Mosti Mondiale A case for Meglioli

[JimCook]

Last night, the partially filled Super Tuscan bottle that has been hanging out on my countertop decided to start waking up and show me what it has to offer. This wine was a blend I made from the Meglioli Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese kits. After 10 days, the wine started showing me some of its potential and it is quite pleasing. We'll see how it develops over the days to come, but it seems that these Megliolis, as confirmed by several related posts over the past two years on this forum, are some quality kit raw materials.
While it's a bit late to order this year, take heed all those who decided to purchase this level of kit.


- Jim

 

[Wade E]

Ive only tasted 1 but it was the best kit wine I have ever tasted!

 

[PeterZ]

I did two last year (Barolo and Amarone) and have three this year (Barolo, Amarone, and Old Vines Zin) this year.

 

[ibglowin]

Have never made any of the Meglioli kits as I can't get past the >$200 price tag.

By the time you finish paying for this kit (including shipping, corks, shrink wraps, bottles perhaps, labels, top off wine) your average cost per bottles is ~ $10

I can believe it makes a great wine as everyone has said so, but what makes it so good? Better higher quality raw materials? More TDS?

I want to pick one up (you know it doesn't take much for me!) but I can't quite get over (or past) the sticker shock!

 

[JimCook]

Mike,


It is important to know how much a per-bottle cost is for anything. After the Grower's Club discount from George, the cost of the Meglioli Barolo kit delivered is around $215, or just over $7/bottle for the 30 bottles it will produce.


Since the glass bottles will continue to get reused, I'm not going to include that in the cost. George's 'perfect agglomerate' corks will run about $0.16 each x 30= $4.80. PVC Shrink Caps will run $3.49. Assuming you are purchasing some kind of red top-up wine at $10/bottle and you need a liberal 1.5 bottles, you're looking at another $15. Label paper runs $5.39 for easily enough to take care of one kit. Oh, by the way, Meglioli kits come with their own shrink caps and their own natural corks, so away goes $8.29 off of our total.


Total tab: $235.39, which is $7.85/bottle.


This is generally in line with what I've experienced with all of the kits I've made - the 'extras' will add on $1-1.50 per bottle past the cost of the kit or grapes themselves.


Nino, president of Mosti, stated at Winestock 2009 that the Meglioli kits are special in the sense that they have connections into Italian vineyards where they have much more control over what quality of fruit is chosen for the kits. In addition, he noted that there was more baby-sitting, proverbially speaking, as well as filters for minimum quality standards with these kits. So, to answer your question - better quality raw materials. The total dissolved solids will be as high as possible, which is what Mosti shoots for (Nino notes that around 85% TDS is the maximum achievable for a kit).


The Meglioli wine I'm tasting right now is definitely at least as good as if not better than the average $8 bottle of commercial wine that I've tasted. If you want to do a truly fair analysis, you'd need to take tax away from your total expense on a comparable commercial bottle, which means spending a net $7.85 buys you a $7 bottle wine (rounded for simplicity, unless you're from Chicago like me where the tax is 10-12% on wine).


If you want to get into the $10-12+/bottle cost of raw materials, check out Brehm Vineyard's frozen grapes. That's where the raw material cost really shoots up.


- Jim

 

[ibglowin]

Good to know about the caps and corks, that helps bring the CPB down.

I am guessing you have made a few of these kits Jim?

What is the source of most of the juice? Specific to the region or like other MM kits from the US but in the "style" of a certain varietal?

 

[JimCook]

Mike,


I have made several, yes. I'll need to check on the one box I haven't started yet to look for the juice origin when I'm at home, but I am pretty sure the 'del Veneto' kits are sourced from Italy. George or anyone else that recalls may be able to confirm or deny this.


Note that all kit wines are 'made in the style of,' so as several people have pointed out on the forum, an Amarone and Barolo are not necessarily made from the DOC specified grapes, etc. When it came to these kits, I had a hard time tolerating the higher price point in regards to a white kit. I picked up the Chardonnay del Veneto from George at Winestock 2009 and it has an amazing aroma to it (currently bulk aging). Generally, it seems that the color, aroma, flavors, and starting sugar levels are more intense than the other lines of kits that I have made.


- Jim

 

[JimCook]

Mike,


I just checked my Meglioli Sangiovese from last year and it shows now labelling that I can find detailing the source of the juice. Perhaps some of the people who purchased kits that were recently delivered can confirm or deny that information on their Meglioli kits.


- Jim

 

[ibglowin]

So would you classify the Meglioli kits as "old world" style then?

 

[JimCook]

Mike,


How do you define 'old world style'?


- Jim

 

[ibglowin]

I like this definition:

"The term is used to describe general differences in viticulture and winemaking philosophies between the Old World regions where tradition and the role of terroir lead versus the New World where science and the role of the winemaker are more often emphasized."

An old world Bordeaux would be more subtle, less oak, less fruit forward and something that would improve over time.

A new world Carbernet would be more in your face, fruit forward, oak out the wazoo and basically made to drink now.

 

[JimCook]

Mike,


I don't feel I can accurately answer your question and sum up the whole of Meglioli kits, especially when I don't follow the kit instructions dead on. I personally feel that all kit wines are more subtle, although they vary in the amount of fruit forwardness, and I oak different kits differently to test the effects.


I can't say that I've tasted a kit wine that had terroir oozing out of it and with the processing that goes into kit raw materials compared to real grapes, I'm not sure that I would - who knows?


Can you say that, for example, the Cellar Craft kits that you have made are more new world than your RJ Spagnols kits?


- Jim


- Jim

 

[Dean]

Kits will always = New World. Old world hides the fruit, has lots of structure, and is usually made to age a long time. Old world "brings the funk" in the terroir, and has smells that are pleasing to some, and not so pleasing to others.

New world brings the fruit, the jam, the oak monster, and is approachable much sooner.

If kits were to do the same, they'd have dismal sales as most people do not want to wait 5+ years to see how their product turns out.