Other Cornucopia, Reserve Du Chateau, vino italiano and the like. Are they good?

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Rivenin

Major brewer - Minor wino
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I know it's all up to personal preference. Seeing as they are cheap makes me wonder if they are any good and what to compare them to?
I can drink 2 buck chuck just fine... I love country style wines but can't deal with boones farm at all. So i don't know if the fruit versions of these kits are any good? or even the normal grape based kits?

some of them that seem interesting so far are like

Cornucopia Fruit Wine Kit, Red Black Current Cabernet Sauvignon
Chateau Classico 6 Week Wine Kit, Argentinian Malbec
Cornucopia Fruit Wine Kit, Red Black Cherry Merlot
Vino Italiano 4 Week Wine Kit, Gewurztraminer
Vino Italiano 4 Week Wine Kit, Cabernet Sauvignon
Cornucopia Fruit Wine Making Kit, Raspberry Merlot
 
I did the VI Cabernet Sauvignon and Barolo last year (the Barolo was my first wine ever). Like you said, it's all about personal taste. I think they are OK. They end up costing $2/bottle or so, and you get your money's worth, and a tad more, IMHO. But don't expect an $8-$10 wine. I made the Barolo to 5 gallons and swapped the kit yeast for BM45 and it's still thin and lacking flavor. The Cab, I modified by adding 12oz of raisins, 6.5oz of dried blueberries, and a sliced banana to the primary. Both got some oak as well. I'm not crazy about the Barolo, but its not bad. The cab is a decent wine, especially for the investment and it makes a pretty darn good base for sangria. If you're looking for decent reds, my personal preference is to go with higher end kits. I haven't tried one yet, but I think the cornucopia kits could be quite good - especially with small tweeks.
 
I have done the VI cabernet kit with a few tweaks;raisins and bananas, french toast oak. I was pleasantly surprised for the price. I over-oaked it so now it is bulk aging to mellow a bit, but it tastes as good as a $7.99 bottle to me.
 
As long as you understand you are getting what you pay for these can be ok wines. I have done a few of the fruit flavored kits (Cornucopia etc) and (IMHO) at best the back sweetening barely covers the taste of cheap kit. At worst, if you are not careful to test as you add, it can sweeten it to the point of a desert wine (made that mistake only once...). For the same price I find I have gotten a lot more out of picking up a lower end kit, say the Vino Italiano Gewurztraminer, and sourcing my own sweetening components, such as elderberry extract in this case. These kits usually come with a fair amount of KT that cannot be aged out, but I enjoy the cheap kits for what they are... cheap and alcoholic. I make sure to start up a top shelf kit for aging, just to compensate :)
 
I made the VI Cab once. I made it to 5 gallons instead of 6 and gave it more oak. Many people do not recommend reducing the water because it screws up the acidity. It was still pretty thin and not as good as a 2 buck cab during the first year. However, I had a 3 year old bottle a few weeks ago and I was really surprised at how good it tasted , smooth with much more body than it was 2 years before and much better than 2 buck. It became a very good table wine IMO. Unfortunately, I only have 1 bottle left.

Would I make it again? Probably not. I like to share really good fine wine with others and that is not a wine that I would share.

This year I did make the Cornucopia Coconut Frascati and I really like it. It is a refreshing summer drink, and I will share it with others since it is not a fine wine and no one would expect it to be.
 
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I've had good luck with the white wine kits from amazon (6 week chateau classico).

Reds not so much. Worth spending more to step up to a kit that was skins imo.
 
I agree with you Wino on all counts. Maybe my taste buds are less critical when it comes to white wines than reds. I forgot that I made a VI Chardonnay a couple of times. I added a lot of oak to it. Very good at the 2 year mark.

For reds, I now go for kits with skins.
 
Recently, people have asked about wines I've made, so I have good excuses to open bottles and do formal testing before replying. :dg

I cracked a bottle of the Barolo tonight. It's now almost 18 months old, and I haven't tried a bottle since March. It has improved noticeably. It ain't great, but it ain't bad at all. Even cutting to 5 gallons, and making a few tweaks, I'm still close to $2/bottle. I think I have a $5-7 bottle of wine here, so the value is there. The harshness/KT is gone, and the oak has integrated nicely, being just noticeable now.

For me, the lithmus test is making wine that I enjoy, and whose "value" (according to my taste buds) is significantly higher than the monetary cost involved (I take the labor out of the equation, because this is something I enjoy doing, along with the "I made this" factor). I think this kit has done that. Actually, all kits I've made have done that. That's why I love this hobby. As was said above, these kits are fine, as long as your expectations are in line.

Jim
 

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