Make your own wine at Vintner's Cellar

At Vintner's Cellar in Royal Oak you can create a batch of wine for a special occasion, enjoy a wine-tasting party with friends, or pick up gifts of wine for your clients with your company logo or message on the labels. You can also sample wines at the tasting bar to help you decide whether to take home a bottle of the Royal Oak Red (Merlot) or the Hot-n-Sassy (Shiraz), or both.

"This totally fits what I wanted to do," said Lisa Berry, who opened the custom winery Nov. 18 with business partner Sheryl Racey. "I wanted to be in a business where people were happy to come into my location. Nobody's upset when they're coming in for wine."

The Royal Oak residents and wine aficionados worked together for 10 years in the telecommunications industry before starting the franchise winery business at 325 E. Fourth St.

"We did a lot of research. The wine industry has at least doubled every year for the last five years," Berry said. "We both thought this was a good time to take a chance."

"There are no stores like this in the area," Racey said. "You can come here and participate, start the batch and have a custom label so it's completely unique."

Berry and Racey make a variety of red and white wines, as well as several fruit wines and desert wines. Customers can order a full batch of wine (anywhere from 24 to 28 bottles), and step into the role of winemaker themselves. The first step is mixing the raw juice, the yeast and the bentonite, a fining agent, in a large pail.

"If the customer likes our Riesling but would like it a little sweeter, we can sweeten it. If they'd like a Merlot that is more OK, we can add more oak," Berry said.

The wine ferments in large glass containers over a six- to eight-week period. Berry and Racey monitor the process, and clarify and filter the wine.

"Customers come back and bottle and cork their batch of wine and put the seals or foils on the top. During the process they can send us information on what they want on their custom labels," Berry said. "We have a gentleman who is doing a batch of wine and he's a builder. He has a picture of one of his projects that he wants in the background (of the label) and he's going to put his company's logo on the front."

Prices for a batch of wine (including the custom labels) range from $189 to $369, depending on the amount of juice concentrate in the product. Fruit wines can generally be consumed right away, while new bottles of reds and whites should age for several months or longer.

"We're actually starting wines that we won't release until the summertime or later. It could be in the fall or even the next holiday season," Berry said.

During the recent holidays several customers booked wine-tasting parties at Vintner's Cellar.

"They're fun. Everybody has a good time," Berry said. "We've met so many nice people."

"Just gather some friends and hangout for an hour and a half and try different wine. We provide the cheese, crackers and grapes," Racey added.

Wine-tasting parties are $10 per person, with a minimum 12-person charge. The winery can accommodate up to 24 guests, and you can bring in additional food. It's a unique setting for a bridal shower, a client appreciation event or a casual gathering of family and friends.

Berry and Racey are hosting two days of grand-opening activities at Vintner's Cellar 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 16 and 17. Stop by for wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres, and to register for a raffle of prizes, including gift certificates for wine. Vintner's Cellar also carries wine charms and wine stoppers, and displays wine-related art by local artists. For more info, call (248) 591-9463. Visit www.royaloakwinery.com and sign up for the winery's newsletter to learn about future promotions and events.