With the ridiculous price increases that I have seen in grapes and kits, I note that juice buckets have not increased in proportion. I can still get a 6 gallon bucket of juice for around $60-70, here in Oho. Therefore, I plan to concentrate my future wine making in that direction.
This is an easy decision for white wines because in the white wine making process, the grapes are picked, crushed and juiced immediately and normally do not sit on the skins for any appreciable length of time. Therefore, a bucket of juice seems to me like starting at the third step in the process.
This is not always the case in red juice buckets where I have seen a wide variation in quality of the juices. I have made wine from juice from Italy, California and Chile and my experience is that Italy is the most consistent and best quality. I would rate California second and Chile third, mostly because of consistency. I have had Chilean juices that made an outstanding wine one year and the same juice made in inferior wine the next. I know it is a small sample but that has been my experience. The major advantage I see in Chilean juice is that it is available in the Spring (in the States) so I can make wine twice a year.
The issue with red juice is the lack of skins and what I have done is to buy a lug or two of grapes of the same variety, crush them and add them to the must. This raises the price to about $130 for 6 gallons and at one time made it a toss up on whether or not to make a kit. With quality kits over $200 now, it is a much easier decision.
This is an easy decision for white wines because in the white wine making process, the grapes are picked, crushed and juiced immediately and normally do not sit on the skins for any appreciable length of time. Therefore, a bucket of juice seems to me like starting at the third step in the process.
This is not always the case in red juice buckets where I have seen a wide variation in quality of the juices. I have made wine from juice from Italy, California and Chile and my experience is that Italy is the most consistent and best quality. I would rate California second and Chile third, mostly because of consistency. I have had Chilean juices that made an outstanding wine one year and the same juice made in inferior wine the next. I know it is a small sample but that has been my experience. The major advantage I see in Chilean juice is that it is available in the Spring (in the States) so I can make wine twice a year.
The issue with red juice is the lack of skins and what I have done is to buy a lug or two of grapes of the same variety, crush them and add them to the must. This raises the price to about $130 for 6 gallons and at one time made it a toss up on whether or not to make a kit. With quality kits over $200 now, it is a much easier decision.
