I have just been informed by Mr Jeff Anderson, Export Market Manager with
Winexpert, that a new wine kit in this series is just about to be launched
in UK. It is called Selection Estate Crushendo and contains crushed grape
skins. It is just about to be shipped in its container to the UK distributor
and will obviously be in very limited supply over here in UK initially. I
have already been in contact with the UK distributor and have ordered one! I
cannot find any information about it on the Winexpert website.

I got this information as a result of correspondence about the Selection
red wine kits in general and was most grateful for the way my enquiries and
comments were received by Winexpert (including adverse comments by me as
well).

I was wondering if anyone, over the other side of the pond, has yet used
this new kit and what comments might be available. After the mails from Mr
Jeff Anderson it is my intention to follow the instructions with the new kit
implicitly down to the last "T" ( except I will not use any sorbate
included) and see how the wine resolves itself.

An interesting comment about my Bulk aged Selection Estate Lodi Old Vines
Zinfandel which I started in September 2003 and am just about to bottle. The
extract below is from his e-mail

"You said the Selection Old Vine Zinfandel is ready for bottling, and I
noticed it has bulk aged for some time and you have not filtered it. If I
can make some suggestions 1. bulk aging there really is no advantage here,
you can leave it for 30-45 days but I recommend you bottle soon after it has
finished the process, from our experience it will age faster in the bottle.
2. I recommend you filter unless you are looking for the taste of lees, this
can also give you that blandness, with this kit the there was a lot of Oak
which should give you a little more astringency. Also filtering is like
polishing your car, when you wash it looks good as when you fine the wine it
look clean and clear, Now when you polish your car it looks fantastic and
you like to drive around in it to show everyone, that is what filtering does
for the wine it polishes it and you want to share it with friends as well it
removes that yeast flavour and impurities"

I confess that I am still most reluctant to filter my wines but I shall
think about it and perhaps try it with this new wine if it is recommended.


--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
Anti Virus for your protection too!

Trevor

A few comments on the last past of your post:

In the past, a lot of wines were not filtered as time simply did the job. I
remember an old-timer in Chablis say that they use to leave the wine in the
barrels for years so they became clear and as stable as possible.

Today, technology has given us the possibility of making a wine in three
months. With yeasts for alcoholic and Malolactic fermentations. A quick cold
stabilisation and filtering, the wine is in the bottle and ready to be
drink.

He said that filtering is like polishing a car, I don't really agree, I
believe fining is more like polishing a car and more important then
filtering.

I have tested and tasted my wines, one being filtered and the other
unfiltered. The unfiltered clearly wins.

Just my thoughts.

Marc

"pinky" > a écrit dans le message de news:
...
>I have just been informed by Mr Jeff Anderson, Export Market Manager with
>Winexpert, that a new wine kit in this series is just about to be launched
>in UK. It is called Selection Estate Crushendo and contains crushed grape
>skins. It is just about to be shipped in its container to the UK
>distributor and will obviously be in very limited supply over here in UK
>initially. I have already been in contact with the UK distributor and have
>ordered one! I cannot find any information about it on the Winexpert
>website.
>
> I got this information as a result of correspondence about the Selection
> red wine kits in general and was most grateful for the way my enquiries
> and comments were received by Winexpert (including adverse comments by me
> as well).
>
> I was wondering if anyone, over the other side of the pond, has yet used
> this new kit and what comments might be available. After the mails from
> Mr Jeff Anderson it is my intention to follow the instructions with the
> new kit implicitly down to the last "T" ( except I will not use any
> sorbate included) and see how the wine resolves itself.
>
> An interesting comment about my Bulk aged Selection Estate Lodi Old Vines
> Zinfandel which I started in September 2003 and am just about to bottle.
> The extract below is from his e-mail
>
> "You said the Selection Old Vine Zinfandel is ready for bottling, and I
> noticed it has bulk aged for some time and you have not filtered it. If I
> can make some suggestions 1. bulk aging there really is no advantage here,
> you can leave it for 30-45 days but I recommend you bottle soon after it
> has finished the process, from our experience it will age faster in the
> bottle. 2. I recommend you filter unless you are looking for the taste of
> lees, this can also give you that blandness, with this kit the there was a
> lot of Oak which should give you a little more astringency. Also filtering
> is like polishing your car, when you wash it looks good as when you fine
> the wine it look clean and clear, Now when you polish your car it looks
> fantastic and you like to drive around in it to show everyone, that is
> what filtering does for the wine it polishes it and you want to share it
> with friends as well it removes that yeast flavour and impurities"
>
> I confess that I am still most reluctant to filter my wines but I shall
> think about it and perhaps try it with this new wine if it is recommended.
>
>
> --
> Trevor A Panther
> In South Yorkshire, England
> Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
> All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
> Anti Virus for your protection too!
>

"pinky" > wrote in message k>...
> I have just been informed by Mr Jeff Anderson, Export Market Manager with
> Winexpert, that a new wine kit in this series is just about to be launched
> in UK. It is called Selection Estate Crushendo and contains crushed grape
> skins. It is just about to be shipped in its container to the UK distributor
> and will obviously be in very limited supply over here in UK initially. I
> have already been in contact with the UK distributor and have ordered one! I
> cannot find any information about it on the Winexpert website.
>
> I got this information as a result of correspondence about the Selection
> red wine kits in general and was most grateful for the way my enquiries and
> comments were received by Winexpert (including adverse comments by me as
> well).
>
> I was wondering if anyone, over the other side of the pond, has yet used
> this new kit and what comments might be available. After the mails from Mr
> Jeff Anderson it is my intention to follow the instructions with the new kit
> implicitly down to the last "T" ( except I will not use any sorbate
> included) and see how the wine resolves itself.
>
> An interesting comment about my Bulk aged Selection Estate Lodi Old Vines
> Zinfandel which I started in September 2003 and am just about to bottle. The
> extract below is from his e-mail
>
> "You said the Selection Old Vine Zinfandel is ready for bottling, and I
> noticed it has bulk aged for some time and you have not filtered it. If I
> can make some suggestions 1. bulk aging there really is no advantage here,
> you can leave it for 30-45 days but I recommend you bottle soon after it has
> finished the process, from our experience it will age faster in the bottle.
> 2. I recommend you filter unless you are looking for the taste of lees, this
> can also give you that blandness, with this kit the there was a lot of Oak
> which should give you a little more astringency. Also filtering is like
> polishing your car, when you wash it looks good as when you fine the wine it
> look clean and clear, Now when you polish your car it looks fantastic and
> you like to drive around in it to show everyone, that is what filtering does
> for the wine it polishes it and you want to share it with friends as well it
> removes that yeast flavour and impurities"
>
> I confess that I am still most reluctant to filter my wines but I shall
> think about it and perhaps try it with this new wine if it is recommended.

Trevor:

The best place to go for info on this is the Winepress forum - there
have been quite a lot of excited discussion about this new kit. Plus
the "author" of the Winexpert kits, Tim Vandergrift, posts there
regularly:

http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?

The kit was just released, so I doubt you'll get decent data at this
point, but I'm pretty sure somebody from that forum is fermenting it
already.

As for Jeff's comments, I don't normally filter my wines, but 2 white
kits I made this year ended up with a very strong and to my taste
unpleasant, almost salty, yeast taste. I've filtered one of them as a
last resort and the bad taste seemed pretty much gone after. I'm still
waiting to pass the judgment after I open a bottle when the bottling
shock is over, but it seemed to work well. I've never had this before
with juice or grape wines, so it must be something in the kit
processing that causes this, although it didn't happen for all the
kits I made that time.

Also, after tinkering with the process and getting less than
satisfactory results, I've also decided that the next kit I make will
be done exactly per instructions to see if it's my modifications that
are the culprit and not the kits themselves.

Pp

"pinky" > wrote in message k>...
> I have just been informed by Mr Jeff Anderson, Export Market Manager with
> Winexpert, that a new wine kit in this series is just about to be launched
> in UK. It is called Selection Estate Crushendo and contains crushed grape
> skins. It is just about to be shipped in its container to the UK distributor
> and will obviously be in very limited supply over here in UK initially. I
> have already been in contact with the UK distributor and have ordered one! I
> cannot find any information about it on the Winexpert website.
>
> I got this information as a result of correspondence about the Selection
> red wine kits in general and was most grateful for the way my enquiries and
> comments were received by Winexpert (including adverse comments by me as
> well).
>
> I was wondering if anyone, over the other side of the pond, has yet used
> this new kit and what comments might be available. After the mails from Mr
> Jeff Anderson it is my intention to follow the instructions with the new kit
> implicitly down to the last "T" ( except I will not use any sorbate
> included) and see how the wine resolves itself.
>
> An interesting comment about my Bulk aged Selection Estate Lodi Old Vines
> Zinfandel which I started in September 2003 and am just about to bottle. The
> extract below is from his e-mail
>
> "You said the Selection Old Vine Zinfandel is ready for bottling, and I
> noticed it has bulk aged for some time and you have not filtered it. If I
> can make some suggestions 1. bulk aging there really is no advantage here,
> you can leave it for 30-45 days but I recommend you bottle soon after it has
> finished the process, from our experience it will age faster in the bottle.
> 2. I recommend you filter unless you are looking for the taste of lees, this
> can also give you that blandness, with this kit the there was a lot of Oak
> which should give you a little more astringency. Also filtering is like
> polishing your car, when you wash it looks good as when you fine the wine it
> look clean and clear, Now when you polish your car it looks fantastic and
> you like to drive around in it to show everyone, that is what filtering does
> for the wine it polishes it and you want to share it with friends as well it
> removes that yeast flavour and impurities"
>
> I confess that I am still most reluctant to filter my wines but I shall
> think about it and perhaps try it with this new wine if it is recommended.

Trevor:

The best place to go for info on this is the Winepress forum - there
have been quite a lot of excited discussion about this new kit. Plus
the "author" of the Winexpert kits, Tim Vandergrift, posts there
regularly:

http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?

The kit was just released, so I doubt you'll get decent data at this
point, but I'm pretty sure somebody from that forum is fermenting it
already.

As for Jeff's comments, I don't normally filter my wines, but 2 white
kits I made this year ended up with a very strong and to my taste
unpleasant, almost salty, yeast taste. I've filtered one of them as a
last resort and the bad taste seemed pretty much gone after. I'm still
waiting to pass the judgment after I open a bottle when the bottling
shock is over, but it seemed to work well. I've never had this before
with juice or grape wines, so it must be something in the kit
processing that causes this, although it didn't happen for all the
kits I made that time.

Also, after tinkering with the process and getting less than
satisfactory results, I've also decided that the next kit I make will
be done exactly per instructions to see if it's my modifications that
are the culprit and not the kits themselves.

Pp

Pp
Many thanks for the info . I haven't visited the forum previously but will
have a look-see now

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
Anti Virus for your protection too!

<snip><snip>
"pp" > wrote in message
>
> The best place to go for info on this is the Winepress forum - there
> have been quite a lot of excited discussion about this new kit. Plus
> the "author" of the Winexpert kits, Tim Vandergrift, posts there
> regularly:
>
> http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?
>
> The kit was just released, so I doubt you'll get decent data at this
> point, but I'm pretty sure somebody from that forum is fermenting it
> already.
>
<snip><snip>

Quite a premium for a little tannin! $156 CN about $125 US. Think I'll
stick with the fresh fruit and the occasional kit.

TG
"pinky" > wrote in message
...
> Pp
> Many thanks for the info . I haven't visited the forum previously but will
> have a look-see now
>
> --
> Trevor A Panther
> In South Yorkshire, England
> Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
> All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
> Anti Virus for your protection too!
>
> <snip><snip>
> "pp" > wrote in message
> >
> > The best place to go for info on this is the Winepress forum - there
> > have been quite a lot of excited discussion about this new kit. Plus
> > the "author" of the Winexpert kits, Tim Vandergrift, posts there
> > regularly:
> >
> > http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?
> >
> > The kit was just released, so I doubt you'll get decent data at this
> > point, but I'm pretty sure somebody from that forum is fermenting it
> > already.
> >
> <snip><snip>
>
>

Would that I could buy fresh red wine grapes or freshly pressed juice in
UK. But I can't!

So I use kits for my single varietal red wines -- and I have been and am
very critical about them. And I tinker with them ( as pp said above) --
mainly to try and increase the "astringency" ( "bite" ) that I like in my
red wines. Last year I started to add extra tannin to the initial
fermentation stage but I am only just bottling last years wines and I still
have to come to any opinion about the results.
I also have a tendency to over oak -- well no -- not really -- because I
generally find that the "oakiness" falls back after some months in bottle.
But I usually worry about it just the same!

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
Anti Virus for your protection too!
"Tom" > wrote in message
...
> Quite a premium for a little tannin! $156 CN about $125 US. Think I'll
> stick with the fresh fruit and the occasional kit.
>
> TG
> "pinky" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Pp
>> Many thanks for the info . I haven't visited the forum previously but
>> will
>> have a look-see now
>>
>> --
>> Trevor A Panther
>> In South Yorkshire, England
>> Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
>> All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
>> Anti Virus for your protection too!
>>
>> <snip><snip>
>> "pp" > wrote in message
>> >
>> > The best place to go for info on this is the Winepress forum - there
>> > have been quite a lot of excited discussion about this new kit. Plus
>> > the "author" of the Winexpert kits, Tim Vandergrift, posts there
>> > regularly:
>> >
>> > http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?
>> >
>> > The kit was just released, so I doubt you'll get decent data at this
>> > point, but I'm pretty sure somebody from that forum is fermenting it
>> > already.
>> >
>> <snip><snip>
>>
>>
>
>

Would that I could buy fresh red wine grapes or freshly pressed juice in
UK. But I can't!

So I use kits for my single varietal red wines -- and I have been and am
very critical about them. And I tinker with them ( as pp said above) --
mainly to try and increase the "astringency" ( "bite" ) that I like in my
red wines. Last year I started to add extra tannin to the initial
fermentation stage but I am only just bottling last years wines and I still
have to come to any opinion about the results.
I also have a tendency to over oak -- well no -- not really -- because I
generally find that the "oakiness" falls back after some months in bottle.
But I usually worry about it just the same!

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
Anti Virus for your protection too!
"Tom" > wrote in message
...
> Quite a premium for a little tannin! $156 CN about $125 US. Think I'll
> stick with the fresh fruit and the occasional kit.
>
> TG
> "pinky" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Pp
>> Many thanks for the info . I haven't visited the forum previously but
>> will
>> have a look-see now
>>
>> --
>> Trevor A Panther
>> In South Yorkshire, England
>> Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
>> All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
>> Anti Virus for your protection too!
>>
>> <snip><snip>
>> "pp" > wrote in message
>> >
>> > The best place to go for info on this is the Winepress forum - there
>> > have been quite a lot of excited discussion about this new kit. Plus
>> > the "author" of the Winexpert kits, Tim Vandergrift, posts there
>> > regularly:
>> >
>> > http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?
>> >
>> > The kit was just released, so I doubt you'll get decent data at this
>> > point, but I'm pretty sure somebody from that forum is fermenting it
>> > already.
>> >
>> <snip><snip>
>>
>>
>
>

"pinky" > wrote in message
...
> Would that I could buy fresh red wine grapes or freshly pressed juice in
> UK. But I can't!

I'm amazed that some beer or winemaking store doesn't import French, Spanish
or German grapes for home winemakers. It's common here where I live for
stores to truck in California grapes by the ton for home winemakers.
Trevor...I think there is a nitch business waiting for someone where you
live.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA (Kansas City area)