# do wine making kits make much better wine ?



## xcaret (Jan 28, 2011)

I see for $80.00 they sell kits to make wine ..with all the stuff you need for certain flovors.. I guess I'm not very fussy cause any wine I buy tastes ok to me .. I'm going to try peach wine this time with all my left over frozen peaches I have had here for 4 years now ... Beats spending $80.00


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## almargita (Jan 28, 2011)

Not necessary better, they are there for convience... Everything you need is there in one box with a large variety & selection from juices all over the world. Great way to start the learning process, almost no-fail the majority of the time as long as you follow the instructions. But of course, you are paying for this also where as just buying juice or grapes or whatever would cost much less. Juust my thoughts.......
Al


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## Tom (Jan 28, 2011)

I thinking you mean EQUIPMENT kits.
If that right you are better off getting all the equipment needed in a kit. No one who never made wine will have all the necessary equipment.


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## winemaker_3352 (Jan 28, 2011)

I don't know if better - but i enjoy working with the grapes more.


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## Dugger (Jan 28, 2011)

Better than what - commercial, grapes?? Kits are a great way to make different varieties of wine and also give you the opportunity to make blended wines. These wines can be very good but they must be aged for some time to reach that level, the same as wines you buy. $80 is just one price for kits - they have a wide range from $30 to $200+. In Calgary you should have access to many kits at very good prices - when you consider the cost per bottle, these are a bargain.


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## Brian (Jan 28, 2011)

My opinion is kits are great for beginners and people who like kits. They are easy and generally are no fail. If you are just starting in winemaking and are making wine out of peaches there is alot more to it than you might think. If you are experienced and are looking just at price...then if you can get fruit inexpensive then you can do it cheaper than the kits. The other thing is if you can't discern between a $5.00 and a $50.00 bottle of wine .. does it really matter. In the end when you buy one of the higher end large (6 gal) kits you are paying about $3-4.00 per bottle of what I would say is a $20.00 bottle of wine.. So with all that said I guess it depends on your point of view..


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## philogeek (Jan 28, 2011)

I've never made wine withOUT using a kit, so as a maker, I've got no input.

However, I've had the opportunity to taste many non-kit wines made by others, so I can compare from a taster's POV.

IMO, kits make better wines. But then again, I have no love for what I affectionately refer to as 'fruit salad' wines. LOL


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## jet (Jan 28, 2011)

No, but kits are harder to screw up.


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## Minnesotamaker (Jan 28, 2011)

jet said:


> No, but kits are harder to screw up.



I think Jet hit on the most poignant issue. Kit manufacturers go to great pains to:
a) select good fruit from all across the globe
b) properly store and transport it
c) expertly test it with state of the art equipment, then adjust as needed
d) prepare and package for convenient use
e) stand behind their product

In my opinion, there's NO WAY you could do this yourself for $80. It gives you access to grapes that would be unavailable to most home winemakers, or at least cost prohibitive. 

For the record, I do make lots of wines from scratch too. The initial material cost is lower and sometimes I like the taste better. But when I make wines from scratch, some are good, others are "OK" and some stink. My success ratio using kits is much higher. I have "from scratch" batches that I wouldn't bring out to share with guests, but I've never had a kit wine I was hesitant to share.

If you were to do a cost analysis for the average home winemaker who makes small batches, and you factored in labor, expense, waste, materials, failures, etc. I believe your cost per bottle of a kit wine would be less that of wines made from scratch.


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## Catfish (Jan 28, 2011)

I'd like to try a kit some time. My first 30 gallons so far are from scratch. Juice is around 5 dollars a gallon. Sugar-next to nothing. Yeast-next to nothing. I figured it up one time and it is going to cost me about 1.50 to 2 dollars per bottle. Minus the cost of the bottle of course.


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## cold (Jan 28, 2011)

*Check out Superstore and Save On Foods*



xcaret said:


> I see for $80.00 they sell kits to make wine



Go to Superstore. They are selling wine kits in the Edmonton Superstores for $41 and $44. I just bought one two days ago. 

The Pinot Noir wine kit from Superstore was recommended by a fellow who said that it was the best kit he every made.

Last time I looked at the wine kits in Save-On Foods, the prices were a lot lower than 80 bucks. In the 50 dollars range.

Save On had much better pricing on yeast, kits, carboys, bottles, corks and stuff like racking cans than the wine stores. 



Troll Kijiji for used carboys and corkers.


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## cpfan (Jan 28, 2011)

Catfish said:


> I'd like to try a kit some time. My first 30 gallons so far are from scratch. Juice is around 5 dollars a gallon. Sugar-next to nothing. Yeast-next to nothing. I figured it up one time and it is going to cost me about 1.50 to 2 dollars per bottle. Minus the cost of the bottle of course.



This past summer, I could have bought a California Connoisseur white kit for $48. It's not the best, but it's drinkable. So that's $1.60/bottle. Now I live in Canada, and deal with the factory store, so the prices are pretty good. But there's a store in Calgary, that had those kits for $48 to $57 in Sept 2010($8 off usually when on sale).

Now usually I buy a better quality kit, say $90 for a good white. The last red that I bought was $90 regular price (I got it on sale). That's still only $3 a bottle. But I have paid almost $150 for a very high end red. Hopefully, one of these days it will be very very good.

Steve


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## xcaret (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks for all the replys ,I see in superstores ( Loblaws out west) they have wine kits for $40.00 , and all kinds .I think it says you get 30 bottles from the kit when finished racking etc. My homeade stuff is all good ,I always mix wine with a little club soda and only dring it to get a buzz. I never share it and taste means nothing, I'd draw the line eventually ,but it would have to be pretty horrible . Last time my peach,crabapple,apple,and rasin concoction didnt start to ferment cause I had to much sugar to get the alchol content higher.I added more bread yeast and water to improve the s/g .it stareted working then. After racking and standing foe 2 weeks I think I'll rack it again and bottle it after 2 months or its clear.


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## LtCellars (Oct 22, 2011)

Not to say one is better than the other, I only did one kit to get me started and then went to fresh fruit and have never looked back. The only drawback is you have to wait till harvest to do fresh fruit, but then I think the anticipation adds to the enjoyment.


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## Cannew (Oct 22, 2011)

I think it's a personal matter. For me I'll stick to kits because I'm a beginner and want some consistency. I'd probably either mess up or if I made two batches of the same type, you'd never recognize them.

If I had more experience I'd probably like the idea of making my own wine and experimenting. 

Though I've only made three kits, I've been happy with them.


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## LtCellars (Oct 22, 2011)

Cannew,I would venture to say you already do have enough experience to do grapes. Aside from crushing/destemming and then pressing after the ferment, I think there is less to do doing grapes. If I remember correctly, my kit had me adding certain additives at certain times and had to read the directions a couple of times to make sure my additions were on time. Kit wines are very nice in that you can make a good wine because of the prep work in the making of the juice. 
A lot of satisfaction comes from making wine with grapes knowing you had control of the process all the way threw. You end up with something you can really call your own.
Steve


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## Cannew (Oct 23, 2011)

Lt

Seems like you are from an wine growing area and probably get the grapes locally. Also sound like you've made you own for awhile and have had good results.


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## Rocky (Oct 23, 2011)

IMHO, all means of making wine, i.e. kits, grapes/fresh fruit, juice, have their advantages and disadvantages. Kits offer convenience and a way to make small quantities of a startling variety of wines with relatively little investment. Some people think they result in a "thin" wine although this can be ameliorated by applying various techniques. Grapes or other fresh fruit are the traditional way to proceed and it normally results in a richer and authentic wine. On the downside, it requires more labor, additional equipment and more cleanup. Juice offers a compromise between the two so long as one can get authentic and fresh juice.

I am grateful that we have the choices and I will continue to make wine all three ways.


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