WineXpert Any wine kits to avoid?

[bdavidh]

I've not had a bad kit yet, but has anyone run across any brands to avoid like the plague?


I've used Brewking, Spagnol, Cellar Classics, Musca (Canadian Co.), all with good results so far.

 

[Hippie]

I am not crazy about the Grand Cru by Spagnols, you know, ya get whatcha pay for and all that, but I buy and make them anyhoo and tweak them a little and bulk age, etc. and they aren't bad.

 

[GaDawg]

All our taste are different and I am sure some like them but I do not care for Mosti Mondiale Kits.

 

[Brian55]

Kits to avoid? Yes, anything less than the absolute best kits you can afford. Start with the best kit you can justify, and you'll end up with the best results that your budget will allow.

 

[kevinlfifer]

I've had great results form the dreaded Paklab kits. And I made a WE kit that sucked. It's in the experience level and creativity. But, it is true I would recommend the highe quality(priced) kit you can justify.

Follow the directions, be patient, and ask here if you get confused or stuck. We can tip you over the edge to insane.

 

[bkisel]

The kit I liked the least was an all juice kit from Mosti Mondiale,

 

[heatherd]

Not crazy about the mezza luna white.
Heather

 

[jsiddall]

Not crazy about the mezza luna white.
Heather

...or red!

But I think I may just not like any of the smaller kits.

 

[the_rayway]

If you're into Mist-style kits, my least favourite is Orchard Breezin'.

Haven't made a red kit I didn't like yet, although some pails were definitely sub-par.

 

[cpfan]

If you're into Mist-style kits, my least favourite is Orchard Breezin'.

Personally haven't noticed any big difference between the mist wine brands. Have definitely made Island Mist, Niagara Mist, and Orchard Breezin'. Plus whatever Wine Kitz called their mist kits 14-15 years ago, and maybe another brand or two.

One time we made the Green Apple mist from both Niagara Mist and Orchard Breezin' at the same time. They were different but we couldn't decide which one we preferred.

Steve

 

[terroirdejeroir]

This may be sacrilege, but I have been pretty underwhelmed by the various limited edition, restricted quantity, etc. kits I have tried. They are all decent, but none of them are on my favorites list.

 

[Brian55]

This may be sacrilege, but I have been pretty underwhelmed by the various limited edition, restricted quantity, etc. kits I have tried. They are all decent, but none of them are on my favorites list.

We've made a lot of LE/RQ's in the last couple years, but only a few are bottled so far. The WE South African Shiraz/Cab is 14 months old, and definitely on my favorites list. The RJ's Italian Nero D' Avola is 11 months and just got bottled, but it was certainly impressive at that point. The other two we have are the WE Oregon Pinot, which is unimpressive at this point (1 year old) and the WE Pacific Quartet (1 year old), which is ok, but nothing special.

 

[knockabout]

I too was disappointed by the Oregon Pinot noir, mine is 14 months and blah....my montrasell petit Verdot is 16 months also blah,my ken ridge showcase grand red is 22 months old and has been fabulous since day one. Showcase grand red 2 seems to be coming along well also. We like our le wash red man cab/merlot seems pretty good so far. It's in the barrel now so well see, but we really hit this one hard with tannins...
So for us the le's are hit and miss, but we couldn't resist the aglianico.our mezza luna red was undrinkable we blended it with skeeter pee and it still is pretty crumby. All our whites have been good, but we haven't done any le whites.