Search results

Stag's leap merlot and raspberry chocolate port are two completely different directions. You clearly need more carboys! 😁

I have been making the Stag's Leap Merlot for a long time and it is one of my favourites. The current version (private reserve) is a bit too new to pass judgement on, but after a 90 day process, it was lighter in colour and lower in alcohol than the eclipse version. The flavour profile is good...

15 or more years ago, CellarCraft had a series of 15 litre kits that it called "global cuvee". Their description of that was: blended grape juices sourced from fine regions around the world. I found that to be far less deceptive.

I agree they can't use words like "port" etc, but varietal names and countries are not copyright. For example, the rjs EP product guide clearly describes country of origin. Winexpert private reserve lists region of origin for varietals.

Last fall I came home with a cru select kit, and upon looking at the empty box, noticed the "style" qualifier. I then looked at the product guide and noticed all the other "style" kits and said to my wife that it's a clever marketing ploy which would allow them to insert grapes from any region...

As most grapeskin packs are manufactured products (ie some grapeskins with sugar added), there won't be a lot left after one fermentation cycle. Certainly all the sugar will be gone. In addition, if you are leaving them in the must until they sink to the bottom, they're done just like the sediment.

Made it up and pitched the yeast today. Fingers crossed 🤞🤞 Elk burgers and wine for supper! 🍷🍷

I had that thought Joe. I have a reserve carmenere that I could make up and add the grape pack from the supertuscan to it. We'll see what the supertuscan smells like when diluted in the primary fermenter,then make that decision.

My retailer is getting a replacement kit for me! 👍👍She suggested that I make the defective kit as a science project. I opened the bag, and it does not smell very good, almost beer-like. I'll put it on anyway, but my early suspicion is that it won't make it to bottle. Thanks Prairie Bee Meadery!

I've been making wine from kits for better than 15 years now, and have electronic records of the last 160 kits. In that time I have developed my own set of instructions, which resemble the mfg instructions, but not really. According to my notes, I pitched the yeast on Dec 7, which is 70 days...

Ya, its called Family Day in Saskatchewan.

I'm a few days from putting on a private reserve supertuscan, and I noticed that the box started coming apart. Upon further examination, the juice is fermenting in the bag! 😢 Contact sent to winexpert, but of course, no one works on weekends. Also contacted retailer, got some sympathy. 😁

Not even close. The private reserve version has less colour, less alcohol and less varietal character than the eclipse version. 😭 This is my 3rd private reserve kit and the second that is less than its predecessor. At least I have found a retailer that is selling them at a more reasonable price.😐

Just ensure that you are confident with your cleaning/sanitizing before you skip the sorbate.

I agree that the rjs supertuscan is a very unique wine. I bought a new WE private reserve supertuscan hoping it approximates the bravado as I really liked that one too!

Nice table! Since pectin is a country wine issue, I use file 13 for the pectinase and the sorbate.

So what he is suggesting is that kit manufacturers start with grapes , make it into juice, vacuum concentrate some of it, flash pasturize some more, then add back some of the water they removed? That doesn't make sense to me. I have seen an off brand (23l) juice in pail product that was...

For most of us, consumption rises to meet production! :d

It's not you, it's the collective winemaking society. Winexpert guarantees the result, as long as you follow the instructions, even though not all winemakers have the same skills. So if you carboy age, I think you're on your own. I bulk age, but just to 90 to 100 days. I leave the airlock in...

In the dark ages of wine kits, you got 5l of concentrate in a can, and some yeast. They made a grape-like product with some alcohol, and were not very good. In the 1990s, WineXpert claims to have "invented the modern wine kit". They added a bunch of fresh juice to the concentrate to give them a...