WineXpert Making my first Kit.

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jimmyjames23

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Been making grape and juice wine for quite a while and I have decided to try a kit. A friend of mine likes "Apothic Red". I tried it and its an OK wine. Seems to me like a non-wine drinkers wine that claims to be made from "several varietals including Cabernet, Zinfandel and Merlot" but I swear I tasted Grenache My local guy said to try Wine Rxperts Califorina Cabernt. Merly, Zinfandel. Any recommendations?
 
He recommended the World Vinyard Collection Zinfandel/Shiraz from WE. On sale next month for $65.00 CAD
 
Been making grape and juice wine for quite a while and I have decided to try a kit. A friend of mine likes "Apothic Red". I tried it and its an OK wine. Seems to me like a non-wine drinkers wine that claims to be made from "several varietals including Cabernet, Zinfandel and Merlot" but I swear I tasted Grenache My local guy said to try Wine Rxperts Califorina Cabernt. Merly, Zinfandel. Any recommendations?

Apothic Red, I hate that stuff. Its so thick!! Like syrup. Love the bottle dislike the wine. lol. Im looking for my first kit also. Shopping right now. I want a good dry Red wine I can age for a while. Id like suggestions also
 
anyone try a good Shiraz kit? I could go for that lol
 
I wasn't too impressed with the Apothic red either. "Where's the heavy oak?" Is what my tongue said.
 
jimmyjames23 said:
I wasn't too impressed with the Apothic red either. "Where's the heavy oak?" Is what my tongue said.

I have the WE Eclipse Lodi Cab going right now. It is in secondary fermentation. All is looking good so far and will be racking and adding more oak this weekend. I plan on bulk aging it. Will let you know how it turns out, but I am happy so far with my first wine kit.
 
What's the budget? I'm thinking the Vineco California North Coast Grand Red (Cab/Syrah/Merlot). A high end kit, but you still get in well south of $6/bottle. And a 2.6L grape pack to boot! I just pitched the yeast on mine last night, so I can't tell you how it is yet.
 
The "sale" starts next month so I have lots of time to decide. I say "sale" because $68 plus tax for a 5G kit when I'm paying $48 tax in for a 5G bucket does not seem like a "deal" to me.
Ideally I'd would like a South American Style Shiraz with a body like Marilyn Monroe, heavy oak like licking a hardwood staircase and the butteriness you get from a 3 month MLF without the actual MLF and all the time and chromatography. Subtle fruit, plum and vanilla notes would also be ideal.
I can usually achieve this with a juice bucket and alot of work, time and fine tuning.
Am I even being realistic to expect this in a 28 day kit?
 
Apothic Red

My friends also like the Apothic Red. I find it too sweet myself. So when I tried to make a similar wine, I used a Zinfandel/Shiraz to start. Then of course mine was tart. Instead of using a sweetener conditioner, I could distinctly taste Black Cherry in the sweetness, so I added bottles of Niagara Mist Black Cherry until it hit the same sweetness level as the bottle of Apothic that I was using to compare. Warning...this is very hard on the brewmaster. Taste your wine, taste the bottled wine, tweak. Mix, taste your wine, taste the bottled wine. Took a couple hours, and I am sure my tastebuds were getting impaired! But my friends were happy with the result.
 
Jimmy, it is my judgement that you are a good wine maker and you know what you are doing. I would strongly advise against a kit that was not at least 16 liters of juice. Further, I would advise against a red wine kit that did not include a substantial grape pack. I am sure you will be disappointed and come away with the wrong impression of how good kits can be.

I suggest that you read through the post on "your top 5 wines." Some great experience there and good information.
 
Thanks buddy. Will do. I'd hate to make a kit and be disappointed. I have a month to do some kit research.
 
Looks like the Amarone and Super Tuscan take the lead. What's the top Shiraz kit this season?
Do wine kits even have seasons?
 
Dodie said:
My friends also like the Apothic Red. I find it too sweet myself. So when I tried to make a similar wine, I used a Zinfandel/Shiraz to start. Then of course mine was tart. Instead of using a sweetener conditioner, I could distinctly taste Black Cherry in the sweetness, so I added bottles of Niagara Mist Black Cherry until it hit the same sweetness level as the bottle of Apothic that I was using to compare. Warning...this is very hard on the brewmaster. Taste your wine, taste the bottled wine, tweak. Mix, taste your wine, taste the bottled wine. Took a couple hours, and I am sure my tastebuds were getting impaired! But my friends were happy with the result.

What kit did you use?
 
Looks like the Amarone and Super Tuscan take the lead. What's the top Shiraz kit this season?
Do wine kits even have seasons?

From what I understand, kit makers (or atleast Winexpert) will blend from year to year so that harvest differences do not affect the final product. Only the Limited Edition/Release/RQ kits are made from one single batch of grapes and are reflective of that year's harvest.
 
It seems I'm limited to only WineExpert kits. They're the ones going on sale. I priced the Super Tuscan from RJS. I don't think I'm willing to pay $137.00 for 6 gallons on my first kit. That's almost three times what I pay for premium juice buckets. I don't think it could be 3 times as good as a bottle of my 6 month old. But we'll see.

Anyone try the WE Cali Zin. Shiraz? It's on for $68 and at that price I can afford to experiment with a kit.
I can get grape skins (or even grapes for that matter) to "tweak" a little more body into the wine. I can't see buying juice and not tweaking it. The concept seems odd to me.
 
SouthernChemist said:
From what I understand, kit makers (or atleast Winexpert) will blend from year to year so that harvest differences do not affect the final product. Only the Limited Edition/Release/RQ kits are made from one single batch of grapes and are reflective of that year's harvest.

I saw some LE kits from WE at my LHBS. They will be on sale too. Wouldn't mind trying the Italian Nebbiolo with Grape Skins.
 
The "sale" starts next month so I have lots of time to decide. I say "sale" because $68 plus tax for a 5G kit when I'm paying $48 tax in for a 5G bucket does not seem like a "deal" to me.
Could you please tell me where you get 5G buckets of juice for $48.00? Is this fresh juice or a sterile package?
 
Ideally I'd would like a South American Style Shiraz with a body like Marilyn Monroe, heavy oak like licking a hardwood staircase and the butteriness you get from a 3 month MLF without the actual MLF and all the time and chromatography. Subtle fruit, plum and vanilla notes would also be ideal.
I can usually achieve this with a juice bucket and alot of work, time and fine tuning.
Am I even being realistic to expect this in a 28 day kit?

In my experience - no, that's not realistic in a 28 day kit.. I'd more or less echo Rocky's advice to you on kits - at least a 16 to 18 litres worth of juice and a grape pack - and those will be relatively expensive kits. If you really like oak, I'd also planning on adding some. I have gotten some good body (and good wines) out of non-grape pack kits (WE Luna Rossa) but that's the exception, not the rule, and they are still pretty much the higher end kits - with a year or more before drinking. YMMV, but I just don't find the kind of body I like in the little kits in a red - white's a different story.
 
wineh said:
Could you please tell me where you get 5G buckets of juice for $48.00? Is this fresh juice or a sterile package?

Fresh juice at Vin Bon. I live in the Niagara region. There's grapes everywhere.
 
Awesome

I was just poking around the vin bon site (http://www.vinbon.ca/index.php). that's an awesome resource you have there. Of course, all I could find today is a special on Argentine Malbec juice ($90.00 Cdn), as it is Southern hemisphere harvest time. You must have quite a few fermenters and carboys/barrels to accommodate bargains in the fall. I'm surprised you are thinking of making a kit, although you will get an extra 5 bottles.
 

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