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Our local guy is small but he only does Winexpert too. He's really a beer guy but a majority of his sales come from wine kits.

After hearing about Cellar Craft I really want to try one of those. Haven't heard a bad thing. I'll just have to order and pay for shipping. What do you think?
 
If he's small he wouldn't get an exclusive deal then.

Cellar Craft make excellent wines. I bet you could still find some Limited Release if you checked around.

I always make as many Limited Edition wines as I can each year for myself. The Italian Brunello is back for April.
 
That WE LE Brunello should be a great kit; I have one ready to start this Saturday. I can't believe I was still able to find one in late March. Most of the dealers around here were already out by then, unless you had special ordered early.

With this Brunello kit, I have now made, or bought kits from (what I call) the major kit makers (WE, RJS, CC, and MM) for the US market. The differences have been interesting and fun.

Even though I haven't made or tasted the WE Brunello yet, I am sure I won't be disappointed. Next year I will concentrate a little more on the limited editions from all kit makers.

I love this hobby!!!
 
Think about a brunello kit.

Wow! I just started a WE LE brunello Monday afternoon. I used BM45 yeast as it is considered by many to be the best yeast for a brunello. It needs a starter and to be fed nutrients, but is worth it IMO.

Anyway, this kit does NOT have a grape pack, only lots of oak, so the level in the bucket was not much over the 23 liter mark. However, last night it ran over in my 7.9 gallon fermentor bucket. The lid was not snapped down and a cloth was over the air lock hole.

The foam raised the lid and actually sprayed the wall with foam about 6 inches behind the lid. I'm not kidding! I stirred it this morning (I stir twice a day) and the foam level is back down to a manageable level.

This fermenting must smells absolutely great; best smelling kit I have ever done.

If by chance you can still get one of these kits, I'd recommend it.
 
The LE Brunello kits are incredible for sure.
I still have 8 cases aging from 2 years ago. ;-)

That's wild how you changed the yeast and exploded it.
I have never had to change the yeast that comes in the kit.
Winexpert usually sends the correct yeast to make the kit work perfectly.
Once in the past five years have they changed the yeast on a kit due to problems- that was the Amarone.

I always buy extra of the LE wines.
I still have a few of this years LE Brunello kits at my store for anyone in the area wants to drop in. I'd consider shipping, I'm just not convinced it won't be a PITA.

Cheers
Brian
 
RJ Spagnols wins more medals then almost all the other brands put together! Think about that! Try a Cellr Clssic Winery Series! They are typically about the same price and the En Primeur is way better then the Cellar Craft IMO but they are a little more pricey and youll need to cold stabilize them due to the very high quality of the juices, they will drop wine diamonds!
 
the grape skins in the cellar classic series are generic if
I remember correctly and not terroir

RJS win more medals only because they have more entries
I'd like to see the medals per entry sheet if this can be done

you can get RJS anywhere - they sell to every store

great brand but not #1 IMHO
 
I actually went with the Cellar Craft Washington Merlot. Most of the wines I drink come from Washington so I figured that's what I should make.
 
RJS win more medals only because they have more entries

winemakingontario,

Wonder why they have more entries? Think about that one for a second.
There could be several right answers.

You wouldn't be biases now would you? :i

Hey, ALL the kit makers make great kits, just depends on your individual taste and how much you want to spend.

I was at a blind kit-wine tasting recently and the number one red out of 12 reds was a Luna Rosa; #2 was a Chilean Pinot Noir, #3 was an Arg. malbec (bottled in Jan/10 no less!!!). All the wines in the contest were WE kits. They were as good as I've tasted from any kit. I can't say anything negative about WE.
 
That's wild how you changed the yeast and exploded it.
I have never had to change the yeast that comes in the kit.
Winexpert usually sends the correct yeast to make the kit work perfectly.

I always buy extra of the LE wines.
I still have a few of this years LE Brunello kits at my store for anyone in the area wants to drop in. I'd consider shipping, I'm just not convinced it won't be a PITA.

Cheers
Brian

It surely is a great kit. The fermenting must smelled better than any kit I have done before.

What does "PITA" stand for?

Brian,
The yeasts provided with all kits, whether WE, RJS, ..etc. are not necessarily the best yeast for the particular grape. This subject was covered in the kit issue of the winemaker's magazine recently.

The kit maker guarantees that if the kit is made exactly per instructions, it will produce a good, drinkable wine. With such a guarantee, and considering that stuck fermentations and other fermentation (yeast) issues are the reason behind many failed wine making endeavors, it behooves the kit makers to include a yeast that is solid enough to not be the reason behind a failed kit.

Most kits, which I have made, come with EC-1118 yeast. This is a good yeast that, although it will likely never fail you, it doesn't necessarily bring out the best qualities of every grape. I think of it as the "Mack Truck" or "Pony Express" of yeasts.

Unfortunately, some of the better, grape-specific yeasts are not as hardy as EC-1118 and EC-1116. These yeasts have to be started with a starter like GO-Ferm and have to be periodically fed nutrients, like Fermaid K, to name just two specific brands of yeast starter/nutrient. These special yeasts are more likely to have problems than the old standbys, like EC-1118, and they are even more likely to have problems with kits, versus fresh grapes.

Here is a link to a manual that better explains this and also gives a list of which yeasts go along with which grapes, based on the characteristics the wine maker might be seeking:

http://morebeer.com/public/pdf/wyeastpair.pdf

There is nothing whatsoever wrong with using the yeast supplied with the kit, but some of us just like to experiment.

I chose BM45 because it is a yeast that has proven to bring out the best of the characteristics of Sangiovese/Brunello wine, IMO.

"BM45: One of the best all-around choices for Sangiovese. With big mouthfeel, plum, fruit jam, rose, and cherry, liquor, along with earthy and spicy notes. Good colour stability and helps to minimize vegetative characters."

The truth be known, should you and I set down and have a blind tasting of your Brunello made with EC-1118 and mine made with BM45, all things considered, we might not be able to tell the difference. But wouldn't it be fun to at least swap a bottle and find out, just for the fun of it. I'm also in this for the fun!

I'm just an experimenter at heart and can't help myself. :slp

I would like to point out that experimenting with yeasts is not something an inexperienced wine maker should try; if the kit fails, your warranty is void and null.
 
WE VR Cab. Sauvignon in the works...

Now we want to start a red and bulk age it for about six months. I know everybody has different tastes in reds but I just want to hear everyones personal favorite. We're looking to do one of the higher end kits since we're going to invest the time into aging it that long.

Just want to hear your favorite expert kits

Thanks!

Hey Jason,

We live in Ballston Spa and are on our first batch ever. We went with the WineXpert Vintner's Reserve Cab. which has been bottled for 7 weeks now. It's finally starting to taste like decent wine, and I hope it will improve.

Curiously, I left some in the carboy to turn into vinegar, which I tasted recently and has not yet become acetic acid.. it's actually tasting pretty good! Which leads me to think bulk aging is actually good approach.

I understand the VR Cab is California, but hey all West coast, right? We should get together for a tasting (at Reed's?).

Cheers,
Paul
 
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Hi Paul. Looks like we got into the hobby at the same time.

I was at the Big Brew Day at Reed's the other day. Did you make it out?

Tasting sounds good. I only have one wine ready and the ac is very high. I added the fpack from the beginning. Tastes pretty good though.

I have two kits bulk aging right now. One is the Riesling which I'm having problems with and the Mezza Luna White.
 
Hi Paul. Looks like we got into the hobby at the same time.

I was at the Big Brew Day at Reed's the other day. Did you make it out?

Tasting sounds good. I only have one wine ready and the ac is very high. I added the fpack from the beginning. Tastes pretty good though.

I have two kits bulk aging right now. One is the Riesling which I'm having problems with and the Mezza Luna White.


Hi Jason,

No, unfortunately I didn't know about the Zymurgist until yesterday... d'oh!!
I went all the way down to Rensselaer for supplies... double-d'oh!!

I'll have to stop by Reed's place to check it out... look for a mother-of-vinegar... look into another wine kit to throw down (try to catch up with you)... and look into beer supplies.

In the meantime, I've run a cheesy beer kit someone gave me: 6 bottles waiting another week or so before sampling.. right, cheesy.. we'll see.
 

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