Other Frozen Must or High end kits?

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markb1983

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Hello everyone, first off i am not sure where this post should go. However, I will address my question.

I am looking at trying to make a frozen Juice pale wine for the first time. If anyone had tried this how did it work out? Is the wine substantially better than that of a high end kit? I only make showcase or eclipse.


Can In put the wine from the juice pale into my barrel? I read somewhere that kit wine cannot be interchanged with another type of wine?
 
I am considering the same thing myself so unfortunately I can't answer your question from experience.

What I can say is you might find better information about juice pails here:

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f60/

...but perhaps not specifically comparisons to kits.

The reading I have done says that juice pails aren't necessarily fantastic for reds because they lack the skins which make the big reds big. A red kit with skin pack may turn out better than a pail.

I have noticed that some local stores sell crushed and destemmed grape pails. That sounds more like it would turn out really well, though now you have a lot more work to do as the winemaker with the balancing and all.
 
Frozen must (not the same as a juice bucket) will make a better wine than a high end kit or a juice pail (usually) The frozen must needs to be of high quality also or the high end kit could end up being the better (and easier of the two) down the road.
 
Right, I should have clarified, I was referring to frozen pails above when I used the word "pail". Pasteurized juice pails, such as MM All Juice, are probably no better than a high end kit.

While the frozen must doesn't suffer from any off flavors as a result of pasteurization (kit taste) I have heard they can be thin in body due to the lack of skins. I would love to hear about any that match or exceed the body of a high end kit with skins.
 
Right, I should have clarified, I was referring to frozen pails above when I used the word "pail". Pasteurized juice pails, such as MM All Juice, are probably no better than a high end kit.

While the frozen must doesn't suffer from any off flavors as a result of pasteurization (kit taste) I have heard they can be thin in body due to the lack of skins. I would love to hear about any that match or exceed the body of a high end kit with skins.

Frozen must ( not juice) contains both grape skins and seeds. They pretty much crush the grape and then freeze it. It is then shipped to your door and you get to decide what to do with it. The pinot noir I have going on from frozen must is no where near what I would call thin.

Plus an advantage of frozen must over a kit is that you can use the pressed skins to make a second running. Try doing that with a kit.

However, juice buckets are another story. I would imagine a white juice bucket would be just about as high quality as you could ask for. When you start comparing red juice buckets to high end kits, the story gets a bit harder to say which is better.
 
Ok something I can finally answer!!! I had a bottle of eclipse cab from 2/2013 the other day. Went through the barrel, unfortunately was one of my first few kits so I added the sorbate to it. I can no longer use that particular barrel for an MLFed juice bucket or frozen must just as a precaution. Nice legs, body @7 out of 10. Tried an 11 month old LE 2012 Barolo. Less legs @6+ body but much more like a store bought taste. Tried my Chilean cab juice bucket... No legs body at @4 and not what I would call close to a store bought wine. The bucket came preadjusted and inoculated so no need for MLF.
Up until last nights Barolo, I was pretty unimpressed with most my kits, but now I have SOME hope. My thought would be a juice bucket would be greatly enhanced with tweaks. Oak dust in primary. Raisins in secondary and barrel aged. That would yield a more favorable wine IMHO.
However, premium kits have the advantage of some amazing varieties. Amarone, Barolo, super Tuscan, GSM. I will be taking the leap with frozen musts next week. Unfortunately it will also be $10 a bottle as opposed to @$5. I think they all have their place, and will continue the premium kits, though not the juice buckets.
What? Were you looking for the short answer? :)


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making
 
The answer is, "it depends."

First thing would be to define terms for clarity:
-Juice bucket is typically either fresh or frozen and contains 100% juice, not reconstituted
-Mosti has juice bucket kits that are reconstituted, meaning they are a combination of juice and water and you are essentially paying to purchase their water instead of using your own (these confused me when I started making wine!)
-Bucket of "must" is crushed grapes, with whatever juice comes out from the crush; these are typically frozen
-Kit with or without skins/grapes

One can make a really good white wine with a bucket of fresh or frozen juice, or a kit without skins, because white wines are generally pressed before fermentation.

Red wines on the other hand, are typically fermented with the skins and then pressed. There's benefit to higher-end kits with skins, a bucket of frozen must, or adding grapes/currants/skins to a bucket of fresh or frozen juice.

So if you're making a red, a frozen must bucket may be a better choice, or else a frozen juice pail with added grapes/skins/raisins/currants. If you're making a white, a fresh or frozen juice bucket will work well. Nice thing is that M&M sells these all year long. Note that the transition from kits to juice and must means you'll want to have at least basic testing equipment, buy the ingredients that are in the little packages with the kits, and you'll likely want to do MLF on reds. Just considerations, not bad things at all.

Good luck!
Heather
 
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