Legitimate wine kit rating/rankings?

[gawine]

Is there are recognized rating or ranking of home wine/brew kits?

I bought a Wine Expert Trinity Red and grabbed a Wine Expert catalog on the way out of my local brew shop. In it it has awards(Gold, S, B) that there wine's have won. Seems like most of the have won one award or another so I was a little suspicious. The awards were given by the WineMakers Mag. So, does anyone give those rankings any merit? From what I read here it seems like a lot of folks think RJ Spagnols is the best. I just want to start using the best kits and making the best wine I can once I get underway.

thx!

 

[cpfan]

The Winemaker magazine awards are pretty much the only national wine making competition. Unfortunately not all kits are entered, and not every kit wine maker follows the instructions exactly.

For example, I knew the gentleman who won the Best-in-Show Kit/Concentrate a few years ago with a Ken Ridge Showcase Italian Amarone. I asked him if he did anything different. He said not really, but since he didn't filter, he used a second package of isinglass. He also topped up with a kit red (sorry I forget what he used, but it wasn't Amarone or Valpolicella), and extended the time lines. He said he had considered modifying the oaking, but hadn't. I don't know how he degassed.

All of these things would make a difference.

Steve

 

[TommBomb]

Googled around for a while and I can't believe there's no third party websites or critics that rate wine kits. Wish there was a resource where a guy could just read reviews by both amateur wine makers and professional critics on quality and taste. Anybody know of a website along those lines?