Might have to disagree with your disagree there John.
I found kits the perfect entry into winemaking. Way less equipment needs. Basically "cookbook" directions" and they produced a very good end product if you gave it enough time and purchased a higher end kit with a grape pack and better juice.
I am totally dumbfounded by your comment about kits requiring more chemistry than fresh grapes. In my experience I found that couldn't be further from the truth.
Kits are acid and pH balanced out of the box and need no adjustments. You don't even need to monitor SO2 if you bottle within 3 months of stabilizing. Sure you can dig into the nitty gritty details if you want to with a pH meter and SO2 analyzer if you really want to go that far. If you don't you can just follow the SO2 top off instructions supplied with the kit.
Working with fresh grapes...... Much, much more equipment to purchase and or rent. Lets see, pretty non-stop chemistry if you don't want to resort to just dumb luck. pH, TA, SO2, MLF, more pH, more TA, cold stabilization, more SO2.......
Kits gave me all the knowledge and confidence to move on to fresh grapes when I felt ready. I just bottled by first batches of Cab Sauv and Merlot from 2010 made from fresh grapes. They turned out fantastic. Best wine I have ever made for sure.
They would have been a complete and utter disaster without the training I had from making kits. I would have learned either way for sure but this winemaker really appreciated the ease, flexibility and affordability that winemaking kits offered up front while I learned the process and decided this is a "hobby" I really enjoyed and wanted to not only stick with, but take to the next level.
Cheers,
I found kits the perfect entry into winemaking. Way less equipment needs. Basically "cookbook" directions" and they produced a very good end product if you gave it enough time and purchased a higher end kit with a grape pack and better juice.
I am totally dumbfounded by your comment about kits requiring more chemistry than fresh grapes. In my experience I found that couldn't be further from the truth.
Kits are acid and pH balanced out of the box and need no adjustments. You don't even need to monitor SO2 if you bottle within 3 months of stabilizing. Sure you can dig into the nitty gritty details if you want to with a pH meter and SO2 analyzer if you really want to go that far. If you don't you can just follow the SO2 top off instructions supplied with the kit.
Working with fresh grapes...... Much, much more equipment to purchase and or rent. Lets see, pretty non-stop chemistry if you don't want to resort to just dumb luck. pH, TA, SO2, MLF, more pH, more TA, cold stabilization, more SO2.......
Kits gave me all the knowledge and confidence to move on to fresh grapes when I felt ready. I just bottled by first batches of Cab Sauv and Merlot from 2010 made from fresh grapes. They turned out fantastic. Best wine I have ever made for sure.
They would have been a complete and utter disaster without the training I had from making kits. I would have learned either way for sure but this winemaker really appreciated the ease, flexibility and affordability that winemaking kits offered up front while I learned the process and decided this is a "hobby" I really enjoyed and wanted to not only stick with, but take to the next level.
Cheers,