"Michael Lawson" > wrote in message
...
That said, the wine does taste a bit thin
> with little aromatics. Typical at this stage (the 4 week
> point), I presume??

Yes, but unfortunately, it might not get much better. I'm not a big fan of
kit wines, I'm afraid.

>
> In a VR kit, will bulk aging allow the wine to age better,
> or is bulk aging more beneficial to the VR reds and the
> 15-16 and whole juice kits? My assumption is that it
> would help some, but what would be a good rule of
> thumb for a VR 4-week kit?

Give it 3 months.
>
> Second, from my homebrewing experience, matching
> the right yeast to the type of beer being brewed can
> be rather important. I'm wondering that if I had replaced
> the Red Star yeast (Premier Cuvee, I believe) with one
> from Wyeast/White Labs/Lalvin geared toward a
> riesling style whether it would have had a dramatic
> improvement in the outcome of the wine.

I have been told by someone in the industry (not at liberty to say more)
that at least one of the major Canadian kit producers tests their products
with a variety of yeasts to find the ones that produce the most acceptable
final product. According to them, some strains known for doing a good job
when applied to similar grape-produced wines do not necessarily do a good
job with the kits. I guess about all you can take from that is, if the trade
sheets say "good for Pinot Noir" or "good for Riesling", that might not
apply to the kit you're buying. If you want to go with something other than
the supplied yeast, I would stick to an inexpensive dry yeast. The added
expense of a smack pack might not translate into an improved wine.
>
Brian