cpfan,
I respond with all due respect to you and to everyone else on the forum. I am not trying to be a wise guy.
You could easily be right about the grapes being from Italy.
When I said "California, Washington, wherever" that certainly can include Italy. I know that WineXpert and Mosti, to name only two, do source grapes from Italy.
Speaking of origin, I have seen wine kits (not giving any names here), which are said to be, for example, an Australian Shiraz blah-blah-blah wine kit, that in small print, said the grapes were sourced from California. Turns out the wine was Australian Shiraz blah-blah-blah... "style".
Maybe many of us see something different in our mind when we see the word - brunello. I see - Brunello di Montalcino (DOCG), a specific group of mutants of the sangiovese grape, and from the specific DOCG region of Italy. Others may see any grape from that specific group of mutants of the sangiovese grape as long as it is grown somewhere close by. Wine from these latter grapes could certainly claim to be brunello "style" and you would not get an argument from me. Brunello style and brunello DOCG are not the same
With such a valuable grape as the brunello, wouldn't they want to make wine from it and bottle it themselves? What do you suppose 5 gallons of Brunello di Montalcino grapes would cost? I would guess about $350. (Brehm sells some Napa Cab/Sav grapes for $285 for a 5 gallon frozen pail.) Aging aside, what would you have to charge for a kit that makes 30 bottles of wine from the same DOCG grape that is in a commercial version that costs $75 per bottle?
I am not trying to be a smart guy. I just believe our expectations need to be in line with what we are receiving in a kit. Is the WineXpert Brunello kit capable of making a really great wine? I seriously believe it is and that's why I ordered the kit. Do I believe the kit is composed of true Brunello di Montalcino? No, I don't, and for the price I am not at all disappointed.
All that aside:
I wonder what Tim V. is actually saying? Is he saying that a Crushendo pack of sangiovese grapes would not improve the LE brunello or is he saying it would not be cost affective to add the pack? Sure wish we had a choice, though. I, for one, would pay an extra $25 for the grape pack. IMO, it is too good of a potential wine to NOT include the grape pack, but that's just me.
When is someone going to come out with a grape pack, which can be bought separately?
I know, separate grape packs sells are not likely to happen.