Help me select my first wine kit

[BradC]

I'd been thinking of starting home winemaking for a while now. As a gift, a friend has purchased for me a starter equipment kit, and a Winexpert Selection Nebbiolo wine kit (knowing my wife and I have a great love for Italian reds, and even spent part of our 25th anniversary vacation sampling Barolos and Barbarescos in Piedmont, Italy). I'm so excited! Everything gets delivered next week.

After doing a lot of reading here and elsewhere, it sounds like that Nebbiolo kit would benefit from some extended aging time, both in the carboy and the bottle. Considering my impatience and my inexperience, I'm thinking I might be best served by doing a simpler, faster kit first, just to work through the process once and to finish some of "my wine" that I can enjoy sooner.

So I'm looking for a first-time wine kit to do before the Nebbiolo, and would love your ideas and input.

We mostly drink red wine, and prefer dry, fruit-forward wines with decent complexity and body. And for now, I don't have much interest in the fruit-blend type of wines (like Island Mist), so want to stay with a traditional still red wine. I realize I may be asking for a lot to find a complex wine produced from a quick-and-easy kit, but hoping to find a good balance.

I was considering trying the Winexpert Vintners Reserve Merlot, but have seen a few reviews referring to that wine as lacking depth, so I'm a little apprehensive with that choice.

I would really appreciate any kit suggestions y'all might have. Thank you in advance!

 

[StBlGT]

I was in the same boat a few months back. While i drink dry, big, reds (cab sauv, shiraz, etc), i was told to try a dry white of my liking for a first time kit. A smaller, cheaper kit, say 10l or 12l (not 16l or 18l) and NO KITS WITH SKINS. The whites don't have the grape skins, they don't really need any aging.....maybe a few months, but not 12 or 24 like the big kit reds. So i purchased a rj spagnols sauv blanc cru international kit for $89.

It is done and it has been aging in my basement for 1month so far. It tastes awesome for the price! I am waiting another month or two before i bottle in case any sediment drops. I plan to drink it through the summer.

Now, if you hate whites and only want a red, i also recommend a same style kit in merlot. I did a cru international merlot around the same time as my sauv blanc kit because the merlot is a pretty young drinker. This had a dried grape skin pack, not the jelly kind. So i found it easy and not a problem. I haven't done much tasting yet. But the reviews on the merlot seemed very good, so i made it. I tried it after secondary and had a very tart, young wine taste.....to be expected. Next week i am racking it after the clearing stage. I will taste again then. I would say the merlot will need around 4-6 months before it will be enjoyable for me.

Either way, can't go wrong. Go luck and have fun!

 

[Johnd]

We mostly drink red wine, and prefer dry, fruit-forward wines with decent complexity and body. And for now, I don't have much interest in the fruit-blend type of wines (like Island Mist), so want to stay with a traditional still red wine. I realize I may be asking for a lot to find a complex wine produced from a quick-and-easy kit, but hoping to find a good balance.

I would really appreciate any kit suggestions y'all might have. Thank you in advance!

BradC:

First, congrats on your new hobby, hope you enjoy it as many here do!

You might want to try the Gamay or the Bergamais - Beaujolais wines, a Nouveau Beaujolais style wine, light and fruity obviously, but an early drinker.

 

[AZMDTed]

Hi, welcome to the club. I'm going to take a counterintuitive approach here. I recommend, if you can afford it, to go big right off the bat. Go with a Wine Expert Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon. I say this because it is drinkable at 6 months comparable to the $8 wines at a store. Being you're first kit you won't be able to resist drinking it early, at least I couldn't.

Given your description of what you like we are similar. If you go with a cheap kit to get experience and not fear screwing up an expensive kit then you will end up with a decent wine with little body but you won't get a sense of how great they can get. You can drink a cheaper kit in six months or an early full bodied one. I think you will see the promise of what can be better in the Cab I mentioned. Plus, you can use bottles from that kit as a baseline over two years to taste it as it ages. That was a great incentive for me as I did. After that you may want to make a choice to make an early drinker to tide you over while the good stuff ages. Lots of other threads on how to develop a mix of early drinkers and those to age to get you through the early stages of this great hobby.

Most of all, have fun.

 

[sour_grapes]

I agree with a lot of what was written above. I will also put my vote for making a good white wine to start with; however, I do not see any reason not to go with a top-shelf kit for that (16 or 18 L).

And, I think I come down on AZMDTed's side of things with respect to red kits. If you make a high-end, big red, and tragically commit vinfanticide, so what? Yes, you will have "wasted" a few bucks, and you will later regret not having the patience to let it fully mature, but the result itself will not be too bad. And you may even save a few bottles of that first batch long enough to start showing well.

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the forum!

A 4-week 10L kit of your choice from RJ Spagnols or Winexpert could get you up and running.. Err, I mean up and drinking within a month or so.

 

[heatherd]

I'd been thinking of starting home winemaking for a while now. As a gift, a friend has purchased for me a starter equipment kit, and a Winexpert Selection Nebbiolo wine kit (knowing my wife and I have a great love for Italian reds, and even spent part of our 25th anniversary vacation sampling Barolos and Barbarescos in Piedmont, Italy). I'm so excited! Everything gets delivered next week.

After doing a lot of reading here and elsewhere, it sounds like that Nebbiolo kit would benefit from some extended aging time, both in the carboy and the bottle. Considering my impatience and my inexperience, I'm thinking I might be best served by doing a simpler, faster kit first, just to work through the process once and to finish some of "my wine" that I can enjoy sooner.

So I'm looking for a first-time wine kit to do before the Nebbiolo, and would love your ideas and input.

We mostly drink red wine, and prefer dry, fruit-forward wines with decent complexity and body. And for now, I don't have much interest in the fruit-blend type of wines (like Island Mist), so want to stay with a traditional still red wine. I realize I may be asking for a lot to find a complex wine produced from a quick-and-easy kit, but hoping to find a good balance.

I was considering trying the Winexpert Vintners Reserve Merlot, but have seen a few reviews referring to that wine as lacking depth, so I'm a little apprehensive with that choice.

I would really appreciate any kit suggestions y'all might have. Thank you in advance!

I find that red blends seem to be earlier drinkers and also age well. You could go with a Super Tuscan or other blend to get started.

 

[SPR]

I was in exactly the same boat 7 months ago. The Reds like Winexpert selection and eclipse need several months to be ready although I made the eclipse Barolo same as you have and I am drinking it now after only 5 months and it's brilliant. Yes it will no doubt be better in 12 or more but us new guys needs something to drink!

My advice would be to make loads of white wine and stick to the Winexpert selections or higher as the cheaper kits have no body (very thin) and you get what you pay for. The whites are v good after only 2-3 months and i have been drinking these whilst the Reds age a bit but you need to keep making the reds as well so they can age or you will just run out when you have drunk the first batch

The cheaper kits just don't have the same volume of grape juice and if you think the high end eclipse I think is 16l + grapes and the cheaper kits are around 10l or less... I have made both the Winexpert selection and also Kenridge Showcase all if which are around 15-16l and they are excellent. Anything less is not in my opinion especially once you try the Eclipse range

I started making loads of kits and they are now all coming on line so...

 

[knockabout]

My vote is for any white kit if you drink whites at all. If you're a red person, I second the super Tuscan it is good after several months, brilliant later on.
Happy drinking
Ps I donT Think there rEally is much you can do to screw a kit wine up, other an dRastically experimenTal tweaking...

 

[BradC]

Wow, I didn't expect so many thoughtful and thorough comments and suggestions! Thank you all!

We certainly have nothing against white wines, but in practice, we typically open probably five bottles of red for every bottle of white. We do, however, really enjoy a nice, crisp white wine on a warm summer evening, often without a food pairing.

I think you may have swayed me to consider making a white wine first -- maybe a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Viognier -- and probably look for a kit in the mid- to upper-price range. I don't mind spending a little more for the kit, especially if the quality and enjoy-ability difference is there in the end.

I am definitely looking forward to watching my wine evolve over time. It'll be hard to resist drinking it sooner, but I'll do my best to show a little self-discipline to let that happen.

The Lodi Cab and the Suoer Tuscans also sound great, too. I'll add those to my consideration list after the Nebbiolo. (Although that Winexpert LE15 Barbera might be calling my name, too!)

What a great forum! Thanks again!!

 

[willj]

If you want a good SB I'd recommend the Kenridge Showcase New Zealand SB. It was my first kit wine, and although I made loads of mistakes such as dropping the wine whip in the carboy and not degassing it properly, it still turned out great and tasted amazing. Friends and family couldn't believe I'd made it!

It's also marketed as an early drinker and I started drinking it at 1 month which was fine. I've got another NZ SB bubbling away as we speak but will leave it 3 months before drinking this time.

 

[Boatboy24]

Welcome Brad. I think your approach is a good one. A high end white wine kit started now will be enjoyable by mid summer. Note that they also benefit from 12 months of age, but are much better early on than the reds, IMHO. The Eclipse Sauvignon Blanc is very good (I've made it twice now). I've also had my eye on the Cellar Craft (Kenridge) Showcase Yakima Viognier for a while. I've heard very good things, but haven't yet made it myself.

The best advice I can give you is to make as much as your schedule and budget allow early on. Then you'll have a nice inventory to let things age.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask questions along the way.

 

[Natrix]

The best advice I can give you is to make as much as your schedule and budget allow early on. Then you'll have a nice inventory to let things age.

To BradC
I'm newbie too and this is what I try to do. I start my first 2 kit in Feb 17 and today, I will rack a batch of Dragon Blood this afternoon, these 2 first kit are in aging area and I have a WE Selection Amaron kit waiting to be start. I'm also planning to start 2 other kit this month.
Addictive hobby you said ?

 

[BradC]

I can already tell I'm going to need more carboys and a larger storage area!

 

[cintipam]

Brad, I have made all your choices (from juice buckets only) and the Viognier has been the quickest to be really good and drinkable. Even my ever picky hubby was blown away by it when I tested some at the 5 month old point. Don't know if kits will be the same tho. The only kit I ever made (Luna Blanca) took a full year to mature even tho I was drinking it earlier. It changed dramatically at 1 year.

Pam in cinti

 

[willj]

Welcome Brad. I think your approach is a good one. A high end white wine kit started now will be enjoyable by mid summer. Note that they also benefit from 12 months of age, but are much better early on than the reds, IMHO. The Eclipse Sauvignon Blanc is very good (I've made it twice now). I've also had my eye on the Cellar Craft (Kenridge) Showcase Yakima Viognier for a while. I've heard very good things, but haven't yet made it myself.

The best advice I can give you is to make as much as your schedule and budget allow early on. Then you'll have a nice inventory to let things age.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask questions along the way.

How long do you think the Eclipse SB takes to reach its peak? Mine has been aged about 2 months so was wondering how long I should leave it alone?

 

[Boatboy24]

How long do you think the Eclipse SB takes to reach its peak? Mine has been aged about 2 months so was wondering how long I should leave it alone?

At 6 months, it's pretty darn good. At 12, it's great.

 

[willj]

At 6 months, it's pretty darn good. At 12, it's great.

Cheers. I'll leave alone for a few more months then.

 

[BradC]

I just wanted to thank you all again for the advice, and let you know that I pitched yeast today on a Cellar Craft Showcase Pinot Gris kit that I picked up at my local retailer yesterday. I was leaning towards one of the Sauvignon Blanc kits mentioned above, but none were in stock and impatience won.

The initial juice tasted wonderful -- pineapple, pear, and apple flavors. I would totally drink that for breakfast! I'm already seeing the first bubbles of fermentation.

So excited for the rest of the process!!

 

[StBlGT]

Awesome and congrats! From what i've read, you can't go wrong with any cellar craft kit (especially a showcase). You will love it. Also, a great wine that should be ready just in time for summer.