Other red wine kits poll

[winemaker81]

The poll is closed -- I set it to run for 30 days. It ended with 55 voters, and the preferred varietals didn't change much since the first few days.

1st - Malbec
2nd - Cabernet Franc & Sangiovese
3rd - Grenache & Tempranillo

The 1st & 2nd place choices took roughly half the votes, while the 3rd place choices had as many votes as the bottom five. This shows a lot of strong preferences.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I would add Hondarribi Beltza to the list also

 

[Gilmango]

Lot of great Carignan wines out there for the thirsty willing to seek them out: Vinovest | Investing in Wine as an Alternative Asset

I think it grows pretty abundantly in lots of cheap blends but if you either trim it back a ton, and/or have old vines, and/or have other conditions which keep you towards lower yields you can get amazing wines. One of my favorites Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

EDIT - to add a cheaper and easier to find example I like: Mont Gravet Carignan which is about $12, when I looked it up on wine.com I came across this nice little summary:

"Responsible for some of the most stunning old vine red wine on the planet, Carignan has an amazing capacity to survive dry, arid climates and still produce lovely, mouthwatering wine. In Spain it goes by the name of Mazuelo and while it may have originated there in the province of Aragón, its popularity lies elsewhere, particularly in Languedoc-Roussillon. Somm Secret—Historically Carignan did not enjoy the respect that it does today. In the mid 20th century, Carignan covered nearly 140,000 ha in Algeria, where it was made into low quality bulk and blending wine to supply mass-market demand."

 

[Bmd2k1]

As the #1 varietal choice in this poll -- What's everyone's FAV Malbec kit? I did the MV Reserve(no skins) last summer which is pretty good -- thinking about the RJS En Primeur Chilean Malbec...

Cheers!

 

[Khristyjeff]

I've only done cheap Malbec kits with tweaks so far, but I have had very good luck with all of the RJS En Primeur kits I've done. Just haven't tried their Malbec.

 

[crushday]

Who would buy a varietal such as Petit Verdot simply to have it available in the future for blending into other varietals, and as a general topup wine?

Done correctly, PV is a magnificent wine and stands handsomely as a 100% varietal. I have no idea what a kit would taste like, but PV made from grapes is great as a blender too.

 

[sremick]

Malbec makes me think of my ex, so it's sort of blacklisted for me.