Help me pick my next kit!

[Lwrightjs]

We've all got kits that we can't get enough of. And I want to hear them.

I've tweaked a few cheap kits and I've loved them.
I've done a mid level malbec with dried grape skins and it's pretty good.
I've got a Super Tuscan bulk aging.

Now.. What should I make next? I got a nice bonus at work and my wife gets a rug but I get whatever wine kit I want.

Is there a kit that you've just absolutely loved and can't brag enough about?

 

[jsbeckton]

The WE Stags Leap Merlot and Zinfandel are both pretty good but the Lodi Cab is not IMO. The RJS Amarone is very nice.

 

[Lwrightjs]

The WE Stags Leap Merlot and Zinfandel are both pretty good but the Lodi Cab is not IMO. The RJS Amarone is very nice.

My eyes have been on the Stag's Leap Merlot for several months. Any tips for preparing it?

 

[cmason1957]

My eyes have been on the Stag's Leap Merlot for several months. Any tips for preparing it?

My tips for it are take this time lines and ignore them. I just bottled a RJS Amarone that say in the carboy book adding for about 15 months. Let it age and get better.

Oh and I am a big fan of both the WeStags Leap Merlot and the RJS Amarone (I almost always have 12 gallons of that in carboys).

 

[jgmann67]

Another vote for the stags leap. Also, the OVZ and Barolo Eclipse kits are very good.

Think about an EM.

 

[jsbeckton]

My tips for it are take this time lines and ignore them. I just bottled a RJS Amarone that say in the carboy book adding for about 15 months. Let it age and get better.

+1

The first time with the Stags Leap Merlot (2016) I didn’t do an EM but the second time I did and also extra oak (2018). I think the 2016 is still much better but should be interesting to see how they compare in a few more years (still have 15 bottles of the 2016 left).

 

[Brian55]

RJS EPWS Super Tuscan. Always excellent.

 

[Lwrightjs]

Another vote for the stags leap. Also, the OVZ and Barolo Eclipse kits are very good.

Think about an EM.

The Barolo kit is the same as the Nebiollo kit, right?

 

[jgmann67]

The Barolo kit is the same as the Nebiollo kit, right?

Sorry - yes. It is.

I’ll add, too, that some people rave about the Lodi Cab. I’m not one of those people. It was just okay for me. The RJS EP Aussie Cab @ 2 years was a far better Cab in every respect.

Also, I did the Forza when it was a limited run. Then, it was a monster Italian red, with 16% abv. I can’t speak to the one they have as an Eclipse from personal experience. But, they turned down the abv to the 13.5% range and I’m told it’s very good.

 

[motherofgallons]

I was just about to post a similar thread! Hope you don't mind my jumping in.

I have one 27L Fermonster in which I plan to do one EM kit at a time, 8 weeks apiece. I bought the following on sale over the past 3 months due to being 19-36 months out from production date. In what order should I make them? This is the order I bought them in so I assume oldest to newest, but perhaps I should go tastiest first?

WE Eclipse Nebbiolo
WE Selection Sangiovese
WE Eclipse Stag's Leap Merlot

I have the WE LE18 Barbaresco style just out of EM and into carboy for bulk aging this past week, as well as the Luna Bianca in carboy which will be bulk aged sur lie with bâttonage for approximately 9 months if all goes well.

 

[Brian55]

I was just about to post a similar thread! Hope you don't mind my jumping in.

I have one 27L Fermonster in which I plan to do one EM kit at a time, 8 weeks apiece. I bought the following on sale over the past 3 months due to being 19-36 months out from production date. In what order should I make them? This is the order I bought them in so I assume oldest to newest, but perhaps I should go tastiest first?

WE Eclipse Nebbiolo
WE Selection Sangiovese
WE Eclipse Stag's Leap Merlot

I have the WE LE18 Barbaresco style just out of EM and into carboy for bulk aging this past week, as well as the Luna Bianca in carboy which will be bulk aged sur lie with bâttonage for approximately 9 months if all goes well.

Check the date codes. Start the oldest kit first.

 

[Lwrightjs]

I was just about to post a similar thread! Hope you don't mind my jumping in.

I have one 27L Fermonster in which I plan to do one EM kit at a time, 8 weeks apiece. I bought the following on sale over the past 3 months due to being 19-36 months out from production date. In what order should I make them? This is the order I bought them in so I assume oldest to newest, but perhaps I should go tastiest first?

WE Eclipse Nebbiolo
WE Selection Sangiovese
WE Eclipse Stag's Leap Merlot

I have the WE LE18 Barbaresco style just out of EM and into carboy for bulk aging this past week, as well as the Luna Bianca in carboy which will be bulk aged sur lie with bâttonage for approximately 9 months if all goes well.

Very nice! What sort of sale? Pretty good deal?

 

[motherofgallons]

Very nice! What sort of sale? Pretty good deal?

I'm in Sweden, so my supplier only has WE kits, but once they get to 19-36 months out from production date they go almost 50% off. I've bought all my kits except the first one on sale like this. I replace the yeast with nicer kinds anyway, but even the included yeast wasn't yet expired. I use the included 1118 for skeeter pee and so far it has worked great.

 

[rustbucket]

The Eclipse Nebbiolo has my endorsement also. I took a silver medal in a Florida State competition last year with the wine I made from that kit. You wont be disappointed if you get that for your next kit.

 

[pacific_red]

The Eclipse Nebbiolo has my endorsement also. I took a silver medal in a Florida State competition last year with the wine I made from that kit. You wont be disappointed if you get that for your next kit.

Any tips on tweaking the Eclipse Nebbiolo? I just did this kit as my first entry into wine making after a 30 year gap, and so followed the instructions apart from leaving out sorbate (it fermented to 0.990). It went well and is currently in a carboy 10 weeks in for some bulk aging. My initial impressions were that it lacks the tannins I was expecting from such a big wine (after sitting on the oak cubes through week 8). It will be very drinkable in its youth, and I am assuming this was intentional to make it approachable as a young wine. It was, however, not what I was expecting. Thanks

 

[sour_grapes]

Well, I routinely add powdered tannins to my red kits. I usually add ~7-8 g of a fermentation tannin (I use Tannin Rouge) and/or ~2-3 g of a finishing tannin (Tannin Riche Extra).

 

[jgmann67]

It’s a little late to suggest for this kit, but the Nebbiolo benefited greatly from an EM. I can’t remember if I bumped up the oak in the finish too. But, I do remember adding finishing tannins.

The tannins were pretty big for the first year. They’ve faded well and the wine is drinking pretty nicely now.

 

[rustbucket]

Some folks like heavy tannin in their wine; the more the better. It's the same with hoppy beer, triple IPA has been the fad the last few years.

I found my EP Nebiolo to be just right. It's tannin is apparent but not so much that it's stomach filling. With 10 bottles left of my 2016 vintage, It's time for me to start another batch.

This is a wine that I only serve to guests who appreciate good wine.

 

[pacific_red]

Some folks like heavy tannin in their wine; the more the better. It's the same with hoppy beer, triple IPA has been the fad the last few years.

I found my EP Nebiolo to be just right. It's tannin is apparent but not so much that it's stomach filling. With 10 bottles left of my 2016 vintage, It's time for me to start another batch.

This is a wine that I only serve to guests who appreciate good wine.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. Much appreciated. This forum is great, but unfortunately I only discovered it after starting the nebbiolo kit. I agree about the EM - the grape skin bag was still floating after 2 weeks and still "squishy" when I removed it per instructions. This was my first venture into wine making for a very long time and I didn't want to venture too much from the manufacturer instructions to get a baseline on what to expect from kits. I would now also switch out the EC-1118 yeast that came with the kit for something a little less generic. I did obtain and add some Scott Tannin Complex after sampling the wine at 8 weeks, and I do have the benefit of be able to tweak to taste while still in the carboy. It will be interesting to see what difference the finishing tannin has made after another couple of months, and I am not in a rush to bottle.

I started the Eclipse Barossa Valley Shiraz a couple of weeks later and did give it a 4 week EM, after which time the grape skin bag had sunk and was pretty much spent - not "squishy" at all. The fermented juice drained straight out of it. I also only used the RC212 yeast, not the EC-1118 that was also included with the kit. I have high hopes for this kit. When I opened the juice bag, the aroma hit me in the face and my immediate reaction was "wow". After fermentation, I did note that the aroma wasn't as intense and the tannins clearly weren't as pronounced as the good local syrahs (Santa Barbara county). I also added Tannin Complex to this after racking from primary and it is now clearing.

 

[Lwrightjs]

I still haven't made a decision either. And you guys didn't help at all because the top 3 mentioned here were already the only 3 jockeying for my next kit.

Though the Nebiollo and Stag's Leap Merlot are the most likely.

So you really go straight instructions with a yeast swap and EM? That's super easy. What yeast? I have a Red Star Premier Rouge. I never see that recommended and I'm not sure why.