Finer Wine Kit New Limited Edition Kits Drop

[Brant]

Just curious, have you done any blind taste tests with others comparing the excellent $10 - $15 wines to one of your kit wines?

Just last month we did a blind tasting at my house. I have a petite s. that I made a couple years ago that I put up against one of my favorite PS and a decent cab. Oddly enough mine was the favorite of 3 out of 4 people.

But I've also done this with other wines that I've made and this wasn't the case. Dont get me wrong, most everything I've ever made is drinkable but that covers a wide spectrum.

I started making wine thinking I would save money. Now I just end up opening more bottles than I used to. So I know it hasn't saved money but it's given me a fun hobby and made me more knowledgeable about wine, wine making and the science behind it. Like most on this forum, I geek out on it.

I do believe there are people who make kit wine and think it's amazing. My mother loves the wine I make but I think it's because she doesn't have a sensitive palette. I believe my pallete is very sensitive so I'm more in tune with what is actually decent vs mediocre. Everyone's tastes are different and some people are not picky. Unfortunately this is not me or my wife.

Some people would say I don't know what I'm doing and that is why I don't make amazing wine. I would argue that I don't believe it is possible to make AMAZING wines from kits. At least this has been my experience so far. Maybe I'll find a kit that changes this opinion.

In the past 4 days, I've had two different $35 bottles of cab sav and one $18 cab bottle. They were all very good and much better than my best kits. All were 2022 bottles... Silver Ghost, Tarot and Oberon. I have my doubts that anyone is making kit wines that would beat these bottles. They are very good and I highly recommend them. I don't normally drink $35 bottles but this past weekend was an exception.
Honestly, I wish I loved everything I made. I would probably feel a lot more justified and fullfilled in my winemaking endeavors. If I ever make a super bad a$$ wine, you can bet I will be telling everyone about it on this forum. I would even likely ship bottles at my expense to the main players on this forum just to prove I did something I didn't believe possible. Why would I want to keep something so amazing to myself? I would want the validation from my peers.

So far my money is safe and my ego is in check. this changes at some point.

 

[joeswine]

Well I can tell you I haven’t but others have and if you remember 2 buck chuck ?That’s saying it all , it’s all subjective to one’s own taste .
And I’d put my wines ( kits) up against vineyards any day .
If they’d allow me butt the won’t for fear of loosing to a cellar dweller

 

[winemaker81]

Some people would say I don't know what I'm doing and that is why I don't make amazing wine. I would argue that I don't believe it is possible to make AMAZING wines from kits. At least this has been my experience so far. Maybe I'll find a kit that changes this opinion.

The best wineries with the best fruit and best equipment and best winemakers cannot consistently make the best wine. And that's cherry picking the best of their grapes. There are too many variables that we cannot influence much less control -- we are at the whim of Mother Nature, Dionysus, and these tiny little creatures that do the real work. It's kind of amazing that we can make wine that is consistently good.

The fact is that few of us will love everything we make. I don't. I've had my share of bombs, but overall my wines are typically at least 85 on the Wine Spectator scale, and all but a rare few have been at least an 80. And I've had a few I'd rate a 90-91. Note that I don't have access to the best fruit nor the best facility, and I'm a self-taught amateur with no real winemaking education. But I do ok!

People like your wine? That is a win.

 

[Bmd2k1]

The best wineries with the best fruit and best equipment and best winemakers cannot consistently make the best wine. And that's cherry picking the best of their grapes. There are too many variables that we cannot influence much less control -- we are at the whim of Mother Nature, Dionysus, and these tiny little creatures that do the real work. It's kind of amazing that we can make wine that is consistently good.

The fact is that few of us will love everything we make. I don't. I've had my share of bombs, but overall my wines are typically at least 85 on the Wine Spectator scale, and all but a rare few have been at least an 80. And I've had a few I'd rate a 90-91. Note that I don't have access to the best fruit nor the best facility, and I'm a self-taught amateur with no real winemaking education. But I do ok!

People like your wine? That is a win.

Amen! My wines put smiles on folks faces -- and that's ALL that matters to moi ;-)

Cheers!

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I'll chime in....Like @winemaker81, I too was part of the Beta on these Ultima kits. I just this weekend bottled a Cab and Petite Syrah (8 months bulk aged in carboy). With two kits of each, I ended up with 25 bottles of each varietal (not 30 as anticipated). When I saw the price on the website ($183.13 delivered) and figure 13 bottles it's about $14 per bottle, I sad NO WAY!!! Then I sat down after finishing bottling and drank a glass of residual wine that I had, and then I had a problem, I HAD to buy some !!! IMO it's far superior to the Forte products and is "as advertised." After only 8 months it was very deep in complex flavor, very smooth and had ZERO "kit taste". Soooooo, I ended up ordering 6 kits of Cab so that I can fill my 15 gal flex tank . Is it expensive? Yes, but it's about the same price (or within $15) of the price of the 5.5 gallon frozen must pails I buy out of Livermore, CA. Shelling out $1100 to fill my flex tank was tough, but it shows the high hope I have for this new option. Matteo claims it'll drink like $30-40 commercial wine, I hope so and think it just may.

 

[Tripled92]

I'll chime in....Like @winemaker81, I too was part of the Beta on these Ultima kits. I just this weekend bottled a Cab and Petite Syrah (8 months bulk aged in carboy). With two kits of each, I ended up with 25 bottles of each varietal (not 30 as anticipated). When I saw the price on the website ($183.13 delivered) and figure 13 bottles it's about $14 per bottle, I sad NO WAY!!! Then I sat down after finishing bottling and drank a glass of residual wine that I had, and then I had a problem, I HAD to buy some !!! IMO it's far superior to the Forte products and is "as advertised." After only 8 months it was very deep in complex flavor, very smooth and had ZERO "kit taste". Soooooo, I ended up ordering 6 kits of Cab so that I can fill my 15 gal flex tank . Is it expensive? Yes, but it's about the same price (or within $15) of the price of the 5.5 gallon frozen must pails I buy out of Livermore, CA. Shelling out $1100 to fill my flex tank was tough, but it shows the high hope I have for this new option. Matteo claims it'll drink like $30-40 commercial wine, I hope so and think it just may.

Nice! Kits are extremely good and quality. Anyone who really disagrees is stuck on the commercial taste

 

[winemaker81]

I just this weekend bottled a Cab and Petite Syrah (8 months bulk aged in carboy).

I've got the Zin and I need to bottle it. Last time I tasted it, it was hot -- not horribly so, but noticeable. I was thinking at that time that I'd need to age it a couple of years in bottle.

It's definitely rich -- the liquidy skin pack added a LOT to it.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I've got the Zin and I need to bottle it. Last time I tasted it, it was hot -- not horribly so, but noticeable. I was thinking at that time that I'd need to age it a couple of years in bottle.

It's definitely rich -- the liquidy skin pack added a LOT to it.

The cab wasn't too bad, I like a deep rich flavor to my cab's too.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

My two cents: being a newbie (less than 2 years), I have made over 40 kits so far. the early ones are OK and most of the wines I made are quite drinkable. I give them out to people who like wine. and several who make wine. I made a Merlot that several said that it was favorable to a $20.00 bottle. My cost ~ $2.50. so that made me feel good. I have a FWK (Tuscan) that has sat for almost a year in a carboy. Before the last k-met added, we tasted. It was a wow to the 4 of us who tasted it. We will bottle about Dec for gifts to others.
I did just buy the 3 gal FWK available to have the 5% discount to use with the other discount I have.
that being stated, I do this for fun along with gardening and other DIY. There is the satisfaction of DIY that I enjoy.

 

[winemaker81]

I bottled the Zin.

It's not the same wine it was in June, when I last tasted it. At that time the ABV was noticeable. Now? It goes down smooth and is a very rich wine. However, I feel warm in the belly, so the ABV is definitely there. This is at 9 months. I'm planning to open a bottle every 3 months and update my notes on my site.

At this moment I'm a bit torn about my feedback to Matt -- at that time, the ABV was a serious flaw. Now? It's not. The super heavy body of this wine can balance the ABV so it's not a flaw. But it's hot. Folks that can drink a bottle of a typical table wine and not feel it WILL feel this one.

Note: As with @She’sgonnakillme, my kit is a beta -- the ABV is around 16%. Based upon feedback from the beta testers, the ABV of the production line is around 14% (according to @Matt_Pruszynski), so no one buying a kit now will experience the high ABV. I'm going to keep Matt apprised of my ongoing tasting results, and it's entirely possible he may bump next year's kit to a slightly higher ABV.


The wine has a rich Zin nose and the color is DARK, as dark as the grapes I added Color Pro (maceration enzyme) to.



The cubes are air drying on the counter. They'll go in the smoker in a few weeks. I'll probably do a brisket and a spatchcocked chicken.