WineXpert Eclipse or Juice bucket?

[tbayav8er]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to buy a high end wine kit. Here in the prairie region of Canada, you can't get fresh wine grapes, but a few stores sell 23L buckets of pasteurized juice. The juice is Fontana brand, and they have all sorts of different varietals from various regions. Would there be any advantage of buying one of these juice buckets compared to an eclipse kit? The buckets are cheaper, but I am looking for the best quality.

Thanks!

 

[Boatboy24]

Unless you could get fresh grapes to add to that bucket, I think I'd go with the Eclipse kit.

Here's a thought. Do both. Start the Eclipse kit as normal. When it comes time to move to secondary, remove the grape pack and put it into the juice bucket.

 

[AZMDTed]

Unless you could get fresh grapes to add to that bucket, I think I'd go with the Eclipse kit.

Here's a thought. Do both. Start the Eclipse kit as normal. When it comes time to move to secondary, remove the grape pack and put it into the juice bucket.

FWIW, my grape packs usually look like grape skeletons by the time I'm done with primary. I don't think I'd get much more out of mine by moving it, but then again I've been known to squeeze too hard causing protein problems.

 

[wineh]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to buy a high end wine kit. Here in the prairie region of Canada, you can't get fresh wine grapes, but a few stores sell 23L buckets of pasteurized juice. The juice is Fontana brand, and they have all sorts of different varietals from various regions. Would there be any advantage of buying one of these juice buckets compared to an eclipse kit? The buckets are cheaper, but I am looking for the best quality.

Thanks!

The simple answer is that you usually get what you pay for. In addition, not all 23 litre pails are created equally: Costco was selling some 23 litre pails with labels, corks and shrink wraps for $40.00Cdn. Closer inspection revealed that they were 4 week kits, likely re-constituted from someone else's 10 liter kits. The resulting wine was...drinkable.
PS I think you might be in Moose Jaw.

 

[volldez]

Unless those juice pails are fresh and 100% grape juice and not re-constituted, stick with the Eclipse.....you'll be much happier!

 

[tbayav8er]

Thanks for the response! Now with the Eclipse kits..... All of the reds (except Pinot Noir) are 16L of juice plus a 2L grapeskin pack. Some of the Selection kits are also 16L with a 2L grapeskin pack....Are these selection kits not as good as the Eclipse kits? (They are $20 cheaper)

 

[Brian55]

Thanks for the response! Now with the Eclipse kits..... All of the reds (except Pinot Noir) are 16L of juice plus a 2L grapeskin pack. Some of the Selection kits are also 16L with a 2L grapeskin pack....Are these selection kits not as good as the Eclipse kits? (They are $20 cheaper)

The Selection kits with skins are mostly ok, with a few exceptions. Whereas the Eclipse have been consistently decent.

 

[tbayav8er]

Fair enough. I made a Selection International Spanish Tempranillo w/grapeskins. Is it ever good! Letting it age a while longer, but I've sampled some so far (5 months old), and it is very promising! Hoping the Eclipse kits will be worth the extra cash.

 

[Brian55]

Fair enough. I made a Selection International Spanish Tempranillo w/grapeskins. Is it ever good! Letting it age a while longer, but I've sampled some so far (5 months old), and it is very promising! Hoping the Eclipse kits will be worth the extra cash.

Don't get me wrong. The Selection International kits w/skins are mostly decent, although I don't recommend the Amarone, try CC Showcase or RJ's Amarone instead). The SI kits w/skins tend to hit their peak between 12 to 18 months, but don't seem to improve much beyond that point. The Eclipse kits are a significant notch better at the same 12 to 18 month mark, but also continue to improve well beyond that point, making them well worth the relatively small increase in price.

 

[wineh]

Fair enough. I made a Selection International Spanish Tempranillo w/grapeskins. Is it ever good! Letting it age a while longer, but I've sampled some so far (5 months old), and it is very promising! Hoping the Eclipse kits will be worth the extra cash.

You will instantly notice the difference in the grapeskin packs between the Selection and Eclipse kits. There is quite a bit of liquid (sugar) in the selection packs, while the Eclipse packs are both heavier (by 2 pounds) and almost no liquid. I make more Eclipse kits than Selection now. BTW, the Tempranillo is one of our favorites, but alas has been discontinued.

 

[2020steve]

Thanks for the response! Now with the Eclipse kits..... All of the reds (except Pinot Noir) are 16L of juice plus a 2L grapeskin pack. Some of the Selection kits are also 16L with a 2L grapeskin pack....Are these selection kits not as good as the Eclipse kits? (They are $20 cheaper)

My experience the Eclipse kit is worth the $$. Remember 2 years aging so hide it well after bottling.