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I don't want to rain on your parade, but I went down this same path 7 years ago. I bought the best kits I could at the time (Cellarcraft Showcase) and made several different varieties. I still have some of those original bottles (Red Mountain Cabernet, Super Tuscan and Argentina Malbec), which...

I have never had a kit wine that tasted good right after making it. However, left for a few years all the red kits I made have definitely improved. Do the same and hopefully it will become something you like eventually.

I think what Tim is arguing is that some big wineries use some concentrated juices in their wines. I guess it is possible that those wineries make some of their wines entirely from concentrates (which is theoretically comparable to kits), though I really doubt that. Regardless, I never drink...

For me I have found a few "tells" for kits. Candy/bubble gum is one. I don't generally use sorbate so don't have a lot of experience with it, but I have at least one sorbated kit that didn't have a candy-ish taste so I know it doesn't _always_ cause it. Most kits I have made, especially the...

Update: I had another set that had nothing but water run through them and they also tasted like a dryer sheet. It appears it doesn't matter whether sulfite is run through them or not.

Reviving an old thread here as I also had this problem recently filtering some whites. I too was using SuperJet #2 pads which I had purchased several years ago. I ran some sulfite solution then about 6 gallons of fresh water through the filter. When I sampled the water it tasted like it had...

Agreed about the regional grapes idea. Definitely try to find some of that! Regarding smells during ferment most kits seem to get stinky after a few days. Caused by sulfur compounds, and sometimes called rhino farts, this is usually a sign of inadequate nutrient and I usually add a half does...

Here is my recap on this subject after reading dozens of threads on this years ago when I was getting started in kits. My first 3 kits were Cellar Craft Showcase and RJS Winery Series, all reds with skins, so I should have been in for a real treat. Instead, more than 4 years later I still have...

If you want to learn more have a look at this guide: http://morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/wredw.pdf That answered a lot of my questions when I started with grapes. Jeff

Not trying to discourage you from replacing staves but honestly that sounds like a ton of work. If you are trying to avoid that you could always just add some new oak (ex: spirals etc.) to the wine in the barrel rather than do anything with them. You still get the micro-oxygenation and...

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...

I did this kit at a FoP in late 2013 so it is coming up on 3 years. It turned out the best of the 3 kits I did then, I suppose because it tasted least kit-like of the bunch. It is very soft, and comes across as slightly sweet, but nothing is off. The other two kits I did around the same time...

This isn't going to be used to top the barrel but rather fill it after the current batch comes out. If I left it in until fall when the next grapes are ready the batch currently in the barrel would be over oaked. Because the bucket only makes about 20 L (after racking) I have topped up...

What was the starting SG?

I have carboys of cider that still fizz vigorously when stirred after sitting in the carboy for the better part of a year. Time in no way guarantees all the CO2 is released. A good vacuum pump and a few minutes is all it takes to get rid of the CO2.

My red went steadily down to 1.000 then slowed and stopped at 0.998 for a few days so I degassed and sulfited. 0.992 is very low and I am not sure why they say it should get below that. So far it is surprisingly good. I would say medium body, but for being so young it is already fairly tasty...

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...

I just started a Festa "Red" (doesn't get more generic than that) bucket last week because I needed something to keep a barrel filled, and at $36 it wasn't much more than water! I added some tannin and some nutrient but otherwise just let it go. Seems like it should end up drinkable but it is...

It is possible the F-pack has some preservatives but in such small volumes it is not enough to cause problems. Keep in mind sorbate does not kill yeast, so especially if you add it part way through a healthy ferment it wouldn't cause issues. I find it really hard to describe because it is...

Noted the discontinuation of the RJS Vino Del Vida and Cellar Classic lines