Packlab Amore Divino

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kevinlfifer

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I ordered 4 of these kits @ $35 each (a merlot, cab, montepulciano,and a tuscan rosso). Also ordered 4 of the fior d'uva grape packs @ $16 each. So each kit comes in at $51. So far these have a great taste at every stage of the process. They seem to lack the prune juice smell and flavor in the early stage that the Winexpert kits seem to have.

I raised the SG to 1.1 with .5 to 1.0 lb sugar and made a full 6 gal. I also add Med. toast American Oak, 1 cup boiled for 8-10 min. I add all the water the oak was boiled in too. The tuscan rosso magnifico does not seem to be different from my RGS Super Tuscan at the same stages.

I figure if they suppliy a chain as large as COSTCO in Canada there has to be some quality to their product.

From the way these kits are progressing I think they will be a pleasant drink after 1-2 moths in the bottle.
 
Kevin, I will be interested to see how that all turns out for you. I hope you are pleased and I do not see any major red flags in what you have done. One thing that I would recommend is to give the bag of skins a good squeeze at least once daily in primary fermentation. Keep us up to date on how things go. If you have indeed matched the RJS Super Tuscan for $51, I am prepared to give you a standing ovation. BTW, which variety of D'Uva grape packs did you use? Good luck!
 
Where are you getting these kits - and the grape packs? I'd be interested in copying your experiment.
 
PakLab kits

Seems the grapeskin addition is catching on. PakLab is now selling some of their kits with them. I understand that they are also the distributor/packager for the Fior d'uvla but am having a hard time sourcing them locally. Nearest spot is in Moncton ( I am in Halifax). Anybody have any other options about getting hold of these skins?
Ric H
 
I got all these kits on Ebay. I get 4 at a time for quantity discount. Shipping is included in the pricing. The Merlots I've made AMORE DIVINO and ANTICA VENDEMMIA seem VERY good at the early stages. The Tuscan Rosso/w merlot pack, is a little thinner than the Spagnols (I opened one early to get a head to head comparison) but subperb by my standards at half the price.

The direct website is:

http://mywinemonvin.com/
 
Interesting. 23L kits for under 80 bucks. That's very tempting.
 
Interesting. 23L kits for under 80 bucks. That's very tempting.

Don't let that fool you :) These are the Onyx V 23 litre kits. They go on sale at Canadian Costco's for about $47 CDN. I'm not convinced it's all juice (the ingredients say it may contain liquid invert sugar) and put it this way, I look to modify these kits. I have a Malbec bulk aging, and during prelimiary tasting it is definately not in the same league as a more high end red kit. (the 18 l with grape pack CC showcase shiraz blows it away).

I am intersted in the Fior D'Uva grape pack additions, but haven't been able to find a source for the grape packs.
 
I agree, there are 23 liter kits that arent very good. RJSpagnols make one in a bucket which I think goes by the name Premier and is nasty, the Mosti all juice buckets are so so compared to their other products such as their Renaissance Impressions and so on. For the most part the biger the quantity the better but usually you can also judge it by price so if somethings sounds to good to be true it usually is!
 
Don't misunderstand the paklab kits I've done don't compare to the Ultra Premium Selection Estate Series Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir. Also, with out the addition of the grape pack I'm sure these kits would be pretty thin. I am saying that for $52 bucks for the kit and the skins they seem to be way better than a VR for $70. I would compare them to the better World Vineyard series from Winexpert.

I'm gonna give a bottle or 2 to Rocky, Then i'll let him weigh in on it.
 
Had a wine drinkers cookout, Opened several of the Packlab cheapies (Amore divino with grape packs = < $60/kit) bottled in Mar/April. The merlot was as smooth as silk, very bright and fruit forward, The rosso Magnifico with a cab pack was excellent, one of the other true wine lovers said it was not big enough for a steak dinner, but to drink with fruit and appetizers it was as good as he has ever had, "easy to drink as water, it was so smooth". The Montepulciano with a shiraz pack had the most body and still tasted a bit young but was very nice. I didn't break out a cab. If they were this good now, I am excited to try them 4-6 months from now. I can see these are going to turn into our everyday choice and the top end kits for the special dinners like every Fri and Sat.

I still have to get some of these to Rocky

Also the night before we opened the first of the RJS Super Tuscan bottled in Feb. WOW. Ordered another, got it today. On sale at southernbrew.
 
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