First Kit...which one.

[LenniePike]

Have previoulsy only made fruit wines but wanted to try a kit. This would be for my wife and she likes reds. I was thinking about either the CC merlot california reserve or possibly RJS chilien malbec. Both are 12L kits both have a grape pac, similar in body and oak ratings and are about the same price range. I'm not looking to make a incredible wine but a good wine. Does anybody have an opinion on these kits or possibly another suggestion. I want this to be drinkable in about 6-9 months. Thanks for the input.

p.s. I really didn't want to spend 120.00

 

[rjb222]

The GCI 12 liter Chilean Malbec is a very popular kit. Easy to follow instructions and ages up into a very nice wine.

 

[LenniePike]

Thanks for the quick reply. That was on my "list" also.

 

[ibglowin]

Those 12L kits with a grape pack/skins will give you the most bang for your $$$ hands down.

 

[LenniePike]

I guess I'm putting in an order

 

[Rocky]

Lennie, just a word of caution. For white wine kits, I have found a 12 liter works okay. For a red, I would not buy anything that is not at least 15 liters. Now, the ones you mention have a grape pack, which will help. My recommendation would be a "larger" kit, but go with your instinct. It takes the same amount of work and a little more money but I have found the larger kits to be much better.

 

[LenniePike]

I know its not that much more money but I was under the impression that the 15L kits needed a year minimum for drinkability. If the ageing is the same for "small" kits and the larger kits I will order the 15L. Could both of these size kits be good to drink in the 6-9 month range? Thanks for the replies.

 

[Rocky]

Lennie, I just got back into winemaking in January 2011 after being away from it for quite a while. Previously, I made wine mainly from grapes but now I only do kits and juice buckets. I agree that wine improves with age and it would be nice to be able to age all of our reds at least two years. Let me just say that I have made and we have consumed a number of batches over the past 16 months. Would they have been better with a year or two in the bottle? Probably, but at my age, I don't even buy green bananas.

 

[LenniePike]

Thanks for the info rocky. Would the 12L kits with grape pac be comparable to store bought wine in the 8-10$ Price range? And would the 15L kits be more like 12-15$? Just tryin' to get a handle on the difference in kits.

 

[Rocky]

Lennie, I have not tried either of the kits that you reference and I looked them up to get more info. I think you are talking about the Cellar Craft Sterling Series and the RJS Grand Cru International Series. From what is in the kit and my experience with both companies, I would be confident that you will get a very nice wine from the kits for the $80-90 price range. How they compare to store bought wine is highly subjective. Personally, and this is only my taste, I like the wines that I have made from 16 liter kits with grape packs better than anything that I buy in the store. But then, I don't go for the high priced stuff and most of anything that I used to buy was less than $20 (the only exceptions being some Italian Brunello's that were upwards of $70). I should also say that we have not bought a bottle of wine since about this time last year when my first wines were just coming out of a short (3 month) bulk aging and clearing step.

 

[LenniePike]

OK...Thanks for the info.