Unique winery offers DIY kits and their own wine label
BY SCOTT CHERRY World Scene Writer
Sunday, December 16, 2012
12/16/12 at 4:35 AM
The intersection at 71st Street and Memorial Drive may be known for a lot of things - restaurants, mall, furniture and clothing stores, etc. - but it's a good bet a winery isn't one of them.
High Gravity, at 7142 S. Memorial Drive, on the southwest corner of the intersection, specializes in winemaking and beermaking equipment and supplies, but it also is a bona fide winery.
"It took us a year and a half to get our winery license," said Desiree Knott, who owns the store with her husband, Dave. "It took six months just to get our labels approved."
The store has racks of wines for sale. Most of them cost $12.95 a bottle, although some are a little more or less.
On a recent day, the racks held a white zinfandel, French cabernet sauvignon, Chilean merlot, late-harvest riesling, Mosel gewurztraminer, Australian cabernet sauvignon, Washington pinot gris, valpolicella, soave and green apple riesling.
These wines are not produced in a multimillion-dollar facility. They are made from wine kits sold in the store.
"We have 240 kits to choose from, so you never know what you will find on the racks," Knott said. "People seem to like the sweet stuff, which kind of bugs me, but that's the way it is here.
"We could place our wines in restaurants or liquor stores, but we don't. We started it as a means to promote our winemaking kits, but we have noticed more and more people coming in to buy bottles of wine off the racks."
Knott said those who wish to go the winemaking route can expect to spend about $120 on equipment to get started and $60 to $180 on each kit, depending largely on the quality of wine being made. Each kit makes 30 bottles.
Those who don't want to go to the trouble to make their own wines may find picking up something at High Gravity a convenient option.
"Because we are a winery and not a liquor store, people can bring their children into the store, and we can sell wine on Sundays," Knott said.
High Gravity is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.
Original Print Headline: Winery sells DIY kits, wines
Scott Cherry 918-581-8463
scott.cherry@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
High Gravity, which sells supplies for home beer brewing and winemaking, is now selling wine made from some of the kits sold in the store. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World
Desiree Knott holds a bottle of her wine at High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World
Frank Kuensting of St. Louis, Mo., looks over wine for sale at High Gravity. The owners of the store have developed their own wine label. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World
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