Packlab Paklab bankruptcy & leftover of liquidation

[ou8amaus]

OK not sure if this is already general knowledge yet, but unfortunately paklab recently went bankrupt. I went by the plant today and they were liquidating any remaining kits. Apparently all the production facilities, big kit lots and equipment were already sold... Mostly to Winexpert apparently. Anyone in the Montreal area I highly recommend you stop by there asap. Not sure how long this will be going on for, and while the selection is limited, prices are unheard of.

 

[ou8amaus]

OK so the old adage that if it is too good to be true... Bought a few 23 litter buckets from the liquidation. First one I start, a Cabernet, has a lovely rusty hue to it. No date codes on it but they assured me they were all less than 6 months old. Grr. I have nothing to lose so will ferment it out and see what happens.

 

[ou8amaus]

Anyone have any positive experience with expired kits? They have gone slightly brown and while the ferment is messy it seems to smell good and send to want to ferment dry... At this point I have nothing to lose but what are your experiences?

 

[Rocky]

It would seem to me that you have done all the work to see if it turns out or not. I would keep going at this point.

 

[ceeaton]

Anyone have any positive experience with expired kits? They have gone slightly brown and while the ferment is messy it seems to smell good and send to want to ferment dry... At this point I have nothing to lose but what are your experiences?

Yes, I bought four kits from my LHBS that were older/expired. They were Orchard Breezin kits, two Cranberry Craze, one Apple Delight and a Raspberry Rapture. The Cranberry kits were 2 yrs old, the Apple 18 months and the Raspberry was 15 months.

All turned out great. The Cranberry kits are my Wife's favorite low end kit. Have never had a bad review from bottles given away.

I'll admit that the Cranberry kits were not a deep red but a muddy red, so some browning had occurred to the concentrate.

Bought four kits for $105, was well worth the risk.

 

[ou8amaus]

All turned out great.

Thanks, that's reassuring to hear! I was hoping that not all hope was lost. After checking the color on the balance of the kits it seems just the first two I tried had issues. Well I will try to ferment them dry and see what I get...

 

[tonyt]

Post pictures of your storage setup from racks to rooms.

Use Polyclar 10 to help with the rust color and off smell. If you can't find it PM me and I'll send you some. Worked for me on an old rusty looking Brunello. Turned out quite good.

 

[ou8amaus]

Use Polyclar 10

Thanks for the advice. I see that they sell it in the LHBS that focus more on beer, time to go shopping!

 

[SBWs]

Is this why I can't get the Cornucopia kits anymore, their coconut was wife's favorite wine.

 

[ou8amaus]

I tried to get one of those at the liquidation but there were none left... Got a few of the melons, peaches and pears. Never tried them but for the price...

 

[PeterMills]

OK not sure if this is already general knowledge yet, but unfortunately paklab recently went bankrupt. I went by the plant today and they were liquidating any remaining kits. Apparently all the production facilities, big kit lots and equipment were already sold... Mostly to Winexpert apparently. Anyone in the Montreal area I highly recommend you stop by there asap. Not sure how long this will be going on for, and while the selection is limited, prices are unheard of.

Not sure where the rumours started, but Winexpert did not buy anything from the Paklab clear-out.

 

[ou8amaus]

I heard it directly from one of the Paklab employees that were employed by the liquidator. He did mention that most wine kit companies were present.

 

[ou8amaus]

Not sure where the rumours started, but Winexpert did not buy anything from the Paklab clear-out.

But then again you would know more I imagine!

 

[ou8amaus]

Just to chime in that all is not gloom and doom... I have two other juice buckets and two of the Cornucopia kits started and they are all coming along nicely! Must have been just a few off-old kits because these are smelling nice! Especially the Petite Syrah 23 liter juice bucket...