to "put our money where our mouth is" – we have to buy the wine and sell the wine, and so we have to have confidence in our purchases and our own ability to judge. We also look at wines as value for money. We don't only compare an Italian Cabernet to other Italian Cabernets, or rate it only on it's own merits, we compare it to all Cabernets – if you can get a better cabernet from California for 20% less money, we're likely to pass on the Italian cabernet. Of course, a great number of wines are highly rated from respected wine periodicals such as: Robert Parker's, The Wine Advocate, The Wine Spectator and Steve Tanzer's, The International Wine Cellar. We receive multi-copies of each monthly and they are devoured by us and our staff. But we also find numerous wines that have never been reviewed, or that we feel deserve higher ratings, and we taste, evaluate, and purchase them with confidence, so that you can have confidence when you drink them. For 59 years our motto has been Taste You Can Trust! The Morrell family - 1, Rockefeller Plaza - New-York - NY USA 10020

Welcome to The International Wine of the Month Club - Each month, members of our premium wine club receive international wine selections from two different award-winning boutique vineyards, accompanied by our informative, entertaining, and professionally-printed newsletter. Choose from three membership types, and select either two red selections, two whites, or one red and one white. The International Wine of the Month Club

Welcome! The Wine Spies are very different from most of the wine websites you may have visited. We feature and review one exceptional wine each day and then offer it to you at a great price. All of our sales are quantity and time limited, and once sold out our offering is over. All of the wines you will see on our site are unique, have received accolades or awards and are usually small hand-crafted productions from best wineries from around the globe. These are wines you will not usually find at your local wine shop, liquor store or retailer (some are only available to the winery’s club). The Wine Spies, LLC - Corporate Offices - 146 South Clark Drive, Suite 102 - Los Angeles - CA USA 90048

Welcome to Wine Legacy, a premier online wine retailer featuring a superb selection of quality, hand-picked fine wines and wine gifts from around the world, shipped right to your doorstep. Browse our "Highlighted Wines" and purchase fine wines in a mixed case, including white and red Italian, U.S., Spanish, Australian, and South American wines. We taste hundreds of wines every month from some of the best-producing vineyards in the world. A select few are then featured on our web site, with our most recent fine wine selections shown online below. "Highlighted Wines" change frequently, so check back often for our latest offerings. Wine Legacy - 80 Newtown Plaza - Plainview - NY USA 11803

BEER

Provide the design and delivery of custom branded beverages, beers, water and wines for the individual, corporation, event companyies who are looking for gift ideas, giveaways, incentives, launches and parties. The bevergaes are all designed with our beverage and beer builder online and are Australian made and delivered direct to the customers door. With no minimum buy, as little as one carton can be designed and produced without any setup and design fees. Brewtopia - 3, 46 Buffalo Road - Gladesville NSW  - Australia 2111

Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club members receive twelve, 12-oz. bottles of beer in each monthly shipment. Our beer club makes a great gift for anyone who appreciates lightly distributed, hard to find microbrewed beer. You may choose from three different membership types, each focused on quality and variety! And, you'll be able to reorder your favorite brews at discounted prices. Experience the best microbrewed beer available today without traveling nationwide to find it. We select premium hand-crafted microbrews from over 1,000 American and International microbreweries and brewpubs and ship them directly to your home or office each month. Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club

ACCESSORIES

	THE WINE MASTER The Wine Master is an e-store supplying everything you need to enjoy your favorite wine. Shop at the lowest prices you can compare online! Click on any of the items appearing on the left to have access to the whole store. This electronic boutique was built by The Village of the Enchanted Forest using do it yourself Zlio stores. Click on this LINK to build one yoursel and start making business online!
	Suggested books: Wine Search for wine making and you will have access to handy books such as: The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home From Vines to Wines: The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine The Home Winemaker's Companion: Secrets, Recipes, and Know-How for Making 115 Great-Tasting Wines Home Winemaking Step-by-Step The Joy of Home Wine Making Making Wild Wines & Meads: 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More Winery Technology and Operations:A Handbook for Small Wineries The Backyard Vintner: An Enthusiast's Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Wine at Home Understanding Wine Technology: The Science of Wine Explained, New Edition The Wine Maker's Answer Book The Art of Making Wine Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook Northern Winework: Growing Grapes and Making Wine in Cold Climates And many more... Beer For beer making, search for homebrewing. You will surely find what you are looking for among: The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Homebrewing For Dummies Brew Ware: How to Find, Adapt and Build Homebrewing Equipment Brew Chem 101: The Basics of Homebrewing Chemistry Basic Homebrewing Basic Homebrewing: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great-Tasting Beer Homebrewing: Beginner Basics to Creating Your Own Award-Winning Recipes And many more...

WINE MAKING KITS AND EQUIPMENT

Heinsohn's Country Store In 1920, my grandfather and his brother purchased a store in Frelsburg from the Kollman Family who owned it since the Civil War. They had purchased it from Frederick Jurgens who had purchased it in 1850 from Wilhelm Frels who had established the store in the summer of 1846. So, I guess you could say that there has been a store operating in this spot for over 160 years. We are very proud of that - it's not an easy task!. During that time, we and our forebearers have been providing groceries, animal feeds, hardware and many other products to our friends and neighbors in Frelsburg and nearby towns. Now, we are moving into the cyber-world and have begun to offer a number of the products that our friends and neighbors found so useful to our new friends and neighbors all over the world! Heinsohn's Country Store - 1560 FM 109 - New Ulm - Texas USA 78950

BEER MAKING KITS AND EQUIPMENT

 
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