Kit wine taste

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Etrusci

Junior
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What is the cause of the so-called kit wine taste? Is there a way to avoid this when making kit wines?
 
corn syrup mostly.. ( mist kits with f-pacs)

make wine from scratch would perhaps be the best way to avoid it.. or buy the most expensive kits to start with.

Allie
 
Like what Green/Wade said.
Make wine from juice. There are places that sell 100% Wine juice (kits) in buckets. Mosti is just one that sells them, Walkers is another. OR, wait till the Chilean fresh juices come in next month.
 
Like what Green/Wade said.
Make wine from juice. There are places that sell 100% Wine juice (kits) in buckets. Mosti is just one that sells them, Walkers is another. OR, wait till the Chilean fresh juices come in next month.
And the wait is almost over, its been a long winter
:h
 
Fantastic, I should have asked you all to begin with as I've been trying to figure this out for weeks! Thank you!!
 
Tom,
I have never purchased any of the Chilean fresh grapes. I have heard bad things about them, which could only be here-say, of course. Since they come over by boat (20 to 30 day trip), they have to be picked very early and ripen in crates (like tomatoes - yuck!). I have heard they can be moldy by the time they get to your door.

There again, this is what I have heard. If you have experience with them, what do you say? If all I have heard is not true, I'd sure like to experiment with them. Where do you order them?
 
Grapes do not continue to ripen once picked.

That's interesting to learn, didn't know that, so thanks. So, what is a good word for what happens to a grape, once it is picked and placed in cold storage for several weeks?

Maybe a better word would have been "deteriorate". Whatever word one uses, it can't be good that the grapes are lying in some cold storage, getting older by the day, without starting fermentation. Unless some amarone raisining process is planned and on-going, it can't be the best for the grape.
 
I only have experience using local grapes, so I can't speak about Chilean grapes with any real authority. I can say however that once grapes are picked, it is definitely best to process them as quickly as possible to avoid aroma loss and browning through oxidation and infection by fungi and bacteria which could result in wine spoilage. That being said, if storage conditions are kept dry and very cool and a bit of SO2 is added to the bins, I would imagine that the grapes could arrive in good enough condition to make some pretty decent wine... but it wouldn't likely be as good as if the fruit was crushed and fermented immediately after harvest. But hey, where else are you going to get fresh grapes from at this time of year, right? Might be worth the risk for making reds at least... there is a world of difference between red wine from grapes and red wine from juice. For whites I would say go for the juice.
 
Tom,
I have never purchased any of the Chilean fresh grapes. I have heard bad things about them, which could only be here-say, of course. Since they come over by boat (20 to 30 day trip), they have to be picked very early and ripen in crates (like tomatoes - yuck!). I have heard they can be moldy by the time they get to your door.

There again, this is what I have heard. If you have experience with them, what do you say? If all I have heard is not true, I'd sure like to experiment with them. Where do you order them?

My brother and i have been making chilean wine from grapes for several years,and i will say that they are picked to perfection and handled with great care.The Chilean people take great pride in the grapes they ship to us.I highly recommend them.We think the grapes have been getting better every year.We have also made some kicking wines from these grapes.
 
Rock,

Well, Tom never responded to my question.
Can you tell me from whom you buy your Chilean grapes?
Have you ever ordered Italian grapes? If so, from where?
Thanks.
 
Hey Robie,We buy our grapes from mandm in hartford ct.I have seen the italian grapes at mandm and the were very nice.Never have done the italians because i always seem to over buy the cali. grapes the italian grapes come right after the cali.grapes.and i here alot of good things about them.
 
Rock,

Well, Tom never responded to my question.
Can you tell me from whom you buy your Chilean grapes?
Have you ever ordered Italian grapes? If so, from where?
Thanks.

What question?
I'm not always on so I musta have missed it. I get CA,Italian and Chilean grapes and juice from Gino's in Hammonton NJ
 
Rock and Tom,

Thanks to both of you. I wonder if your sources ship grapes? I'll try to contact them to find out. I already knew about juicegrape.com, but was just wondering if you had another source.
 
Depends on how much you are looking for. I know a member here is considering 15 PAILS to be shipped to him. Its not worth it for just a 6 or 12 gallon batch . Gino's will ship just call him for a shipping quote. Tell him Tom from the wine club turned you to him. NO, I get nothing in return..
Tom
 
juicegrape is one of the better sources IMHO. they are a true importer/distributor, not just a reseller/retailer. they have cold storage and manage the whole process very well.
 
So do you guys have a "tried and true" recipe/instructions that a newbie might use if starting with juice rather then a kit? I've made 8 kits now, so thinking maybe ready to branch out.... still, buying plain old grapes or juice seems a little intimidating.
 
So do you guys have a "tried and true" recipe/instructions that a newbie might use if starting with juice rather then a kit? I've made 8 kits now, so thinking maybe ready to branch out.... still, buying plain old grapes or juice seems a little intimidating.
What kind of juice is available by you? Is there a COSTCO nearby?
I have bought some COSTCO juice before and make nice wines.
 

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