Where and what juice to buy?

[Sirfoodalot]

Hello all,

I'm a total novice winemaker. As in, I've never made wine. Love to drink it. I am going to get a winemaking kit and am stuck on where and what juice to buy. I know I want to try and make a chianti like wine. I have googled and seen lots of concentrates of sangiovese and chianti at varying price points. I don't understand why some are low and others are high. With this first attempt I'm not looking to scrimp on juice. Can you recommend a source and perhaps a brand of juice to buy?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[jdeere5220]

if you are a total novice, I would recommend a kit rather than a bucket of juice. Others will undoubtedly dis-agree, because the kits may not produce the very best end product, but your first attempt you want to have SUCCESS and the kits are a very reliable to produce a decent wine.

The different price points, in the kits at least, have to do with how much juice you are really buying. The higher end kits have more juice with very little "re-hydration" required. The lower-end kits are concentrate and take a lot of water to rehydrate. You lose something when the juice is concentrated and re-hydrated.

If you can afford it, go with a higher-end kit with a grape skin pack. These produce more full-bodied wines than the low-end concentrate kits, which produce generally thin wines.

For juice buckets, the different prices seem to be where the juice came from (i.e. shipping costs and supplier price variation) and whether the juice is fresh (requires refrigeration) or pasteurized. Shipping refrigerated juice from Spain or Australia to the US costs a lot of money. Pasteurized juice does not require refrigeration because they killed all the yeast and bacteria and sealed the juice in an air--tight container.

Good luck!

 

[cpfan]

Sirfoodalot:

Not sure what "juices" you have seen advertised. Possibly you mean wine kits. I am not a Chianti/Sangiovese expert, but I would suggest a Cru Select Chianti Riserva. It will make 6 US gallons, about 30 bottles. Since it is your first wine, you will probably want to drink it young. It should be fine young, but make sure that you hide a dozen bottles for a year.

Steve

 

[Sirfoodalot]

if you are a total novice, I would recommend a kit rather than a bucket of juice. Others will undoubtedly dis-agree, because the kits may not produce the very best end product, but your first attempt you want to have SUCCESS and the kits are a very reliable to produce a decent wine.

The different price points, in the kits at least, have to do with how much juice you are really buying. The higher end kits have more juice with very little "re-hydration" required. The lower-end kits are concentrate and take a lot of water to rehydrate. You lose something when the juice is concentrated and re-hydrated.

If you can afford it, go with a higher-end kit with a grape skin pack. These produce more full-bodied wines than the low-end concentrate kits, which produce generally thin wines.

For juice buckets, the different prices seem to be where the juice came from (i.e. shipping costs and supplier price variation) and whether the juice is fresh (requires refrigeration) or pasteurized. Shipping refrigerated juice from Spain or Australia to the US costs a lot of money. Pasteurized juice does not require refrigeration because they killed all the yeast and bacteria and sealed the juice in an air--tight container.

Good luck!

Hmm, the kit I've been looking at does not come with the juice, just the equipment. Do you have a link to what you're suggesting?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[jdeere5220]

The manufacturers are:

www.winexpert.com
www.rjspagnols.com

and lots of others. Google Kenridge Wine kits for example.

You need to find a local retailer, or you can buy online:

www.finevinewines.com

There are lots of others.

But the shipping cost is usually pretty steep, so finding a local retailer of these kits will generally save you $$. Good to compare. If you have a local retailer who also brews on-site they can be very helpful.

You need a "wine making kit" and you also need a "wine kit". The wine-making kit you will use over and over (hopefully!). The wine-kit is the juice and yeast, clarifiers, oak, everything you need to actually make wine.

 

[Sirfoodalot]

That clears it up. Wine making vs Wine kit. Makes sense now.

There is a local store that I've been in touch with. Will be going there to get the initial supplies soon. I really hope I can make a wine that is as good as the $11 Davinci Chianti we buy on a regular basis. I am not a wine snob, but I won't drink it if it doesn't meet at least some minimum standard. We've had friends that have brought some low end Merlots and Cabs for a dinner party and if they don't drink them that night they just sit on our shelf until they come over again.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[jdeere5220]

In my un-educated opinion, the wine that you make from a wine kit is comparable to anything from a $7.00 bottle of turtle/penguin/horse/name your animal wine (for a very low end kit) to a $40+ dollar bottle of Napa California estate wine (for a very high end kit, aged two years).

I really don't know for certain because it's been a long time since I had a $40+ dollar bottle of Napa valley wine. I find the home-made wine to be (this is very general) more fruity and slightly lower alcohol content. This is also part of the Wine Expert "style" and that's mostly what I have been making. Partly this is because we have been drinking a lot of our wine young (less than 6 months) and young wine tends to show more fruit forward, and after it's aged the fruit mellows and the other background characters become more noticeable.

I guess what I'm trying to say is you won't be disappointed unless possibly you go with a very cheap, low end type kit.

 

[jet]

The one kit that I did, an entry-level one, tasted just like a wine that sells for $12.

 

[roadwarriorsvt]

After all the work that goes into making a batch of wine, you may take pride in it and even be a little biased towards your own wine vs. store bought, which is a good thing IMO.

 

[EdwardLongshanks]

Im a noob as well and I was floored to find out how many different manufacturers, styles, brands, value ranges, and retailers were within a 15 minute drive from me.

Vineco
RJ Spagnols
Wine Expert
Wine Kitz

just go to these websites and they will direct you to your closest retailer. The hard part for me was deciding what Kit to go with for my first batch because there was so much choice.