The answer may be evident but, being someone that hasn't made any wine in
over 30 years, here' my question: In looking a winemaking supply catalogues
I've noticed a wide variety of grape juice/concentrates available. On the
low end, price wise, are the concentrates ($26 - 46 ounce cans) and the
price increase as the wine to water dilution ratio decreases all the way up
to the 23 liter ($150+) all juice ingredients. Given that these come with
all the necessary ingredients, is a higher $/% juice kit going to make a
significantly better cabernet than one made from concentrate? And, if I use
the $150 ingredient kit will my $5 per bottle wine be at least as comparable
as a decent $10 wine I can currently buy off the shelf? Better?

Suggestions on brands to buy? Stay away from?

TIA
John

John,
I am still learning, though I've made over 12 kits and another 8 recipes
not from kits.
If you like sweet - Island Mist is great, and cheap.
If you like Pinot Noir - I've found $50 kits the same as $130 kits.
Though one I had to add 18% Cab just to make it better.
If you like Shiraz, Syrah, Cab Sauv., SuperTuscan, etc. Then go for the
$150 kits. Find a state where tax is low, and when on vacation, stock up.
I just got back from Ohio, where tax is low on kits and I saved a bundle.
My 2 cents on juice concentrates - almost double what it says.

Oh, IMHO, the $150 kits taste like $30 bottles! My SuperTuscan is like a
$50!

Of course how you make it, temperature control, and many other factors
make a difference.
DAve

JB wrote:
> The answer may be evident but, being someone that hasn't made any wine in
> over 30 years, here' my question: In looking a winemaking supply catalogues
> I've noticed a wide variety of grape juice/concentrates available. On the
> low end, price wise, are the concentrates ($26 - 46 ounce cans) and the
> price increase as the wine to water dilution ratio decreases all the way up
> to the 23 liter ($150+) all juice ingredients. Given that these come with
> all the necessary ingredients, is a higher $/% juice kit going to make a
> significantly better cabernet than one made from concentrate? And, if I use
> the $150 ingredient kit will my $5 per bottle wine be at least as comparable
> as a decent $10 wine I can currently buy off the shelf? Better?
>
> Suggestions on brands to buy? Stay away from?
>
> TIA
> John
>
>
>

JB wrote:
> The answer may be evident but, being someone that hasn't made any wine in
> over 30 years, here' my question: In looking a winemaking supply catalogues
> I've noticed a wide variety of grape juice/concentrates available. On the
> low end, price wise, are the concentrates ($26 - 46 ounce cans) and the
> price increase as the wine to water dilution ratio decreases all the way up
> to the 23 liter ($150+) all juice ingredients. Given that these come with
> all the necessary ingredients, is a higher $/% juice kit going to make a
> significantly better cabernet than one made from concentrate? And, if I use
> the $150 ingredient kit will my $5 per bottle wine be at least as comparable
> as a decent $10 wine I can currently buy off the shelf? Better?
>
> Suggestions on brands to buy? Stay away from?
>
> TIA
> John
>
>
>


In the area of wine kits, price does matter. Believe me, there was a
world of difference between the $30. Argentia Pinot Grigio wine kit that
was my first experiment and the $60.00 Kenridge Classic Gurwerztaminer
that I bottled last week and this kit is still not among the stellar
price range.

I don't know any brands that are bad, per se (but then I am a relative
newbie), but you do get what you pay for. Every wine kit company
provides several different price ranges to choose from and I found that
my best friends were the brochures in the brew shops. I tend to take
home sheaves of them, read and decide from there. Over all, a less
expensive white wine kit is a little more forgiving than a less
expensive red wine kit. The trick is, just don't try to rush things.

I've tried KenRidge, Winexpert and R J Spagnols, and I have no
complaints about any of them.

Abby



--
The ChildFree Abby Archives - http://www.dismal-light.net/childfreeabby/

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

I've made wine from concentrates, kits and grapes. IMHO, concentrates
aren't worth the effort, and while kits have gotten a lot better over
the last few years as interest in home winemaking has increased, I
would say that you do get what you pay for. Of course, a lot depends
on what your tastes and goals are. For instance, if you are simply
looking to make a nice, drinkable wine that you can share with friends
and drink relatively quickly after bottling, then the lower priced
kits are certainly reasonable. If your goal is competitions, or to
make wines that are more complex, can age and improve over time, then
you'd probably want to go with a more expensive kit, certainly when
you are talking about reds.

So far I've made all Winexpert kits: Selection Estate Pinot Noir,
which was so-so, Selection Estate Washington-Columbia Riesling, which
was very good, and the Selection Estate Santa Ynez Syrah w/crushendo
(i.e., grape skin pack), which I *just* bottled. I've also made a
ZInfandel from a concentrate, and it was pretty well awful.

In sum, and this is just one man's opinion, that most kits make what I
could consider a good, $8-$15 bottle of commerical wine, on average.
There are some that probably make great wine (still hoping to find one
of those), and some I'd only feed to my in-laws. :=)

Ron

I find that price does make a big difference -- up to a point. The cheap
kits are just that - cheap. I find that they improve up to about $80-90.
After that, you might get an improvement and you might not.

Expensive is not always good but then cheap is not always bad. The island
mist kits make a cheap picnic wine. I think the kit is over priced for what
you get. But darn it, everybody loves the stuff. People who do not like
wine love the stuff. So I have to make some every now and then.

Ray

"JB" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> The answer may be evident but, being someone that hasn't made any wine in
> over 30 years, here' my question: In looking a winemaking supply
> catalogues I've noticed a wide variety of grape juice/concentrates
> available. On the low end, price wise, are the concentrates ($26 - 46
> ounce cans) and the price increase as the wine to water dilution ratio
> decreases all the way up to the 23 liter ($150+) all juice ingredients.
> Given that these come with all the necessary ingredients, is a higher $/%
> juice kit going to make a significantly better cabernet than one made from
> concentrate? And, if I use the $150 ingredient kit will my $5 per bottle
> wine be at least as comparable as a decent $10 wine I can currently buy
> off the shelf? Better?
>
> Suggestions on brands to buy? Stay away from?
>
> TIA
> John
>
>
>

I made vineco kenridge white zinfandel as my first ever kit and was
really pleased with that - particularly as a lady
pleasing wine - and particularly as it was 'free' with my first basic
winemaking equipment. I also made a legacy pinot noir (£50 - $100?)
from the same label and it is quite lovely. To my tastebuds it's as
good as any of the <£10 ($20) pinots I can get easily in England and
regularly beats the competition hands down at dinner
parties - and it is still only 5 months old! Though it must be said
that I don't mix with real wine 'heads' that I know of!!!

Jim

On Jun 4, 11:28 pm, "Ray Calvert" > wrote:
> I find that price does make a big difference -- up to a point. The cheap
> kits are just that - cheap. I find that they improve up to about $80-90.
> After that, you might get an improvement and you might not.
>
> Expensive is not always good but then cheap is not always bad. The island
> mist kits make a cheap picnic wine. I think the kit is over priced for what
> you get. But darn it, everybody loves the stuff. People who do not like
> wine love the stuff. So I have to make some every now and then.
>
> Ray
>
> "JB" > wrote in message
>
> hlink.net...
>
> > The answer may be evident but, being someone that hasn't made any wine in
> > over 30 years, here' my question: In looking a winemaking supply
> > catalogues I've noticed a wide variety of grape juice/concentrates
> > available. On the low end, price wise, are the concentrates ($26 - 46
> > ounce cans) and the price increase as the wine to water dilution ratio
> > decreases all the way up to the 23 liter ($150+) all juice ingredients.
> > Given that these come with all the necessary ingredients, is a higher $/%
> > juice kit going to make a significantly better cabernet than one made from
> > concentrate? And, if I use the $150 ingredient kit will my $5 per bottle
> > wine be at least as comparable as a decent $10 wine I can currently buy
> > off the shelf? Better?
>
> > Suggestions on brands to buy? Stay away from?
>
> > TIA
> > John