Transitioning From Kits to Fruit

[Redtrk]

I've gone from 2 kits to using fruit now for the last three batches. If I can do it nearly anyone can. BTW I couldn't have done it without the help of the great people here. Thank you!

 

[EdwardLongshanks]

It's still that way?

I knew home winemaking owed a lot to draconian Canadian alcohol laws, but I thought those laws had now gone the way of the dodo.

I assume it has more to do with the taxes on alcohol. Some provinces do sell beer and wine in grocery stores, but the taxes on liquor are the same pretty much throughout the country. With a kit there are no "sin" taxes. Most people I know use a kits to make traditional wine, and fruit to make an easy drinking get drunk friday night style wine.

 

[eboobi]

eboobi one of the reason Kits are so popular in Canada is because we pay between two and four times as much for a regular dry wine as you guys in the States do. Its not so much about making your own fruit wine and such as it is about having affordable table wine or even Wine to cellar. Also our provincial government has a monopoly on the liquor store so If there is a "Sale" you are usuall buying a $15 bottle of Wine for $13.49. when my father goes to Florida he buys the same wine for $7, and there is always something on sale for 2 for 1 or something like that.
Canada and The US are completely different markets when it comes to Wine and that is why all the major Kit manufactures are Canadian companies. There is a need for them here that just doesn't exist south of the border

Sounds like Pennsylvania. The state owns all the liquor stores. from what I have gathered prices aren't as skewed as you are discussing but we can easily pay $5 to $10 more for a bottle of wine than wee would if we bought it from one of our neighboring states. We can purchase directly from wineries that are located in the state (they still have to pay the taxes) but we really aren't allowed to import anything from out of state without sending it through the state owned stores so they can add their markup.

I won't argue that competition makes a huge difference in prices. My wife used to work for our liquor control board. I think 24% of the price we pay is in taxes to the state.