RJ Spagnols RJ Amarone

[Randoneur]

Help

A friend of mine is new to wine making and the store he went to recommended this as his first kit.RJ Amarone. He's about ready to rack and will need to top up and is asking for advice on what to use. He looked at the price of Amarone and was a little shocked at the cost. I've never made this kit, so I'm not sure what a good makeup wine is.
Would Valpolicella be a good choice??? Many of you have made this - what did you use??

 

[vcasey]

I racked it to a 5 gallon carboy and used a smaller container for the rest. Another option is to get some glass marbles. Sanitize them and use them in the carboy to make up the difference in space.

 

[Wade E]

How low is he in the carboy? One bottle of commercial Cab or something wont change the profile at all, if more then that Id look for a Valpolicella as tyat should be cheaper and would be very close or a Ripassa.

 

[robie]

Top with a sangiovese or nibiolo commercial wine.

A merlot also has a fairly neutral taste profile when blended.

 

[Rocky]

Valpolicella is madefrom the same three varieties of grape as Amarone. I would top off with that. However, I would favor one of the alternatives stated above (sterile glass marbles or combination of smaller carboy and other vessels) as a less expensive and purer solution