WineXpert kit blending

[gibbonsgerg]

When I bought my first kit ( a WE sauvignon blanc pr) I was under the impression it was all sauvignon blanc. It's not well advertised as anything else, but I suspect it's already blended. Does anyone know if this is true? And if so, I suspect the actual percentages are like restaurant recipes- secret. But I'd like to know what they are, both to improve my knowledge, and possibly to tweak pre-bottling. Any advice/info?

 

[globalnavigator]

This thread may help https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/varietal-in-kits.58429/

 

[cmason1957]

I believe that WE (and maybe some of the other companies) have said they follow labeling laws, which in the US anyway means it is at least 75% Sauvignon Blanc, now whether it is blended or not, that's one of the those things they aren't required to share. I would think at the Private Reserve level you could expect it to be mostly Sauv Blanc and maybe even 100%.

 

[Gilmango]

One of the things that many of us on WMT like about FWK is that where their kit has a varietal label they made the decision to be 100% committed to it being 100% that varietal. I think they might be the only kit co. which does that. Of course FWK is also selling a ton of blended kits, but if you buy one which is labelled as "Syrah" it will only be Syrah, which just is not true of the other kit cos.

 

[Tripled92]

I believe that WE (and maybe some of the other companies) have said they follow labeling laws, which in the US anyway means it is at least 75% Sauvignon Blanc, now whether it is blended or not, that's one of the those things they aren't required to share. I would think at the Private Reserve level you could expect it to be mostly Sauv Blanc and maybe even 100%.

i 100% agree. I don’t think there is any question if it’s blended or not because they would tell you if there is different grapes, or a blend etc.

Based on the different levels, classic, reserve and private reserve it just becomes the question if it’s all coming from the same farm. For example I could be wrong but i think they told me the classic let’s just say from Italy is from multiple different farms in the country that produce that same exact grape. And the private reserve is a specific farm or place that produce the exact same grape.

All in all what I’m saying is they aren’t blending because they would say exactly what the other grapes are in the name. They probably are sourcing for example Pinot noir from 5 different farmers to make 1 kit. But not using multiple different types of grapes.

 

[gibbonsgerg]

i 100% agree. I don’t think there is any question if it’s blended or not because they would tell you if there is different grapes, or a blend etc.

Based on the different levels, classic, reserve and private reserve it just becomes the question if it’s all coming from the same farm. For example I could be wrong but i think they told me the classic let’s just say from Italy is from multiple different farms in the country that produce that same exact grape. And the private reserve is a specific farm or place that produce the exact same grape.

All in all what I’m saying is they aren’t blending because they would say exactly what the other grapes are in the name. They probably are sourcing for example Pinot noir from 5 different farmers to make 1 kit. But not using multiple different types of grapes.

I don't have Specific evidence one way or another, but I'm fairly certain that they follow the labeling laws. Which means that sauvignon blanc is at least 75% sauvignon blanc. But that they absolutely blend it. If it was 100% varietal, I'm pretty sure they'd say so, and they don't. Also, they're trying to make kits easy and accessible (and good) for newbies like me, and so they blend.

 

[Tripled92]

I don't have Specific evidence one way or another, but I'm fairly certain that they follow the labeling laws. Which means that sauvignon blanc is at least 75% sauvignon blanc. But that they absolutely blend it. If it was 100% varietal, I'm pretty sure they'd say so, and they don't. Also, they're trying to make kits easy and accessible (and good) for newbies like me, and so they blend.

Yes, i think it’s mostly what they say the grape is. But to be 100% fair to them if you read any of Tim Vandergrift articles, he tells you besides a couple more steps, the wine that you buy from the store is processed right next to the wine kits. So unless you are growing your grapes it’s pretty hard to achieve that 100%