Recent content by marathon

I went down that route of what is in my kit, process. I asked the biggest kit manufacturer to tell me any kit that is a single varietal. They emailed and said none. They would not say what grape types were used or percentages of each. They would not confirm anything about what made up a kit...

After reading about the use of mega purple and other substances in commercial wines. I personally had thought about experimenting with flavour essences etc on my homemade wine. I noticed the threads on adding zest to wine to enhance the cheap kit wines. I thought, what if I added a little...

I do like these KT threads. Such fun with the same old ideas recirculated and some real truths when the 'only make it from real grapes and kits taste different'. The psychological kt idea is funny. Here we go: 1. Who exactly owns all these kit brands? You will be 'very' surprised. 2. Which...

Hi , That is very interesting worth further research. My own bit of news: Through an importer in the UK we discussed in detail the 'kit' problem and they said they very were aware of the 'kit' issue and imported just Mosti Mondiale. They had contacted Mosti Mondiale on my behalf again and...

I did read that article. Hmmmm! The article has taken an interesting slant on the subject. The EU bans Labrusca for very good reasons at the moment. Labrusca does remind me of some Cypriot wines, but they have been phylloxera free. It may be worth looking at Fragalino as an interesting...

I think I am saying that where you find methyl anthranilate in sufficient amounts from any source, you will find variable 'kit taste etc. Riparia is a cousin so presumably used only as a root stock is fine. I do not know about regulations with regard to its usage in the EU. If commercially...

So true. Are you saying that even if I leave my strange wine for 2 years or more it will still taste the same? I am with you exactly. The taste and smell is so very interesting and difficult to identify and we all will 'see' it slightly differently. I still think it is: methyl anthranilate. It...

Nice really valid comments in the last few posts It does 'appear' that some can/cannot taste what I consider is a 'foxy' taste. I think it must be a specific gene related to Neaderthals in the UK evolving to drink only mead or is it tea? Hybrids are interesting as probably most commercial...

Hi Well thank you very much. That is excellent news. If what you say is correct, then I am in the kit business again. I will contact them myself. When you made yours, was there any trace of that infamous 'kit taste and smell' after fermentation? It is so distinctive to me that I nearly threw...

Hi..... I think I said this on another thread and this is an update. As said before,I finally did get the real answer to this problem through emails with a manufacturer and I will just refresh. All below is 'IMO' , just to cover myself. You cannot buy a kit that contains what it 'appears' to...

Even the white rabbit could not make a decent kit

Ahhh! my point is that if you buy a kit and it says sauvignon blanc on the box. I now know that you have very little of that grape type in the cheap kits ( or even none) and a variable amount ( you can try and find out how much, but you will not get an answer) in the high end ones. They use...

Try and buy a kit that is a 100% pure varietal grape juice from the two main manufacturers. It does not exist. They are all blends and contain grape juice from types you may not have wanted to use

Never ever used it for any of my kits or home grown juice. Maybe I have been lucky and always had my wine clear by itself.

Not the foxiness, but the natural candy flavour of concord