I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

Best advise is "You get what you pay for". If you buy a $39 kit from
Safeway, it'll be plunk, if you buy a large premium kit (15 or 16 litres to
make 23 litres) you'll get good wine (assuming you follow the directions +
let it age for 9+ months). I've had good results with both the Wine Kitz &
BrewKing lines. There are different styles (eg. Merlot, Shiraz, Barolo).
I like a heavy wine so Barolo & Amarone are my favs.


"evilpaul13" wrote in message
m...
I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

Good rule in general - you get what you pay for. But I was a Wal-Mart the
other day and they were selling kits for $26. But the kit made only 4
bottles. I bet you just got plunk and it would be very expensive plunk.
Probably a good kit to convince people to never make wine again.

Ray

"atrebla2" wrote in message
news:1nuzb.556002$9l5.9269@pd7tw2no...
Best advise is "You get what you pay for". If you buy a $39 kit from
Safeway, it'll be plunk, if you buy a large premium kit (15 or 16 litres
to
make 23 litres) you'll get good wine (assuming you follow the directions +
let it age for 9+ months). I've had good results with both the Wine Kitz
&
BrewKing lines. There are different styles (eg. Merlot, Shiraz, Barolo).
I like a heavy wine so Barolo & Amarone are my favs.


"evilpaul13" wrote in message
m...
I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

On 2 Dec 2003 22:18:08 -0800, (evilpaul13)
wrote:

I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

Mostly depends on what varieties of wine you like, and what brands are
available to you.

If you're looking for an easy drnking red, I would recommend the
Kendall Ridge Classic Merlot. It's a four week kit, and contains a
bit of juice in addition to the concentrate.

Since it's your first kit, I will assume that you will be drinking it
early (probably inside the first month). Although the wine will
improve if left for three months or so, it is still reasonably
drinkable after a month.

I would suggest making a kit like this for your first effort. Hide
some of the bottles for three months minimum, and drink the rest while
a premium kit is aging.

The premium brands that I know best are Kendall Ridge Showcase, Cru
Select, and Selection.

Steve

Another newbee here. But, for what it's worth, I tried the Selection Estate
cabernet (ranch 11 - napa vally). Right up to the end of the clarifying
period it tasted wonderful already to me. It turned out really nice, so far.
Just prior to bottling however, the instructions have you rack into a clean,
sterilized carboy and to add 1/4 teaspoon potassium metabisulfite dissolved
in a 1/2 cup of water. At the end of the bottling process I had a half a
bottle or so that was available for "testing". This has a very discernable
and potent sulfer? flavor and aftertaste. The clarity is still wonderful and
what I read says that after 6 months I would be "rewarded" for waiting. So,
I'll let you know if this was a good choice after waiting the minimum time.
It actually says it would be best to wait a year.

Nearly immediate satisfaction of success came by simultaneously making an
Island Mist Riesling (white) that turned out great for those who enjoy that
sort of 'sweet' light drink. 4 weeks from fermentation to consuming.

"evilpaul13" wrote in message
m...
I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

"Ray" wrote in message om...
Good rule in general - you get what you pay for. But I was a Wal-Mart the
other day and they were selling kits for $26. But the kit made only 4
bottles. I bet you just got plunk and it would be very expensive plunk.
Probably a good kit to convince people to never make wine again.

Ray

"atrebla2" wrote in message
news:1nuzb.556002$9l5.9269@pd7tw2no...
Best advise is "You get what you pay for". If you buy a $39 kit from
Safeway, it'll be plunk, if you buy a large premium kit (15 or 16 litres
to
make 23 litres) you'll get good wine (assuming you follow the directions +
let it age for 9+ months). I've had good results with both the Wine Kitz
&
BrewKing lines. There are different styles (eg. Merlot, Shiraz, Barolo).
I like a heavy wine so Barolo & Amarone are my favs.


"evilpaul13" wrote in message
m...
I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...



How would the ~$50 BrewKing Shiraz turn out?

I'd probably drink it with friends who like Yellow Tail Shiraz which
is pretty cheap, but quite good for its price tag (imho, of course
don't lynch me).

I will be bottleing my first kit at the beginning of the year. A Brew King
Vintner's Reserve Cab. I cannot tell you how please I am with the wine at
this point. My goal was to get a wine that compares to a $5.00-6.00 bottle
you would buy. I racked it for the last time last week (started it in
August). I had 1.5 L left from my topping off jug (kit makes 6 gallons) of
which I am drinking now. It tastes wonderful!! Beyond my wildest
expectations!!! I am not exceptionaly experienced but I know what I like.
It blows away most wines that I purchase. I enjoy a full bodied dry red
wine. I added oak beans to the second secondary racking and left it bulk
age for 2.5 months. I removed the beans for the last month. I can't wait
to see what it is like after another year.

Can't wait to bottle this up and start another kit. I just hope the second
kit will finish and be ready before I drink all of the first batch. My
second will be a Merlot, I think.


"evilpaul13" wrote in message
m...
I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

(evilpaul13) wrote:

I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

Whatever you do, if you want a quality tasting wine, don't buy a kit that
has less than 15 litres of concentrate.

Do you like it fruity and full flavoured, or do you like it oaky like a
Merlot?

If you like it fruity and flavourful with not much oak, try a Cellar Classic
Bergamais. Very yummy and drinkable fairly early.

If you like it oaky, there is a wealth of Merlot kits out there.

LG

Hi,

You don't seem to follow Brew King's instructions. May I ask you what
instructions you have since you seem very satisfied. I started a Brew King
batch, followed every instruction, but the results are not as tasty as an
average wine. The color is weak, and also the taste.




"Michael E. Carey" wrote in message
...
I will be bottleing my first kit at the beginning of the year. A Brew
King
Vintner's Reserve Cab. I cannot tell you how please I am with the wine at
this point. My goal was to get a wine that compares to a $5.00-6.00
bottle
you would buy. I racked it for the last time last week (started it in
August). I had 1.5 L left from my topping off jug (kit makes 6 gallons)
of
which I am drinking now. It tastes wonderful!! Beyond my wildest
expectations!!! I am not exceptionaly experienced but I know what I like.
It blows away most wines that I purchase. I enjoy a full bodied dry red
wine. I added oak beans to the second secondary racking and left it bulk
age for 2.5 months. I removed the beans for the last month. I can't wait
to see what it is like after another year.

Can't wait to bottle this up and start another kit. I just hope the
second
kit will finish and be ready before I drink all of the first batch. My
second will be a Merlot, I think.


"evilpaul13" wrote in message
m...
I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

"Willie" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

You don't seem to follow Brew King's instructions. May I ask you what
instructions you have since you seem very satisfied. I started a Brew King
batch, followed every instruction, but the results are not as tasty as an
average wine. The color is weak, and also the taste.




Starting with the ' declaration of dependence' that i'm a '
newbie'.........I made a Brew King kit.......a pinot grigot (sp?).......and
(of course).....tried it right away, and had the same impression...that
is..not a good taste...rather weak....etc. I let the wine continue to age a
bit....and when i tasted it the next time...it seemed just fine. In fact,
it seems really fine. I'm not skilled enuf with wines to know the good from
the not so good, except to say..this tasted fine to me. As good as bottles
from the store...and waaaaaaaaay more inexpensive. So i'm a believer...i
now have another BrewKing in the primary.......this one is a merlot.
So...maybe if you wait a bit longer........?

Thanks Tim,

You encourage me, since the batch I started is not really old (and my first
one), I'll let it age a bit and taste it later.


Starting with the ' declaration of dependence' that i'm a '
newbie'.........I made a Brew King kit.......a pinot grigot
(sp?).......and
(of course).....tried it right away, and had the same impression...that
is..not a good taste...rather weak....etc. I let the wine continue to age
a
bit....and when i tasted it the next time...it seemed just fine. In fact,
it seems really fine. I'm not skilled enuf with wines to know the good
from
the not so good, except to say..this tasted fine to me. As good as
bottles
from the store...and waaaaaaaaay more inexpensive. So i'm a believer...i
now have another BrewKing in the primary.......this one is a merlot.
So...maybe if you wait a bit longer........?

Hi,

You don't seem to follow Brew King's instructions. May I ask you what
instructions you have since you seem very satisfied. I started a Brew
King
batch, followed every instruction, but the results are not as tasty as
an
average wine. The color is weak, and also the taste.

Willie and Paul,

My experience with several kits (mostly Brew King) over the last 3
years is that the reds simply will not have the same freshness and
intensity as a wine made from fresh grapes (including all of the
commercial wines on the market). The biggest thing that the kit wines
lack is aromatics (bouquet), but there are also flavour differences as
well. This is not to say that they aren't enjoyable! But if you're
used to even lower-priced commercial wines of a particular variety,
you may find the lack of bouquet and relative lack of varietal
character to be disappointing.

Many people on this newsgroup say that that white wine kits don't
suffer the same problems as much, and the single white wine kit I've
done (Brew King Oregon Pinot Gris) seems to back this up. It's also
logical, as white wines are generally not fermented on the grape skins
the way red wines are (but most red kit wines aren't).

I've "moved on" for the most part and am making most of my wines now
from fresh grapes and other fruits.

Hands down, the best red wine kit I've done so far is the CellarCraft
Washington State Merlot (IMHO). This kit comes with a tub of grape
skins and grapey gunk that you ferment with the reconstituted juice.
I don't know if this is what makes the difference, but the wine from
this kit has significantly better aromatics and varietal character
than any other red wine kit I've done (including a top-of-the-line
offerings from RJSpagnols and many top-of-the-line Brew King kits).

If you're doing some already or are deciding to give it a try, please
save a fair bit of your wine for at least a year (or 2 or 3 with
"premium" kits). You should notice a huge improvement in flavour and
aroma.

Cheers!

Richard

I'd like to do a red, and am open to suggestions...

This has been discussed many times in this ng, go to GoogleGroups
and do some searches in rec.crafts.winemaking but basically...

Plan on doing more than kit, start with a mid range 4 week
white, a Chardonnay, plan on aging it for at least 3 months but
there's nothing wrong with sampling every week until then.
Follow the intructions to the T except if it says to add a
pouch labeled Potassium Sorbate, the only other deviation would
be to let it ferment out longer in the carboy before stabilization
to ensure it comes out dry and therefore preclude the need for
the sorbate. If you feel unsure of yourself then just follow
them to the T and even add the sorbate.

If you blow up your first kit at least it wasn't a premium
and it will still make pretty good table wine, especially after
3 months. The whites do come out better than the reds so go
onto a red or a premium white once you have your feet wet.

Don