Welcome to Wines By Design!
We are a full service, on-premises wine making facility and wine-making kit supplier, located in Rochester NY. If you’re interested in making your own wine, come on in and we can help! We have hosted families, small groups, wedding parties and corporate team building events.
Or, if you are already an experienced vintner and are simply looking for supplies, we can help with that too. While our primary focus is wine-kits, check in with us, if we don’t have it in stock, we can probably get it for you!
For more detail on how your time will be spent making your very own wine, please see: our process.
Recipe: Sorbet
From our friends at RJS craft winemaking: Sorbet
Recipe: Braised Beef Short Ribs
From our friends at Winexpert: Barbaresco!
2019 Wine Tasting Results
The 2019 Wine Tasting Results are in!
Congratulations to this year’s winners!
Recipe: Mango Curry Chicken Thighs
From our friends at Winexpert: Symphony Gewürztraminer!
Recipe: Golden couscous stuffed peppers
- 2 large red or orange peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
- 1/2 cup Israeli or pearl couscous
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp each salt, turmeric and cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup cooked lentils
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Place peppers, cut-side-down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes or until softened. Turn upright and reserve.
- In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, toast couscous for 3 minutes or until golden.
- Add oil and garlic to skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in vegetable broth, cumin, salt, turmeric and cinnamon. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until fluids are almost absorbed. Stir in spinach and lentils; cool slightly.
- Stir feta and raisins into couscous mixture. Divide between peppers. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.
- TIP: Meat Lovers Variation: Replace lentils with chorizo or Italian sausage; crumble the contents of 1 large fresh sausage into the skillet. Brown completely and set aside. Toast the couscous in the residual oils from the sausage. Stir in sausage with spinach once couscous is cooked and complete recipe as written.
PDF version: Golden Couscous Stuffed Peppers
Recipe: Orzo with peas and goat cheese
- 1 1/2 cups orzo
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 large clove garlic, grated
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 pkg (140 g) plain or herbed goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Quartered grape tomatoes (optional)
- Crispy Prosciutto (optional, *see tip)
- Cook orzo for 6 minutes. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of cooking water before draining.
- Return pot to burner, set over medium-low heat; add butter and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Return orzo to pot along with peas, goat cheese and about 1 cup reserved cooking water. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted and pasta is hot throughout.
- Remove from heat; stir in basil and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Add additional pasta water for a creamier texture as needed.)
- Spoon into bowls and garnish with quartered grape tomatoes and a sprinkle of crumbled Crispy Prosciutto (if using). Serve immediately.
- TIPS: This pasta should have a creamy, risotto-like texture but can thicken up quickly so be sure to have a little extra pasta water on hand to loosen it up as needed before serving.
- *Crispy Prosciutto: Spread 3 slices prosciutto on a parchment-lined baking sheet and toast in a 350°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Cool and coarsely crumble.
PDF version: Orzo with peas and goat cheese
2019 Wine Tasting Competition
It’s here!
The annual WBD Wine Tasting Competition!
You’ve worked hard perfecting your wines here at Wines By Design and once again, you have a chance to show it off.
Coming soon: (Saturday, March 23 from 12p – 4p to be exact) we are holding our annual competitive tasting event.
Special bonus: All attendees will receive an Owners discount of 15% off all wine kits during the event.
(Excludes the limited edition kits: Winexpert: LE2018, Vineco: Passport and RJS: 4Fugitives wine kits.)
You are allowed to submit up to 3 bottles per person for the 3 entry categories: Red, White and Dessert/Fruit. Your wine will be moved into numbered bottles and you will be the judge in the blind tasting. The highest scored wines will be the winner in each category and the highest scoring of those will be named Best of Show. Best of Show wins a $100 gift certificate at WBD and the other two winners will each receive a $50 gift certificate to WBD.
To enter, turn in your bottles at the store before Friday, March 22 (contest closing time is 7p).
For the day of the event: there will be a $5 fee for those not contributing a bottle of their finest vino. (Contest entrants are free!)
Note: This is limited to wine made in the Wines By Design store (from our kits). This does not include wine made from fresh juice.
A quick recap (TL;DR):
- Drop off up to 3 bottles per person by Friday, March 22 at 7p.
- Join us for wine judging on March 23 beginning at 12p.
- See how your wines stack up against all the WBD competition!
We’ll provide: palate cleansing crackers, snacks, appetizers, munchies, and more!
Sign of the Times – 10
Sign of the Times – 10
It’s our next “Sign of the Times” entry!
This month: Good company!
(WBD Translation: The best wines are the ones we drink with friends.)
OK, so it’s been a while for a “Sign of the Times”, but we’ve been focused on our Instagram account, don’t cha know…
You DO know we have an Instagram account, right?
Check out some of our other graphics.
Note: A number of these are created on Canva and/or using Avery label software. You can check out our post on creating your own labels .
Got a “sign” you’d like to suggest or one you’ve created and don’t mind us sharing? Drop us a note on our Contact page.
Information
Address:
Contact Us:
Business Hours:
| Tue – Fri: | 3:30p – 7:30p |
| Sat: | 9:00a – 2:00p |
| Sun & Mon: | CLOSED |
Continuing Education
Looking for something to do? Got four nights free? How about joining one of classes, we’ll show you how to make your very own delicious wine!
Wedding
Why not share your special day with all your guests? Let them take home part of your special day, a bottle of your very own wedding vintage.
A Night at Home
What’s better than a night by the fire, some artisan cheese and a bottle of terrific wine you’ve made yourself?
We heard many great things about you, so we decided to check you out for ourselves.
(BTW: They were right!)
We cannot say enough good things about Wines By Design. The quality of the wine is better than most bottles of wine you can buy at the store, plus you get to tell your friends and family you made it on your own!