How do wine kits stack up against commercial wines?

[honkey]

I asked this question on Homebrewtalk the other day, but I just wanted to get a perspective from people that I would think have more experience with wine. I am looking at kits in the 100-175$ range on brewmasterswarehouse. I want to start a bit of a cellar to have wine on hand for when non-beer drinking guests come over and for my mom, fiancee, and possibly to have handouts at our wedding. Some of these kits come with 15 quarts, 16 quarts, and 23 quart no water added kits. Sme of them have grape skins. My mom likes rieslings and ice wines. How do you guys feel about wine kits? Do they produce wine of a high enough quality to be proud to take them to moderate wine drinkers or is it pretty much a novelty?

In addition, I am looking at the mist wine kits for something to serve as a more "girly" beer alternative. I realize these are not high quality wines, but do you feel like they are good wine cooler alternatives and worth the price?

I hope I am no coming off as too ignorant! I have been making beer for a while now, and just started thinking I should expand my options, but I know very little about wine. Thanks!

 

[Racer]

Welcome to winemaking talk! Imo wine kits can make a really good product that compares well to commercial wines. Especially if you get the higher end kits with grape packs(for red wines). Do you have a local brew/winemaking supply store nearby? One near me always has a few bottles of different kits on hand that you can try before spending the money on a particular kit. Hopefully you have one by you that doe the same thing. Mist kits with their low alc. sweet flavors usually goes over really well with folks that don't drink wine on a regular basis. Well there's my opinion hopefully others will jump in too.

 

[cpfan]

Personally I prefer my kit wines to most commercial wines that I have tried. Obviously that's a personal preference, and I haven't tried many expensive commercial wines. (they're usually even more expensive here in Canada).

I make beer from wort-in-bag kits. Although I like the results, I won't say that they are better than commercial beers (better than some,for sure).

My son won't drink the homemade beer, but enjoys the homemade wines, especially the mist wines.

Your plans sound very good to me. Remember that the better quality reds in particular will require months (over a year) of aging to start to reach their potential. Just like commercial reds.

Finally many of the 23 litre no water added kits are not that high in quality. Ask here about brands before committing dollars.

Steve

 

[honkey]

Thanks guys! I went ahead and ordered the equipment that I needed. I am either going to start with a riesling or a Pinot noir for my first kit. Can anyone suggest a good one from brewmasterswarehouse(.com)?

CPfan, what is it about the no water added kits that is bad? I thought those were supposed to be the best kits... At least that is what I had read somewhere. They are certainly the most expensive!

P.s- Racer, I have nothing near me where I am from. It sucks here!

 

[robie]

Think of a mist wine (summer wine) as being more like a really nice wine cooler that you would pour over a full glass of ice to serve ice cold with some some fruit slices/bits added.

Although the mist kits don't fit into what I would call a nice wine category, they can be really fun and enjoyable. I have made several of them and several of my friends have made them. They are always a hit at parties on hot summer days. Just understand that if someone asks you for a "glass of wine", you normally would not serve them a mist wine.

One nice thing about them is they are ready to drink as soon as they are bottled.

 

[Racer]

If you can, try and get a larger sized kit. Anything in the 15l to 16l size range will make a good wine for you. Just remember they take longer to age out and taste better(rounded out overall). Have you checked the winemakers toy store? If not please do so. Just to see a price comparison is one reason but they also stock more vendors too. Here's a link for you.

 

[Wade E]

I see he is carrying some really good kits there. If you stick with the Cru Select and the Winery Series and En Premeurs you wont be dissapointed. Like cpfan I find I like these exact kits better then most commercial brands in the $15 - $20 range. That being said there are some good ones in that range but IMo for the most part the high end kits meet or exceed this budget. Id personally stay away from the Grand Cru kits. Havnt tried the Grand Cru Internantional but Im willing to betr its nowhere near as good as the above kits I mentioned.

 

[cpfan]

CPfan, what is it about the no water added kits that is bad? I thought those were supposed to be the best kits... At least that is what I had read somewhere. They are certainly the most expensive!

Quality. They are not all juice, as some folks think. Some of the lesser brands contain no juice at all, just reconstituted concentrates.

Bolero from RJ Spagnols - some varieties are quite good (Pinot Grigio and Merlot), but these kits are much the same as their less expensive Grand Cru kits.

Vinterra from Vineco - very good, at least the Shiraz and Merlot that we made. The Pinot Grigio is better than the Bolero PG according to a couple of customers from when I had a store. Believe to be mostly juice with some concentrate.

Premier Cru from RJS - I have not tried but have read some very positive feedback. Quality similar to Vinterra

Mosti Mondiale - I haven't made any of the 'modern' MM kits. The older ones were awful to clear, and that's not a good thing when you run a store. Probably time and patience would help a lot. But customers want their wine NOW not in a month. I hear lots of good about the All-Juice brand. This is probably the only kit that is all juice.

Other brands, especially the less expensive ones, are lower in quality. Paklab OPUS V from Costco Canada is the one I have heard the most about. The whites had a decent rep. One customer liked the Chardonnay a lot. The reds were reported to be on the weak side (flavour, colour, body). One person compared it to the cheapest 4-week kit that I sold in the store.

Regarding your comment "certainly the most expensive". As a general statement, I can't agree. The Vinterra reds are about $90 where I shop. Ken Ridge Showcase and Founders Series are both more expensive and make better wines. I don't have up-to-date pricing on the other brands.

Look at Amazon.com for some 23 litre kits. Not very expensive, and probably not very good either.

Steve

 

[Wade E]

The Mosti Mondiale all juice kits take longer to come around and clear because they have a lot more solids in them unlike concentrate kits and thats what makes them better. The more solids they have in hem the better the wine will typically be and the closer it is to a wine from grapes. Thats why we always recommend getting the bigger kits instead of the 7.5 liter concentrate kits. That being said I find a lot of the higher end grape skin kits better then the All juice bucket from Mosti but then the even higher quality Mosti Masters Edition and Meglioli are back on top again. I myself stick with RJS Winery Series and En Primuers mainly beaise I can get a great deal on them locally. I dont really have cheap access to the Cellar Craft kits and some of the other Vineco kits. I really dont even make kits anymore now though since I have a nice crusher/destemmer and prsss so all grapes now with the exception of some whites and dessert wines.