Finer Wine Kit New Limited Edition Kits Drop

[joeswine]

No WE KITS

 

[WineHombre]

No WE KITS

This is a Finer WIne Kits thread.

 

[joeswine]

This is a Finer WIne Kits thread.

Did I not read in the beginning about a wine expert kit ?

 

[Christopher Anderson]

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.

View attachment 116045

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.

View attachment 116046

Never thought of using the cubes in the smoker!! Duh! Great idea!!

 

[joeswine]

Never thought of using the cubes in the smoker!! Duh! Great idea!!

That could be a bit much even for A HEAVY RED

 

[winemaker81]

I opened a bottle of the beta Ultima Zinfandel kit. which has been in bottle for 2.5 months, 11 months since start. It's a young wine, so expectations are limited.

I'm honestly impressed. It's more drinkable than I expected. Very jammy like I'd expect from a Zinfandel.

Per usual, I tasted unaerated and aerated glasses. The aerated is fruitier and jammier than the unaerated.

Is it worth the premium price? That is open to debate. Ask me again in a year.

 

[leftiesrule]

I opened a bottle of the beta Ultima Zinfandel kit. which has been in bottle for 2.5 months, 11 months since start. It's a young wine, so expectations are limited.

I'm honestly impressed. It's more drinkable than I expected. Very jammy like I'd expect from a Zinfandel.

Per usual, I tasted unaerated and aerated glasses. The aerated is fruitier and jammier than the unaerated.

Is it worth the premium price? That is open to debate. Ask me again in a year.

With these ultima kits being about the same price as a bucket of frozen must do you see any compelling reason to buy the ultima kits over frozen?

 

[winemaker81]

With these ultima kits being about the same price as a bucket of frozen must do you see any compelling reason to buy the ultima kits over frozen?

I don't see any compelling reasons, but there is value in both choices.

Frozen must buckets are unprocessed grapes, which is generally better than typical concentrates. However, the quality will vary from region to region and from year to year, and may require adjusting sugar and/or acid. There is that normal amount of risk involved due to varying quality.

The Ultima kits are a high quality concentrate that have been adjusted to produce a consistent result. Having made Tavola and Forte kits, these are a step up from that, and the Zinfandel I made is better than any premium kits from other vendors that I've made.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

I don't see any compelling reasons, but there is value in both choices.

Frozen must buckets are unprocessed grapes, which is generally better than typical concentrates. However, the quality will vary from region to region and from year to year, and may require adjusting sugar and/or acid. There is that normal amount of risk involved due to varying quality.

The Ultima kits are a high quality concentrate that have been adjusted to produce a consistent result. Having made Tavola and Forte kits, these are a step up from that, and the Zinfandel I made is better than any premium kits from other vendors that I've made.

My idea on making kits (now on my 30th for this year alone. Thanks to all of you. I am now addicted) is to make a bottle that rivals $25.00 ones. Wife and I bought a $50.00 Tempranillo one from a good Texas Hill country winery. My Wild Grape modified version is better. And we got 26 bottles of it! I do have an ultima series Syrah that we made and it is in the 2 week sitting phase. Ordered a Novello Zinfandel just to try it. With shipping, it is less than the Wild Grapes or other cheaper kits.

 

[joeswine]

With these ultima kits being about the same price as a bucket of frozen must do you see any compelling reason to buy the ultima kits over frozen?

 

[Jovimaple]

With these ultima kits being about the same price as a bucket of frozen must do you see any compelling reason to buy the ultima kits over frozen?

It's still a kit, so in my mind it comes down to whether you want the already balanced must vs whatever you get with the frozen must that you would test and adjust yourself.

To me, a better comparison would be to other premium wine kits, rather than frozen must.

 

[joeswine]

Bottle this one today with a twist .
You know me I added tannins and raspberry extract to the primary.
Up front was deep Pino the middle smooth (13%abv ). And fruit forward , clean finish .
Yield was short 23 bottles, but most of my mix’s fall short on volume but great on flavor Oh well on to the next 6 kits in waiting.

 

[winemaker81]

I opened another bottle of the Zin after work today. The nose is really strong, and the wine is definitely a jammy Zin. It's amazingly drinkable at 14 months old.

Has anyone else who participated in the beta bottled their wine?

The question was asked upstream if there is any compelling reason to buy one of these kits vs a juice bucket. I've been ruminating on this topic.

If I was in a position where I did not have access to grapes, and it was Ultima kits vs. frozen buckets, I'd go with the kit. Why? It's a known quantity, so there's essentially no risk with regard to fruit quality.

 

[leftiesrule]

I opened another bottle of the Zin after work today. The nose is really strong, and the wine is definitely a jammy Zin. It's amazingly drinkable at 14 months old.

Has anyone else who participated in the beta bottled their wine?

The question was asked upstream if there is any compelling reason to buy one of these kits vs a juice bucket. I've been ruminating on this topic.

If I was in a position where I did not have access to grapes, and it was Ultima kits vs. frozen buckets, I'd go with the kit. Why? It's a known quantity, so there's essentially no risk with regard to fruit quality.

You are tempting me to try this next time it's available. Curious if you followed the instructions to a tee and what sort of wood was added and if it comes through at all in the finished wine. I find a lot of the kits I've made that came with oak cubes tended to be way too oaky for my tastes but that was likely user error (not tasting the wine often enough to know when to transfer off the cubes).

 

[winemaker81]

You are tempting me to try this next time it's available. Curious if you followed the instructions to a tee and what sort of wood was added and if it comes through at all in the finished wine. I find a lot of the kits I've made that came with oak cubes tended to be way too oaky for my tastes but that was likely user error (not tasting the wine often enough to know when to transfer off the cubes).

I followed the beta directions -- mostly. One difference, that Matt P and I discussed, was using RC-212 initially and adding EC-1118 at the end to complete the ferment. My notes are here:

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/2023-zinfandel/

Use of oak adjuncts REALLY depends on the wine. The heavier the wine, the more oak it can tolerate -- and the more it needs. The amounts included in the beta kit were appropriate for the situation. The amounts included in other kits may not be.

Note that I'm commenting on a beta kit, which is higher ABV than the production kits.

 

[WineHombre]

I have been buying frozen must kits from Baywinebrokers.com at 1.00 a pound so for $200 I get 4 buckets (200lbs) and have been yeilding 15+ gallons and the grape quality has been really good. They have most of the same varietals except the Zin.

 

[joeswine]

I enjoy the kits an in The past have done it all .
Kits cheap or hight end do have a consistent quality about them , 6 started 5 wild grapes , one WE / Zin higher end kit

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I opened another bottle of the Zin after work today. The nose is really strong, and the wine is definitely a jammy Zin. It's amazingly drinkable at 14 months old.

Has anyone else who participated in the beta bottled their wine?

The question was asked upstream if there is any compelling reason to buy one of these kits vs a juice bucket. I've been ruminating on this topic.

If I was in a position where I did not have access to grapes, and it was Ultima kits vs. frozen buckets, I'd go with the kit. Why? It's a known quantity, so there's essentially no risk with regard to fruit quality.

Yep, I just opened my first couple bottles from the beta batches (12-13 months old), one cab and one petite Syrah. Unique and deep is my first impression. I think the cab has so much depth that I will give it another 6 months before I really start consuming, it deserves patience. These Ultima kits are big bold and imo need more age under cork of at least 1 to 1 1/2 yrs, before they really start to reach their potential. Now for the hard part......frozen must kits vs Ultima kits? Boy that's one I have really kicked around and to be fair, I don't think I'll really know until these Ultima hit full maturity. BUT, here are some opinions as of right now.....1. If price is a factor- frozen must is a better value for yield as Ultima is not cheap $175-195 for us on West Coast with shipping for 13-15 bottles. I bought 6 kits to fill my 15 gallon flex tank and it was just shy of $1200. 2. Ease of use- Ultimas shines hear, blending traditional kit process with premium performance for low risk, consistent results. 3. Consistency - Ultimas have only seen one season, but I'll give it the early nod as I know Matteo and Matt will ensure tight specs year to year, and sometimes frozen must can have huge variations year to year, pail to pail and grower to grower. 4. Options - I'll go Ultima, they have great varietal selections and I know blends are surely on the horizon in the future.