John -
I have to agree that, broadly speaking, you do get what you pay
for in kits. The larger, more expensive kits will tend to produce
better wine. As a rule, whites tend to be better / closer to
commercial quality at a given kit price level than reds. The really
full-bodied, tannic reds (e.g., Cab. Sauvignon) seem to be the most
difficult to do well using kit technologies -- the tannins that are
derived from the skins when making wine directly from grapes just
don't survive the kit-making process. Kit companies are getting
better at compensating, but (IMHO) they still have a way to go. They
continue to improve, though, and the high-end red kits (many now with
packs of grape skins) can produce some very nice wine. The bad news
is that the really good ones will need 1 to 2 years of aging before
they start to show their full potential.

In terms of brands, I've done mostly Winexpert kits, as that's about
all that's widely available in the US. RJ Spagnols and Cellar Craft
are more widely available in Canada; all three have red kits with some
sort of "grape skin" pack, which generally are their high-end kit
offerings. I think you'd have pretty good luck with that type of kit
from any of them.

Doug