RJ Spagnols RJ Spangnols VS the others

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Paco

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So far, apart from Dandelion wine, I've only done Winexpert kits. I'm getting bored... I moved to brew my own all grain beer so you get the picture...

I see there's another HBS in my area that have RJ Spagnols. How are those kits compare to Winexpert? Which one(s) the best (if there's any)?
 
I think that Wine Expert, RJ Spagnols and Cellar Craft are all in the same league, and very very close in terms of quality and style, with Heron Bay following very closely behind. These kits are all in direct competition, though I feel WE has an edge in market domination. Mosti Mondiale also makes good kits but I don't feel they market to the same group the others do, or at least have made the same inroads.
 
Since Paco is in Quebec, he/she should have little trouble finding Mosti Mondiale kits as it is a Quebec based company (Montreal?).

There are also a couple of other brands that are available in Canada. Personally I would rank Vineco products with Spagnols, Winexpert, and Cellar Craft. I would place Wine Kitz around Heron Bay but I don't have any recent experience with these two, so that is based on the comments of others.

But to answer Paco's first comment....moving from WE to RJS is NOT like moving to all grain. To accomplish that step you need to get some fruit.

Steve
 
What Steve said.

My first 4 or 5 kits were RJS and I was very happy with them. Since then I've tried a couple others....KenRidge, WE and find they are all pretty much the same.

If you want to go REAL with this....get your own fruit or at the least a big old bucket of non concentrated juice.... Price goes up, but so does the reward (I'm only imagining the reward part.....I'm still on kits unless you count the Hard Cider).

Welcome Paco.
 
I personally think RJS is better then W.E IMO and also Mosti Mondiale. Ive only tasted 1 Cellar Craft and found that to be very good also. I like the W.E. white and specialty wines but dont care nuch for too many of their reds.
 
A few years ago when I was new to kit making and wondering, with all the choices available, which kits would be worth spending my hard earned dollars on, I checked out the Past Wine Competition Winners in the
WineMaker Magazine WineMaker Competition. No, the medals don't tell the entire story but it gives a good idea about which brands and specific kits judged well and is generally a pretty good indicator about which kits were worth looking at.
 
A few years ago when I was new to kit making and wondering, with all the choices available, which kits would be worth spending my hard earned dollars on, I checked out the Past Wine Competition Winners in the
WineMaker Magazine WineMaker Competition. No, the medals don't tell the entire story but it gives a good idea about which brands and specific kits judged well and is generally a pretty good indicator about which kits were worth looking at.
I won't disagree with the comment, but unfortunaley the number of medals seems directly related to the number of entries. In the past couple of competitions, RJS seems to have done the best job of encouraging entries, thus the most medals. Prior to that, it was Winexpert, but a rule change stopped employees of kit companies from entering.

So the fact that a specific kit didn't win an award may mean that no samples were entered. Also you don't know what tweaks were used by the wine maker.

Steve
 
Steve - true, and I've read the arguments for and against using these particular winners as a basis for choosing kits and I agree with your statements. The fact remains that, regardless of how many entries or tweaks the bottom line is that the winners are the result of good kits made by people who make good kits and know how to enter contests and therefore are good places to start.

Without actually tasting the end product, and few people have the chance to do this, it's difficult deciding which kit to choose. If a n00b in the kit making scene is overwhelmed by choices, as I was when I began, I still believe this is a good place to start. Then, by all means, read the forums and see what's popular.
 

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