Wine Butler
The Wine Butler at Highway 401 and Dufferin Street is an award-winning winery where thousands of people opt out of the typical wine buying experience in Ontario and choose to bottle their own brew. Offering a choice between “exceptional” varieties like Yakima Valley Cab Shiraz or international and California varieties, the Wine Butler provides you with over 40 wine options — and you're sure to love one.
Why bottle your own wine? Well, in addition to saving over 70 per cent what you’d pay at the LCBO per bottle, choosing to bottle your own at a venue like The Wine Butler is fun and rewarding because it rewards your work with wine! Most importantly, the Wine Butler boasts wines with one-seventh the preservatives found in commercially available wines. So if you drink red wine for your health, making your own is the best way to go. The Wine Butler ensures premium quality at an affordable rate, and helping the planet is a great bonus by reusing your bottles with every batch. As Mark Whalen, owner of the Wine Butler, commented,
Our customers tell us they come back as an inexpensive way to get good wine. They like that our wine is low in preservatives, that you can reuse your bottles; and part of the profits are donated.
The Atmosphere at Wine Butler Is Great!
The process at the Wine Butler is simple, fast, and rewarding. It comes down to three easy steps.
- Pick your wine and make your appointment. On their website, you can choose the type of wine you'd like to make, as all options are listed. Then you're asked to book your first appointment, which only takes a few minutes but which is crucial to getting the wine started. The Wine Butler will have the grape juice prepared, and you must drop a little packet of yeast into it. If you’re wondering why you have to go to drop it in yourself, it’s because by taking on this role you don't have to pay taxes on wine you usually see at the LCBO. It’s a short but sweet appointment where you get to check out the relaxed atmosphere and see where your wine will be brewing for the next little while.
- For the next six to eight weeks, the Wine Butler does the work for you. Once your vintage is ready for bottling, they’ll notify you and you can book your bottling appointment. This is the fun part! If you have bottles already, you can bring them in to be sterilized by the Wine Butler (or read steps online on how to clean your bottles at home), or you can purchase them for $1 each and reuse them if you make another batch. Then you're ready to bottle.
- The bottling atmosphere is so laid-back; it really makes for an enjoyable experience. You can even test your wine while you bottle! They set you up at a bottling station, where they teach you how to fill your bottles with the wine, use an air-powered corker to cork them, and master the shrink-wrap station to cover the tops in the colour of your choice plus add your own labels.
It was such a fun and affordable experience that this is definitely my go-to for wine from now on.
We recognize that our customers are our most valuable asset and do our best to treat them accordingly,
Mark Whalen boasted.
Based on my experience with the Wine Butler team, I completely agree. They really do the work for you, but you get to do the fun stuff (decorating!) and really enjoy how it gets put together. From one batch, I was able to make 30 bottles, which should last quite some time and which is perfect for gifts. I made my custom labels, but The Wine Butler supplies simple labels onsite.
The Bottling Process
And how did it taste? Since this was my first time, I wasn’t sure if it’d be any good, but my Pinot Noir was delicious. Actually one of the best wines I’ve tasted in a very long time, with notes of vanilla, violets, and red berry fruits, it goes down smoothly and pairs well with pastas or meat dishes. Next time, I’m trying an “exceptional” variety, because the savings are still there, but I’d like to taste an even higher quality. Overall, the Wine Butler is a great date-night idea and an enjoyable experience, with delicious wine and top-notch service.
The Wine Butler Toronto | Unit G, 100 Bridgeland Ave | winebutler.ca
The Wine Butler Mississauga | 860 Lakeshore Rd. East