WineXpert Kit grape quality

[Digby]

Hey gang,


I'm new here, but have been reading the forum and learning quite a bit from all of you. Thanks for that.


I've just bottled my first batch of Vinter's reserve Sauvignon blanc. I think the best way to describe it is "there is nothing offensive about it". But it just doesn't have that "wow, that's a damn fine wine" taste to it. I'm quite positive I've done everything right. I even let it bulk age for about 3 weeks just to not rush into things.


So my question is: Does the price of the kit you buy reflect on the quality of wine it can produce?


Thanks again for all the help from this forum.


Digby

 

[jcnoren]

Does the price of the kit you buy reflect on the quality of the wine it can produce?


I just started wine kit making myself (Sept 2005), what I am finding is that TIME/aging is a HUGE factor in improving the quality of your wine (especially with red wines).


I have not as yet purchased an "expensive kit" so I have no bases for comparison. Ie $110 kit verses $60 kit. I am sure others with more experience will chime in.





JC

 

[Dean]

Hey gang,


I'm new here, but have been reading the forum and learning quite a bit from all of you. Thanks for that.


I've just bottled my first batch of Vinter's reserve Sauvignon blanc. I think the best way to describe it is "there is nothing offensive about it". But it just doesn't have that "wow, that's a damn fine wine" taste to it. I'm quite positive I've done everything right. I even let it bulk age for about 3 weeks just to not rush into things.


So my question is: Does the price of the kit you buy reflect on the quality of wine it can produce?


Thanks again for all the help from this forum.


Digby

Welcome to the forum Digby! I know that when starting to vint your own wine, that it can seem like AGES before you getto really drink the fruits of your labour. The initial 4-6 weeks a kit takes produces a liquid that very rarely even resembles wine. Once a wine is bottled it goes into bottle shock. This makes all the little flavour and scent molecules go into hiding. However, 4 weeks after bottling, a wine will start to open up and will continue to do so for up to 1 year in 4 week kit wines and sometimes up to 3 years in high-end kits.


Normally, for reds, if I am going to bulk age, it is a minimum of 6 months, and for whites 3 months. After I bottle, I wait at least 4 weeks before tasting again to get rid of bottle shock. About the only thing that kits do not come with is patience, so you have to bring that. Now in answer to your question, in my experience, YES, the more expensive the kit, the better the quality of the wine produced will be. HOWEVER, the more expensive the kit, the longer you have to wait to enjoy the wine too. I do notice that my expensive kits taste WAYYYY better initially, however, if I were to drink them that fast, it would be wasting money, since they improve so much more over time.


Again, patience will reward you with excellent wines!Edited by: Dean

 

[jobe05]

Does the price of the kit you buy reflect on the quality of wine it can produce?


Digby

Digby, I would have to sum it up to taste. I have been making wine for only a year, and have done highend and Lower end kits, and for my pallet (sp), I can't find much difference yet. I'm sure that will change with aging of both styles. I also have done many fresh fruit wines and wines from concentrate and can tell ya, they need aging. You'll have to find the wines that can be drank young that satify your taste while you try the higher end kits and let them age.Edited by: jobe05

 

[djcoop]

I'm so new to this I prob. shouldn't even comment. But I have read that the kits (even the VR) need to age 3-6 months and peaking 1-3 years ( I think I saw that in the Wine Expert book.)


That's why I'm getting ready to vint an Island Mist - so I can drink as I wait

.


Good luck!

 

[smurfe]

I am kinda on the other end of the thought change. Even though I make a lot of the high end Selection kits, I am a huge fan of the VR kits. I found most are drinkable after a month in the bottle and are comparable to the wines I buy. (I am a cheap SOB so I buy the $7-$8 bottles like Yellow Tail).


I will also say that in my opinion there is no "quality" differences as all the kits are high quality. The only difference in the cost is the amount of juice in the bag and the concentration levels of the juice. All the kits are quality products.


Now, with the more juice, there are more solids in the must and hence this is why it takes longer for the wines to mature and have more body. The kits with grape packs take even longer as there are even more solids in this must.


I am a newbie as well and continue to learn. I have made like 15 kits since last June and each has been a learning experience. All have turned out well except the very first one which had a little CO2 in it and I sucked up a little sediment when I bottled. I have like 5 kits going right now and it gets confusing at times keeping up with everything.


Smurfe

 

[ticktock]

I have bottled two batches of Wine Experts Sauvignon Blanc and I have gotten rave reviews. We had a Francis Ford Coppola Sauvignon Blanc last night and it was good, but not near as good as the batches I made. My experience shows the kits are equal or better than any $30 bottle you buy in the store. I have made a WE Merlot and it was wonderful. I have a batch of WE Amador County Petite Sirah Zinfandel in one carboy and a WE Napa Valley Stag's Leap in my other carboy and can't wait to taste them.