Carafe in The Washington Post

Stock the Cellar With Your Own Label

Maybe nurturing clusters of juicy grapes in a sprawling Napa Valley vineyard sounds like a dream job. Or perhaps a deep, buttery chardonnay has spurred dreams of buying a small operation in Virginia wine country. Whether your passion lies in the plants or just the finished product, you can dip a toe into the winemaking business without coddling vines or changing your name to Robert Mondavi. Enter Carafe Wine Makers, a small operation in Old Town Alexandria that initiates both the novice and the oenophile into the art of crafting their very own varietals.

Tucked away in a small rowhouse-style space off King Street, Carafe is the pet project of Lamar Brown, a Portsmouth, Va., native and IT specialist who opened this outpost of the Canadian franchise in November 2007. “When people initially come in, they think we’re just a wine shop,” Brown says. “When we tell them they can make their own wine, you can just see the light bulb come on.”

So how does it work? Well, for starters, there’s no stomping of the grapes a la Lucy Ricardo. First, a wine specialist pours samples from among roughly 30 varieties, all of which are made on the premises using imported and domestic juices. To keep the palate intact, staffer Pat Hayes starts with dry whites and moves
to full-bodied reds, finishing with a selection of light mists and sweet dessert wines. (Side note: Jotting down which varieties you like makes it easier when it comes time to choose the wine you want to replicate.)

Now for the fun part: Tie on an apron and head to the back of the space, where the wines are created. For a batch (30 bottles’ worth) of the Syrah Reserve, Hayes fills a five-gallon bucket with a pitcher of warm water, a bag of brilliant burgundy-hued grape juice and a generous dose of hot water. Then comes a handful of clay (which helps in the filtration process) and cheesecloth bags of jam-like grape skins and smoky oak chips, which are all stirred together using a long white paddle. Finally, a packet of yeast goes in and the mixture is stored away for six weeks to let the magic happen. There’s no room for experimentation here — you can’t substitute one fruity note for another — but given the level of alchemy happening, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

During the six weeks, Carafe employees monitor the fermentation process, transferring the wines to large glass carboys at the end. And yes, six weeks may seem like ages, but you can spend that time creating a label design using photos and text, then e-mailing it to the store. For inspiration, check out the store’s album of customer-designed labels during the wine-tasting session.

With the wait comes the reward: Wrap up the experience with the bottling session, where you fill 30 gleaming glass bottles with your homemade elixir, cork and foil-wrap each one, and slap on your fancy label. You may not be a certified vintner, but you’ve got plenty of the good stuff to go around.

Personalize Your Pinot (Or Another Kind of Vino)

Turns out, having a wine under your own label isn’t just for the Francis Ford Coppolas of the world. At the new Carafe Wine Makers in Old Town Alexandria, customers can play lord or lady of the vineyard, selecting wines that are bottled for them with customized labels.

The drill is simple: You pick a wine from the menu of 21 varieties, then work with the staff to design a label with whatever lettering and photos you like. Carafe then ferments your batch in four to six weeks, prints the labels and bottles your wine ($8-$24 a bottle).

Virginia Beach native Lamar Brown, 29, opened the fourth U.S. location of the Canada-based franchise after recognizing two things about Washingtonians: They love to throw parties (the bottles make great favors), and they love wine.

“The D.C. area is one of the most wine-centric in the country, so I think we’ll fit right in,” says Brown, who by day works in IT security at Lockheed Martin.

It’s not exactly like owning your own Chateau Lafite, of course. Patrons are limited to the pre-blended wine selections, so there’s no adding a note of butterscotch or a soupcon of cassis. But for hosts looking to surprise with a themed house wine, or for brides and grooms who want to present guests with a drinkable take-home gift, it’s a fun concept.

The shop itself is warmly inviting, with a toasty fire in the fireplace and walls the color of merlot and chardonnay. A long bar is for tasting, and the cozy leather armchairs are for lounging — while mulling what to name your very first vintage.

DIY Wine

Owning a winery sounds great, until you realize it could require rock-busting and chemistry skills. At new wine bar/distillery Carafe Wine Makers, customers taste varieties like Caesar’s Pinot Grigio or Mayan Merlot before starting their own batch (30 bottles, $130-$563). Custom labels are available; “people put photos of everything from their weddings to pets on them,” says manager Rhett Orem. “Someone did ‘Drunken Pup’ wine with a shot of their dog passed out.” Would-be Kendall Jacksons can assist with the wine-making process (dropping yeast into “must” or juice, helping to bottle the stuff) or not. Either way, after four to eight weeks, the intoxicating results are enough to fill a small cellar. (111 S. Alfred St., Alexandria; 703-739-5850; Carafewinemakers.com)