Cellar Craft Why is this not available in the UK

[Billy8998]

Cellar craft seems to be pretty much as good as it gets having read the reviews, as a result; why is this yet to appear in the UK.

Personally I make the selection estate kits. Either ultra premium or premium. How do they compare to cellar craft?

I can't grumble with the quality of my selection kits but can't help but feel I'm missing out on the reds.

When it comes to whites in a blind tasting my guests preferred my Marlborough sauv Blanc to a £15 saint clair

 

[robie]

Good question. Who knows why the international trade system works the way it does. What brands of kits do you have in the UK? Surely some of them are good ones. I will have to admit, CC does make many fine kits.

 

[Billy8998]

Hi there, we only get ken ridge and winexpert selection series in the 16l plus range. Below that we get beaverdale and California connoisseur then the cheap ones. Do you get any other premium kits in the US?

 

[Rocky]

Billy, I have been pleased with the WineExpert 16l kits that I have made, particularly the ones that come with grape skins. In addition to CC, we can easily get the RJ Spagnols line which has the En Primeur and Winery Series. We can also get the Mosti Mondiale line which has the Meglioli, All Juice Masters, Renaissance Impressions and Renaissance series. All of these are between 16 and 23 liter kits.

 

[Billy8998]

Wow. Hope you realise how luck you guys are. I'll have to google the brands you mention against uk suppliers. As far as I'm aware, getting the full 23l involves driving through to France and picking the grapes!!!

I must say I am satisfied with winexpert but trying different suppliers would be nice to sample the contrast in product.

On a side note I am seriously thinking about purchasing a rental on a row of vines in France. I could holiday out there and combine it with the harvest to make my own full 23l batch from fresh.

 

[Rocky]

"On a side note I am seriously thinking about purchasing a rental on a row of vines in France. I could holiday out there and combine it with the harvest to make my own full 23l batch from fresh."

Now that sounds like a great idea! Will you be hiring any help? I have a current passport.

 

[robie]

Wow. Hope you realise how luck you guys are. I'll have to google the brands you mention against uk suppliers. As far as I'm aware, getting the full 23l involves driving through to France and picking the grapes!!!

I must say I am satisfied with winexpert but trying different suppliers would be nice to sample the contrast in product.

On a side note I am seriously thinking about purchasing a rental on a row of vines in France. I could holiday out there and combine it with the harvest to make my own full 23l batch from fresh.

Wow! What an opportunity to have for French grapes.

Like Rocky said, the W.E. kits are pretty good, especially the new ones with the grape packs. My advice is to always buy the best kit you can afford.

 

[Billy8998]

Yep, with you on that, if your in the game no point in being half hearted.

On the French grape point- its certainly not a cheap way of playing the game but then again I'm sure I can get the missus round to my way of thinking!!

 

[cpfan]

Hi there, we only get ken ridge and winexpert selection series in the 16l plus range. Below that we get beaverdale and California connoisseur then the cheap ones. Do you get any other premium kits in the US?

If you can get the Ken Ridge Founders Series kits, they should be very similar in quality to the Cellar Craft Showcase.

If possible, get your Vineco dealer [Ken Ridge and California Connoisseur] to bug their distributor for the Cellar Craft kits. Cellar Craft has been owned by Vineco for almost a year now.

Steve

 

[Billy8998]

Thanks for that, ken ridge founders next up. Any good stories about the reds in this series?

 

[wookey]

Hi, I also live in the UK and am interested to see Cellar Craft kits here. A few days ago I asked Vineco about their UK plans, here is their reply:

"Thank you for your e-mail. We are discussing the introduction of Cellar Craft with our UK distributor but no firm plans as of yet. I'm sure you can appreciate the cost and resources involved in such a venture."

I hope they will sort it out by winter when this year kits start arriving. I asked my retailer to chase the distributor a little.

About KenRidge Founders. You can do any kit you like they all are excellent. Brunelo is probably the best kit I have ever done. Look at whites too, German Riesling is my favourite. If you want to do any of the whites do it now as they will go next year. Vineco replaces them with Cellar Craft showcase whites.

Wookey

 

[Billy8998]

Thanks that's useful to know. They say that but it's been being asked for years!!! I'll believe it when I see them on the Uk shelves. I'll also contact vineco as I'm sure the more us Brits hastle them the more likely they will appear.

I'm hearing some good things about the founders series and I'm going to get a red and white underway as soon as I free up a couple of carboys. It's likely to be early October.

Are there many uk users on this site? Ultimately it would be good to know a good few in the UK where we could exchange the odd bottle by post to try different kits and styles of different ages.

 

[cpfan]

Thanks that's useful to know. They say that but it's been being asked for years!!! I'll believe it when I see them on the Uk shelves. I'll also contact vineco as I'm sure the more us Brits hastle them the more likely they will appear.

Vineco has only owned Cellar Craft for less than a year (Oct 2011?).

Steve

 

[Billy8998]

Oh well here's hoping

 

[wookey]

Billy,

As I understand there is a UK based winemakers forum, they collectively place an order for some limited editions from America reducing individual shipment cost.
I think UK is quite small market for premium kits, most people I know either do cheap kits or make wine from grapes.
Going to France for the grapes is a great idea, however, most of them do not work with retail clients. People here buy a tonne of grapes for 5 get a minivan got to France to collect it. I would do the same if I had more space. I live in a flat which rules out grape option for me.
Speaking of France, I know that some serious French companies are buying UK farms to convert them into vineyards. They believe that with global warming in 20-30 years France will be too hot to produce traditional French wine and Britain will be a better place.
About the exchanging some bottles, I think it is a good idea. Let's think about it.

Wookey

 

[Larry2012]

Hi there Guys

 

[Larry2012]

Hi there Europeans and American friends,

Iam new to this forum and took the liberty to reply to this thread since I face a similar problem as wookey stated above.

I am located in Cyprus and I am interested to make my own wine too. I am trying to import equipment and wine kits from the states but shipping is way too expensive. Are there any UK based companies that carry equipment and wine kits? I am sure shipping will be more resonable from UK. Can you suggest some nice wine kits as well?

Thanks a lot

 

[wookey]

Larry,

There are plenty of UK and EU based companies shipping to Cyprus, but their shipment cost might be expensive too. Shipment is usually free or no more than 5 pounds within the UK, but then I wanted to buy something not available here from a German retailer the shipment cost was 20 euro for a 200g item. I finally found a company in Belgium which had that item and sent it to me for 9 euro. And this was the cheapest I could get.
I strongly recommend making sure that there is no local distributor before going for abroad. Ask WineExpert who of their distributors ships to Cyprus.

Wookey

 

[Larry2012]

Thanks a lot for the advice. From Winexpert web site seems that they don;t have a local distributor but i will email them to see if they have someone located near by that can ship to Cyprus.

I got the feeling that quality wine kits come from companies such as Mosti Mondiale, Cellar Craft, RJ Spagnols
How Winexpert kits compare to those?

Also can you mention few of the UK and EU campanies you mentioned above that ship to Cyprus?
I need to buy wine making equipment too any suggestions on that?

Thanks a lot for your help, I do appreciate your time and effort

 

[wookey]

Larry,

WineExpert produces also very good kits and they have ultra premium line. The reason I suggested WineExpert is that they have the best distribution network among all producers. So if there is anything in your country it is much more likely Winexpert than anything else. Unfortunately, we cannot compare brands as nothing from your list is available in Europe. My merchant began shipping Cellar Craft ports, but not yet their Showcase collection. Between premium KenRidge and Winexpert I am leaning toward KenRidge. But it is just my palate. I do both and enjoy both.

Wookey