Juice bucket mixed results

[Jal5]

I know I saw something like this before. I’ve used juice buckets from two different suppliers locally over the past few years. Mixed results- one was consistently just blah and the other was pretty good. Tried different grapejuice merlot, cab sauv, sangiovese. Calif and Chile varieties. Can there be that much difference between suppliers to account for this? Do they get the juice in bulk and maybe one waters it down?

thanks
Joe

 

[Rocky]

Joe, I have had some inconsistencies in juice buckets from year to year from all three areas, Chile, California and Italy. I don't know what causes it, probably just the difference in vintages from year to year. I once had a Chilean Malbec that was to die for and the next year it was purely mediocre, same supplier. In my experience, I have found that for consistency, and there is not a huge difference, California has been best, Italy is second and Chile is third. Quality-wise, I would put Italy first, California Second and Chile third. Again, that is only my experience and others may have had different results. As far as how it is shipped, I am not sure, but I would imagine it is shipped in bulk from Italy and Chile and "bucketed" in North America (US or Canada). California juice is probably processed there.

 

[cmason1957]

My opinion on juice buckets is I am unable to make a wine I want to drink or of any juice bucket and just don't bother with them any longer.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I ran a similar experiment last spring. Bought Carmenere juice from two different shops, but also used two different yeasts. Tasting both side by side, I definitely had a favorite, but the more I read the generic description of the yeasts characteristics, the more I could see that the differences were probably due to the yeasts.

On a side note I did a glass blend and the 50/50 blend was better then either one. So I plan to blend the two together at bottling.

 

[Rocky]

My opinion on juice buckets is I am unable to make a wine I want to drink or of any juice bucket and just don't bother with them any longer.

The buckets can be tricky, but I have found for white wine, they do a very good job. I think this is because the pure juice is very close to what is used commercially for white wines. That is, white grapes are normally squeezed, and the juice is collected without any appreciable contact with the skins. Reds are a different story and that is why, when I was making a red wine from juice buckets, I would buy a lug of grapes of the same variety, destem them, crush them and add them to the primary fermentation. Seemed to work for me.

 

[Jal5]

Maybe my next experiment in the Fall will be juice bucket plus a lug of grapes. It’s strange but I tasted a 750 ml bottle of Cab Suav from 2020 yesterday and it was watery. The 5 gallons same juice from 2020 that I bottled two cases of today was definitely better. Only difference was oak spiral added to the 5gallon carboy.

 

[Jal5]

Ohio Bob I’m from Steubenville and use a shops in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Where aRe your suppliers?

 

[tullamore]

i agree with Rocky when it comes to red juice by adding a lug or 2 to the mix - only time i get juice is for my whites once in a while
i usually make my whites from grapes but sometimes i get some juice when i get a little lazy
- Lodi is good in their whites - Spain and Australia are great - Ontario Canada where i live are excellent

 

[Rocky]

i agree with Rocky when it comes to red juice by adding a lug or 2 to the mix - only time i get juice is for my whites once in a while
i usually make my whites from grapes but sometimes i get some juice when i get a little lazy
- Lodi is good in their whites - Spain and Australia are great - Ontario Canada where i live are excellent

Interesting, I have not seen buckets from Spain or Australia, but then again, I haven't looked for them either. We have an importer here in Columbus, OH that gets buckets in from California, Italy (Fall) and Chile (Spring). He usually has the grapes to match the buckets, too. I would imagine you get the Spanish juice in the Fall and Australian juices in the Spring, correct?

 

[Ohio Bob]

Ohio Bob I’m from Steubenville and use a shops in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Where aRe your suppliers?

Favorite is Grape & Granary - Akron
2nd is Vine N Hop - Medina
There is a Label Peelers in Ravenna that I’ve been to once, years ago.

 

[Ohio Bob]

The buckets can be tricky, but I have found for white wine, they do a very good job. I think this is because the pure juice is very close to what is used commercially for white wines. That is, white grapes are normally squeezed, and the juice is collected without any appreciable contact with the skins. Reds are a different story and that is why, when I was making a red wine from juice buckets, I would buy a lug of grapes of the same variety, destem them, crush them and add them to the primary fermentation. Seemed to work for me.

I concur 100%. My whites are every bit as good as any store bought (I was told by my head taster, me). Reds, I have yet to make anything that would compete. However, I have learned so much in the last 2 months from this site that I think I at least have the toolkit to start making better reds.

 

[tullamore]

Interesting, I have not seen buckets from Spain or Australia, but then again, I haven't looked for them either. We have an importer here in Columbus, OH that gets buckets in from California, Italy (Fall) and Chile (Spring). He usually has the grapes to match the buckets, too. I would imagine you get the Spanish juice in the Fall and Australian juices in the Spring, correct?

my importer - an Italian (one of my people) we get frozen must and juice from Montsant Spain - every 3 years i do Tempranillo and a Grenacha (225 litres) - this year was the first time we got frozen juice from Australia
these we get on the fall

 

[Jbu50]

I tried white juice buckets from Chile last spring for the first time - tried a Chardonnay, Viognier, and a Sauvignon Blanc. Mediocre results...but the strangest thing is that they all kind of taste the same. I can’t figure it out.

 

[tullamore]

most grapes i get come from Lodi, El Dorado,Russian River ,clement Hills

 

[tullamore]

Interesting, I have not seen buckets from Spain or Australia, but then again, I haven't looked for them either. We have an importer here in Columbus, OH that gets buckets in from California, Italy (Fall) and Chile (Spring). He usually has the grapes to match the buckets, too. I would imagine you get the Spanish juice in the Fall and Australian juices in the Spring, correct?

yo Rock if u ever get a chance - order some juice or taste some - Riesling or Gewürztraminer from ontario - our climate is perfect for these grapes -

 

[Rocky]

yo Rock if u ever get a chance - order some juice or taste some - Riesling or Gewürztraminer from ontario - our climate is perfect for these grapes -

I will keep an eye out for them. I was in the service in Europe and drank a lot of both in Germany. I would guess that your climate is similar to that of Central Europe. Do you know where in Ontario they are grown? I used to live in Rochester, NY and we made many trips to Toronto for the shows there. It was a great city to visit.

 

[RBAllan]

Assuming all suppliers use the same quality control measures, there can be a tremendous difference in a grape juice from a particular vintner from year to year. For example, we enjoy a Falanghina wine from a local winery in San Diego. One year was a cold summer and there was so little sugar in the grapes, the winery wouldn't sell the resulting wine because it produced a very low alcohol content and wasn't up to their standards (we got them to just give us a few gallons to make Falanghina Brandy). Another local California winery produces Mission wine from grape vines brought over from Spain by the Mission Fathers in the 1700s. The first year was a hot summer and the grapes were loaded with sugar, producing a delicious desert wine. The second year was a normal summer and the grapes produced a good dry white wine.

Rather than buying your juice from an online vendor without any knowledge of the growing conditions from the source, you might consider getting friendly with some of the local wineries to find out if you can buy your juice directly from them. That way you know how they grew the grapes and the sugar content of the grapes.

 

[heatherd]

I agree with the above posts: for reds I like adding fresh/frozen grapes to the fresh juice buckets. For whites and roses, I can do them as a juice bucket alone. For anyone not doing buckets because of a consistency issue, I'd suggest doing Finer Wine Kits (from Label Peelers in OH), as their red kits are consistently better than the other makers. Their Forte series comes pre-balanced, with all your chems, with a very large amount of grapes, with seeds, with a starter, and are shipped cold since they're not pasteurized to be shelf-stable. Wine Making - Wine Kits - Finer Wine Kits - Forte Series - Label Peelers

 

[tullamore]

I will keep an eye out for them. I was in the service in Europe and drank a lot of both in Germany. I would guess that your climate is similar to that of Central Europe. Do you know where in Ontario they are grown? I used to live in Rochester, NY and we made many trips to Toronto for the shows there. It was a great city to visit.

Niagara on the Lake - i get the juice form Watsons i also get all my barrels from them as well - yes Toronto is a great city - But Montreal trumps all Canadian cities
our IMO

 

[tullamore]

I tried white juice buckets from Chile last spring for the first time - tried a Chardonnay, Viognier, and a Sauvignon Blanc. Mediocre results...but the strangest thing is that they all kind of taste the same. I can’t figure it out.

Chile has a great Cab Sav(best known) - if u get ur hands on some get it - u will not be disappointed
made some years ago - Wow! - to this day never made a cab Sav that good