Festa Juice / Magnotta - experience?

Has anyone experience with the Festa Juice buckets?
http://www.magnotta.com/Festajuice/Juices_A.aspx

I've done a few searches and came up with one a few mentions but little detail to the final product.

There's a Magnotta location rather close to me that I'm able to pick these up easily (I'd have to order ahead for the style I want). They're a 5Gal 'juice' bucket with yeast already added. They have three varietals available with a skin pack as well.

I was, specifically, looking at the red Zin, Grenache or Montepulciano.

While I talked with the guys in the retail location, and they're nice enough to answer a few questions, and they mention that they're mixed to give a 12% ABV, come pre-frozen and advised that it's not to be fermented directly in the bucket (but, rather, a 6gal carboy). They admitted that their kits will make wine on-par with their own mid-grade wines ($8-$12 range) - which, if you've been to Magnotta, isn't something to get too excited about.

I've sent an email in with some additional questions that I've had no response back on and I'm hoping a few here have some feedback.

Anybody?

No one's used it?

Well, I might as well use this thread as a starting point for information.
I had a good conversation with Marco from Festa Juice. Very nice to chat with me for a while and explain to me the kits.

There are two levels of kits: The basic juice kit (available in both Fresh and Pasteurized) and the Premier juice kit.
The basic kit is, well, the basics - it's formulated to come out at around 12% and be balanced at that level as a basic table wine (so don't expect a big Zinfandel). The fresh is available locally while the pasteurized is reserved for longer travel distances (retail locations further from Magnotta). At the prices they offer it: it's understandable. The kit's juice is likened to be similar to Magnotta's 16L box wines.
He indicated that, while it is juice and not a concentrate kit, it may contain up to a certain level of concentrate (I beleive it was 2%) for additional flavor.

The premier kit includes skins. These are available seasonally and it's recommended to call in around August to secure some buckets. It's a much higher quality kit with juice (and price reflects this). Typically only Cab Sauv, Merlot & Syrah are avail as the premier kit.

There is a guarantee on the product, if made to directions, for any quality imperfections for 4 months from purchase. Though, humorously, Marco had recommended a 4-6 month aging process.

The directions online suggest that all fermentation should be done in a 23L carboy (and not the pail) but it was admitted that a week in the pail is fine but to transfer to the 23L carboy after the first week. Rack it after 4 weeks to a 19L carboy and rack, again, after another 4 weeks before aging (which he suggested 2-4 months - or could be bottled and aged in a bottle).

As for modifications to their kits: he did not like the idea of chaptalization as it would throw off any balance in the kit. He did, however, think oak in specific kits would be a welcome addition.

Thank you for the info. I had thought about making one of these probably about 6 years ago. However, the people in the nearest Magnotta store were not very knowledgable about them, and if I recall rightly they had to be ordered for delivery to the store. Given that I didn't own a 5 US gallon (19 litre) carboy (still don't), I decided to pass on them.

Steve

My local store stocks a number of the kits. They also offered to order in any of the other kits in a day or two.

As I mentioned in another thread I started a Festa Merlot 100% Chilean with skins bucket back in September and fermented (well, finished fermenting as it was half fermented when I received it!) on pressed skins from a grape wine I made.

So far so good, decent medium bodied, but I have not sampled recently and will let it age for a while yet as it is still early days.

Just last week I started a Festa "Red" to keep a barrel full and while it is still in the primary it seems like it should turn out OK.

I bought the juice (20 L). 2 years ago (autumn 2014)

Wont buy again. Didn't like the way it turned out

Siwash said:

I bought the juice (20 L). 2 years ago (autumn 2014)

Wont buy again. Didn't like the way it turned out

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Details? What didn't you like (and what kind did you get)?

Quick update.
The Red Zinfandel and the Rose Chardonnay are moving along. Both have fermented down to dry and are ageing.

The Chard got a little sip on the weekend as I racked to a 5gal from 6gal and had a little left over. The yeasty aftertaste was a little much but the actual wine flavors were VERY light. I almost want to say watery - not too impressed right now. I'll have to see when it clears some more how it turns out. It's about 4/5 weeks in now.

The Red Zin smells very cherries and fruit right now. I've not yet tasted it though but I'll be adding some more oak and let it sit another couple weeks to clarify. I'm about 6/7 weeks in.

Spikedlemon said:

Quick update.
The Red Zinfandel and the Rose Chardonnay are moving along. Both have fermented down to dry and are ageing.

The Chard got a little sip on the weekend as I racked to a 5gal from 6gal and had a little left over. The yeasty aftertaste was a little much but the actual wine flavors were VERY light. I almost want to say watery - not too impressed right now. I'll have to see when it clears some more how it turns out. It's about 4/5 weeks in now.

The Red Zin smells very cherries and fruit right now. I've not yet tasted it though but I'll be adding some more oak and let it sit another couple weeks to clarify. I'm about 6/7 weeks in.

Click to expand...

Exactly - Watery.. flabby wines... won't do them again

I'll link over to my other thread on the Zin and thoughts after bottling.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52662


My thoughts, especially at the price, they're OK.

They're ripe for tweaking and getting some flavor though. They're certainly missing on the flavor side of things.
The price is what tips it for me - for me, ranging from $30-50 fresh, I can make a 5 gal batch of wine and get a free bucket. I can see why the higher volume sellers, at the store, are the cheaper ones - if bold varietal flavor isn't there, why pick a more expensive wine?

August they're coming out with the juice with skins. I want to jump on that one - though they're double the pricetag.

i went back to fresh grapes... can't beat that.

Update two months after bottling on the Zin.

Fruityness has started to come through. But it's really one-dimensional and rather flat. I'm torn whether adding the tannins helped or hindered as, without, it could have been an ok chilled patio wine being a very simple wine.

It's still, what I would consider, a generic table wine. But with just fruit and missing any real body.
They really need to be tweaked and/or blended.


... I wonder if anyone's done a review on the Grenache.

Spikedlemon said:

Update two months after bottling on the Zin.

Fruityness has started to come through. But it's really one-dimensional and rather flat. I'm torn whether adding the tannins helped or hindered as, without, it could have been an ok chilled patio wine being a very simple wine.

It's still, what I would consider, a generic table wine. But with just fruit and missing any real body.
They really need to be tweaked and/or blended.


... I wonder if anyone's done a review on the Grenache.

Click to expand...

This is an apt description of these wines.... flat, one dimensional.. There's something missing.. Also, there's an after-taste that I cannot put my finger on and I don't like it... something in it. I wonde what they do to these juices... Went back to fresh last fall.. so far, better... not yet bottled but seems like it has way more structure at least.

Siwash said:

This is an apt description of these wines.... flat, one dimensional.. There's something missing.. Also, there's an after-taste that I cannot put my finger on and I don't like it... something in it. I wonde what they do to these juices... Went back to fresh last fall.. so far, better... not yet bottled but seems like it has way more structure at least.

Click to expand...

I can't say that I notice any after-taste issues on either of them.

I feel like they're not bad, in the quality sense, just very very basic wine that needs something added. It feels like it would greatly benefit from adding some grapes, raisins or other fruit. Or used to blend with another wine.
And, at the price that they sell it at the Magnotta store, I guess that's where it fits.

Well, since it's the time of year for grapes...

I ordered two buckets of their juice (Syrah) with skins that just came in.
Both buckets came as juice, as their normal juice buckets with a separate frozen 1gal bucket of skins.

The skins were shredded remnants from pressing. Skins, seeds and some stems were in the bucket. The bucket for the juice is large enough that it can handle everything being added without transferring.

I intend to the skins for a Cab kit later.

I do want to update on the earlier juice buckets.
The red Zin that I made: It has been the most quickly consumed of all the red wines that I've made this year. I guess that says something. Its inoffensive nature and relatively easy-drinking qualities don't seem to have gone un-noticed.
My wife has commented, on the Chardonnay, that it's good when it's first opened on the first day but by the second day she finds it unpalatable (so she pours out the second half of the bottle).

I bottled my Festa "Red" that I started back in March and it turned into a decent table wine. Not big in body, flavor, or structure but not off in any way. For just $36/25 bottles I couldn't reasonably ask for better. I find it much more enjoyable than the Mezza Luna Red kit I did a few years back which cost significantly more.

I haven't recently sampled the Premium Chilean Merlot I did last fall, but I tweaked that with extra grape skins so my opinions on that could be largely due to tweaking. My initial impressions of it were good enough that I plan to buy a Premium Chilean Syrah this year.

Now that my sense of smell has returned: the syrah smells great. My local magnotta did have some leftover that weren't pre ordered (they got only 30 of each: Cab, Merlot & Syrah)

Good news on the Festa Red. The price is certainly right.

A repost from the tweaking cheap kit thread:

The Riesling is now bottled.

I had no issues with carbonation in this carboy and it cleared VERY quickly for me. I have to think the temperature transition from cold cellar to basement (<10C to 20C) helped the CO2.

The tweaks on this one:
> Started as a juice bucket (Magnotta) pre-inoculated with EC1118 Oct 2.
> Poured over the lees of a Sauv Blanc with R-HST yeast
> Added about 5g Tartaric Acid
> Fermented dry and, in secondary, added zest from ~1/4 lemon
> racked with some Sparkelloid
> Topped up with commercial wine (Italian Pinot Gris)

I got 25.5 bottles out of it.
I've a stuffed nose so, to me, it tastes like a light table wine. Nothing offensive at all about it.

Both my wife and my dad really liked it. My dad could pick up a light scent of lemon (I could smell nothing). My wife stole 5 bottles but the rest went to my dad.

I think I'll make it again.

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I've done nothing with the Syrah yet. It was racked early October and I'll probably rack it again near the end of December (perhaps over the holidays) to see what it looks/tastes like.