Other what is a good red kit

[RobertChartier]

I am still pretty new at this, only making wine since last October.

I've made an apple wine from fresh cider, an RJS Blackberry Blast, and have 3 others "from scratch" batches aging right now.

I just bottled my Wine Expert Peach Raspberry Sangria, and RJS Green Apple Delight.

The wife has decided to get me a Cornucopia Raspberry Pinot Nero kit.

We drink a lot of Cab, and we also like the Pinot Noir and Carmenere. I like Merlot, but have never been impressed with a Malbec.

I'm thinking of a solid red next, probably a Cabernet Sauvignon.

There seems to be a plethora of these, and I'm wondering if anyone can offer some advise on which kits are good, which are bad, etc.

Being fairly new still I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle a high end premier kit just yet, but would like to expand my skills a bit, as well as my wine cellar.

just looking for some opinions and advice.

 

[terroirdejeroir]

I have had very good luck with the high end kits: CC Showcase, RJS Winery Series, and WE Eclipse. I have not done any RJS En Primeur kits. If you are looking specifically for a Cab I would suggest, as would many here, either the CC Showcase Red Mountain Cab or the WE Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cab. I have not made the California Cab in the Winery Series line, but I have had very good success with other kits in that line.

If you like Cab you might also want to consider Cab blends like the various Italian kits such as RJS Cellar Classic Rosso Grande, RJS Winery Series Super Tuscan, and CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo - they have all been very good for me.

 

[Droc]

And I wouldn't be too worried about messing up a high end kit. As long as you properly clean and sanitize everything you use the instructions are easy to read and pretty fool proof.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[bkisel]

Doing a high end kit vs. a lower end kit is absolutely no big deal. I mostly do RJS kits and the difference has been that the two high end kits I've done came with grape skin packs so steps/instructions are added for that and the process to bottling is strung out to 6 (or 8) weeks instead of 4 weeks.

There is, for me, a downside to doing high end kits and that is the longer time stretch between starting the kit to drinking the wine. Had I started this hobby decades ago as a younger man this probably would not have been an issue with me.

BTW, two of my favorite kits are low end RJS VdV ($75.00) kits. Start to drinking... 5 months.

 

[sour_grapes]

Being fairly new still I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle a high end premier kit just yet, but would like to expand my skills a bit, as well as my wine cellar.

Robert, your call, obviously, but IMHO if you have done a few batches and some scratch wines, you will have absolutely no problem with a high-end kit. I can second the recommendation for the CC Showcase Red Mountain Cab.

However, if you want to gain experience with a grape pack without spending the dosh for a premium kit, I would suggest the CC Sterling line, at about $100. I have not made their Cab, but have made their Merlot. It was what I did as my first grape-pack kit.

For some reason, ONLY the Cab in this line does NOT carry the term "Sterling" in the name. It is just called "Cellar Craft California Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon."

 

[RobertChartier]

thanks for the information. I was chatting with the wife. Originally she didn't want me to go crazy, and spend lots of money, but now is actively looking for which wines she wants me to produce next.

Now she's asking for a Moscato before the red. i'm pushing for the moscato, and the red at the same time.

I'm thinking I'm gonna need more buckets and carboys.

 

[kevinlfifer]

Keep an eye out for carboys at garage sales and the like. Let you friends know you are looking for them. I have only purcased one, my 6 gal better bottle. The other 5 carboys, 1-6.5,1-6 and 3-5s I have picked up for free (if you don't count a few bottles of wine as a gift).

I would do 2 Cab kits, A cheapie (paklab with tweaks or WE VR with Joeswine tweaks) and a high end (CC Red Mt Cab) one you and drink after 6 mo. the other after 18-24 mo. months