Appleman, I respectfully disagree. Let me give you an example. Here is an excerpt from RJ Spagnol's website characterizing its 4-week Grand Cru kit: "In just 28 days, you will have a wonderful, ready to enjoy wine of character and distinction that will gain in stature with further aging."
http://www.rjspagnols.com/brand.asp?BrandID=1
This does not state "ready to bottle" in 28 days, but "ready to enjoy," which implies drinking. I don't care what wine kit it is, I have yet to taste any wine of "character and distinction" 28 days after fermentation begins. It is baloney, plain and simple. It bothers me because it misleads new winemakers who don't read Tim's articles in Winemaker magazine about the benefits of aging or participate in forums like this. I know people who made a kit wine, tasted it after 28 days, and dropped out of kit winemaking. Fortunately, George and some other retailers are careful to educate their customers about the benefits of aging. But when these kits came out, I first bought one from a beer retailer who knew nothing about kits and gave me no similar warning.
This is really a side issue off my original topic, which was I just want to know whether those who detect kit taste (however large or small a population we may be), are you tasting kit taste in samples of MM products. I think that if no one is tasting kit taste in MM products now in less than a year, that is what I want to know, because surely it won't be there after a year or more of aging.
And I am not trying to deter others from making VR kits, or less expensive kits. Like I told Laney, if she does not taste it, don't worry about it and enjoy it. I'm glad she and others don't taste it. I wish I lacked the genetic ability to taste it. It would save me money. And I am still going to buy less expensive kits, but I'll use them as second run on fresh grape skins or add raisins. As I have indicated elsewhere, I have obtained an excellent result on a VR Zinfandel I bought from George last year that I used as a second run on Syrah grapes. It is a tremedous value given the $50 expense. If I were a new winemaker, I would definitely start with VR or Island Mist, get the basics down, and work my way through the product lines. DO NOT LET THIS TOPIC OR ANY TOPIC DETER YOU FROM TRYING ANY PRODUCT. Make and buy wine that you like. Who cares what I think. I am simply trying to find information about an issue that affects me personally due tomy unique taste buds.
Edited by: dfwwino