Water 2 Wine: Custom Wine for Your Valentine

The best part of making your own wine is the selection process, which involves visiting the winery and tasting various samples to find out what flavor best fits your palate. Do you prefer sweet or dry, fruity or tangy? The friendly staff can help you decide. After choosing flavors, the next step is the ordering of grapes. Water 2 Wine buys its grapes from over 100 of the world’s finest vineyards, including those in Argentina, Australia, France, Italy and California.

The next step begins with concentrated grape juice straight from the vineyards. At this point, it's up to you to be as involved in the process as you want, or simply to leave it up to the pros. For those who want to learn how wine is made, you can work side by side with the staff, from mixing the batches to “pitching” the yeast. For those who want to take it a bit more leisurely, Water 2 Wine will do the all work and call when it’s ready.

Once fermentation starts, the wine needs to age. It takes roughly 45 days to get a finished product, and you're encoraged to stop in and check on your batch as it ages. While you wait, you can work with the staff to create your own labels. Choose from a variety of stock designs or bring a photo or drawing and the staff will turn it into a unique and personalized label.

When the wine is ready, it's time to bottle. Again, you have a choice: Water 2 Wine will take you through the bottling process or they will bottle for you, but  you are encouraged to make it a party. Invite friends and family, bring some dinner and bottle with a team, or just bring some candles and cheese and you and your sweetheart can bottle your special wine together. One batch of wine produces 28 to 30 bottles, minus what you drink while bottling, of course.

Prices for full batches vary by type, but start around $250 and run to up to $500, which includes labeling. Single bottles can also be made from $10–$27 per bottle plus a $15 custom label fee.

For those who buy gifts at the last minute, Water 2 Wine also offers special blends for sale on site. These vintages can be top-notch; the winery's California Viognier took silver and Cabernet-Merlot won bronze at the 2009 Denver Wine Competition.

Making your own wine is not only for Valentine's Day — it's perfect for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and basically any occasion that requires celebration, so why not Valentine’s Day? Visit Water 2 Wine at either the DTC or Centennial locations.