WineXpert Winery Series Kits

[She’sgonnakillme]

Just wondering if any of you have used these kits before from LP? It appears to be a super highly condensed juice and I am unsure if it comes with any additives or not. It's only 14 L but makes 24.2 Gallons. There isn't a lot of info on the LP site on them.

https://labelpeelers.com/winery-series-kits/

 

[cmason1957]

I haven't made them. Judging from the names, some of them are Island Mist style kits or similar. I would expect the same kinds of things included as normal kits.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I haven't made them. Judging from the names, some of them are Island Mist style kits or similar. I would expect the same kinds of things included as normal kits.

Yeah, I was looking at the four single varietal ones. I think those four are new possibly, but the fruit mist style ones have been around a while.

 

[sour_grapes]

Wow, that is a lot of wine! I mostly eschew cheap kits, but I am tempted to try the Chardonnay for a buck a bottle!

 

[VinesnBines]

Someone needs to give it a go. I notice they speak to small and medium sized wineries. I wonder if the varietals could be used on a once fermented pomace (Winemaker_81?) to make a heftier second run?

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Wow, that is a lot of wine! I mostly eschew cheap kits, but I am tempted to try the Chardonnay for a buck a bottle!

That's exactly what I was thinking!! Hopefully someone on this site has some insights, otherwise I may have to dive in head first.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

@winemaker81 any experience or wisdom you can share with us here?

I may call Matt at LP too and get the skinny from him.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Ok guys, Matt gave me the 411 on these... they are kits, but do not come with the Kieselsol or Chitosan. He sells a lot of them to commercial wineries and he shared the are likely similar in quality to the WE Classic wines. So if you like those wine kits, this is a great value!

 

[winemaker81]

I have no experience with the current incarnation of the WE Classic series, although I made some of their lowest tier kits prior to that. My recollection is that the older kits were thinner than the mid-level kits (yeah, duh!), but better quality than the cheap kits offered by other vendors.

If I was going to make one of these? For the Chardonnay, I'd look for ideas in the Tweaking Cheap Kits threads for Chardonnay, and be selective in choosing yeast. Given that it makes ~25 gallons of wine, I'd ferment in 4 or 5 batches and use several different yeasts, and homogenize after fermentation. Actually, I'd rack each 3 days after fermentation ended, blend, move into secondary, and stir daily for a couple of weeks, then weekly for a few months, e.g., battonage.

For the CS or Diablo Rojo? I'd do the same general process, use multiple yeasts, and I'd buy 4 or 5 skin packs from LP and follow the 14 day FWK process. I'd also consider battonage for these as well.

@VinesnBines and I have been discussing my kit wine / pomace project -- I took the pomace from 8 lugs of Grenache and 8 lugs of Tempranillo, and added a FWK Tavola Merlot kit to each. Immediately after pressing I thought they were both thin, but I'm liking them better now: the prognosis is good. Eight lugs worth of pomace is a LOT for a kit -- 4 lugs worth would have been enough. If you have pomace, press it lightly and add to these deluxe size kits.

However, there are 2 critical points to consider:

1) Do you want 120 bottles of the wine? While some of our membership is making 60 gallon batches, most of us are not.

2) What are you going to ferment in, and what are you going to use for secondary storage?

Before buying, make sure you have sufficient primaries to ferment in. I suspect it would be best to reconstitute as a whole, which would require a 48 gallon Brute (I believe that's the size), as a 32 gallon Brute may not hold it all. After reconstitution, ensure it's well mixed (let the must rest at least 24 hours), then I'd pump it into five 7.9 fermenters, and ferment separately. Homogenize after racking/pressing, and then move into secondaries.

This is a great idea for a 54 liter (14.25 US gallon) barrel, as you need to start with at least 16 gallons to keep the barrel full for a year. If buying a new 6 or 8 gallon barrel, there's sufficient wine in the batch to cycle the wines through for the first year.

Think before doing .....

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I have no experience with the current incarnation of the WE Classic series, although I made some of their lowest tier kits prior to that. My recollection is that the older kits were thinner than the mid-level kits (yeah, duh!), but better quality than the cheap kits offered by other vendors.

If I was going to make one of these? For the Chardonnay, I'd look for ideas in the Tweaking Cheap Kits threads for Chardonnay, and be selective in choosing yeast. Given that it makes ~25 gallons of wine, I'd ferment in 4 or 5 batches and use several different yeasts, and homogenize after fermentation. Actually, I'd rack each 3 days after fermentation ended, blend, move into secondary, and stir daily for a couple of weeks, then weekly for a few months, e.g., battonage.

For the CS or Diablo Rojo? I'd do the same general process, use multiple yeasts, and I'd buy 4 or 5 skin packs from LP and follow the 14 day FWK process. I'd also consider battonage for these as well.

@VinesnBines and I have been discussing my kit wine / pomace project -- I took the pomace from 8 lugs of Grenache and 8 lugs of Tempranillo, and added a FWK Tavola Merlot kit to each. Immediately after pressing I thought they were both thin, but I'm liking them better now: the prognosis is good. Eight lugs worth of pomace is a LOT for a kit -- 4 lugs worth would have been enough. If you have pomace, press it lightly and add to these deluxe size kits.

However, there are 2 critical points to consider:

1) Do you want 120 bottles of the wine? While some of our membership is making 60 gallon batches, most of us are not.

2) What are you going to ferment in, and what are you going to use for secondary storage?

Before buying, make sure you have sufficient primaries to ferment in. I suspect it would be best to reconstitute as a whole, which would require a 48 gallon Brute (I believe that's the size), as a 32 gallon Brute may not hold it all. After reconstitution, ensure it's well mixed (let the must rest at least 24 hours), then I'd pump it into five 7.9 fermenters, and ferment separately. Homogenize after racking/pressing, and then move into secondaries.

This is a great idea for a 54 liter (14.25 US gallon) barrel, as you need to start with at least 16 gallons to keep the barrel full for a year. If buying a new 6 or 8 gallon barrel, there's sufficient wine in the batch to cycle the wines through for the first year.

Think before doing .....

Thank you Obie One Kanobi of all things Wine !!

I bought one for a wedding next summmer. Going to use 2 different yeasts D47 and a new one for me "Cellular Science Luscious". Then age all four batches in 6 gallon carboy with light French oak for 3 months before bottling.

This "cheap kit" stuff is not my usual M.O., but I figure for a wedding party WTF

 

[Khristyjeff]

@She'sgonnakillm said:
"This "cheap kit" stuff is not my usual M.O., but I figure for a wedding party WTF".

This reminds me of an old Married, With Children episode where Al Bundy agrees to pay for a friend's wedding reception. On the phone with the caterer. "How much are the chicken wings? Uh huh. How much just for the beaks?"

 

[winemaker81]

Thank you Obie One Kanobi of all things Wine !!

Thanks for the compliment, but I just pointed out the obvious.

This "cheap kit" stuff is not my usual M.O., but I figure for a wedding party WTF

My son gave me 15 months notice for his wedding reception, and requested a particular red that he really liked.

I vetoed the red, as I only had 1 case left (not enough), and to be honest -- I wasn't going to waste it on a reception.

Does that sound harsh? It's actually not, once we think about it. The focus of the reception is the newly married couple, and 90% of the people wouldn't see much different between Gallo Burgundy and Bogle CS. [This is not criticism, just a fact. I don't expect others to care about the things I do.]

I made WE Reserve Australian Cabernet Sauvignon and Australian Chardonnay. I chose these as they are varietals most people in the USA recognize, of a quality that tastes good. The wines were a hit and everyone was happy.

For a wedding next summer? Making the super-sized kit makes sense, especially if it's Classic-level. It will be a nice drinkable wine in short order, and there's only about 6 months before the reception? Yeah, time is of the essence.

I warned my sons years ago if they wanted me to make wine for them, I needed at least a year of lead time. I suggest that anyone who might be asked to make wine for an event, let folks know what the necessary lead time is. This avoids disappointment.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Update!!! So it turns out that the LP website stating these yield 24 gallons was incorrect. They actually reconstitute to 15.7 gallons! So basically the are 7 L WE Classic kits only in a double size (14L) platform. Not the value we had thought. Once I made LP aware they have since corrected the website

 

[joeswine]

Thank you Obie One Kanobi of all things Wine !!

I bought one for a wedding next summmer. Going to use 2 different yeasts D47 and a new one for me "Cellular Science Luscious". Then age all four batches in 6 gallon carboy with light French oak for 3 months before bottling.

This "cheap kit" stuff is not my usual M.O., but I figure for a wedding party WTF

if you apply thinking outside the box, they can be very decent everyday wines.

 

[sour_grapes]

Update!!! So it turns out that the LP website stating these yield 24 gallons was incorrect. They actually reconstitute to 15.7 gallons! So basically the are 7 L WE Classic kits only in a double size (14L) platform. Not the value we had thought. Once I made LP aware they have since corrected the website

Thanks for this correction. I had not remembered seeing it. I just went to think about buying one of these, and see what you had found out -- these are not 24-gallon kits. (The Island-Mist-type kits apparently are.) In fact, the website now says that they make about 12.2 gallons, i.e., 46 L. So, yes, they are basically 2 "normal" 7L kits in one bag. I am still tempted... Gotta secure my supply of cheap whites!

 

[Bmd2k1]

Thanks for the compliment, but I just pointed out the obvious.


My son gave me 15 months notice for his wedding reception, and requested a particular red that he really liked.

I vetoed the red, as I only had 1 case left (not enough), and to be honest -- I wasn't going to waste it on a reception.

Does that sound harsh? It's actually not, once we think about it. The focus of the reception is the newly married couple, and 90% of the people wouldn't see much different between Gallo Burgundy and Bogle CS. [This is not criticism, just a fact. I don't expect others to care about the things I do.]

I made WE Reserve Australian Cabernet Sauvignon and Australian Chardonnay. I chose these as they are varietals most people in the USA recognize, of a quality that tastes good. The wines were a hit and everyone was happy.

For a wedding next summer? Making the super-sized kit makes sense, especially if it's Classic-level. It will be a nice drinkable wine in short order, and there's only about 6 months before the reception? Yeah, time is of the essence.

I warned my sons years ago if they wanted me to make wine for them, I needed at least a year of lead time. I suggest that anyone who might be asked to make wine for an event, let folks know what the necessary lead time is. This avoids disappointment.

The Force is Strong with this one!

 

[heatherd]

Just wondering if any of you have used these kits before from LP? It appears to be a super highly condensed juice and I am unsure if it comes with any additives or not. It's only 14 L but makes 24.2 Gallons. There isn't a lot of info on the LP site on them.

https://labelpeelers.com/winery-series-kits/

Given that the FWK whites are 40% off right now and under $90 each, I'm more inclined to do theirs than try something new. Just my view.
https://labelpeelers.com/whites-and-blushes/

 

[winemaker81]

Given that the FWK whites are 40% off right now and under $90 each, I'm more inclined to do theirs than try something new. Just my view.

I popped the cork on a Sauvignon Blanc that is about 8 months old -- 6 for fermentation/bulk aging, 2 in the bottle. It's already nice. I also made a Tavola Pinot Noir no skin packs (same age) and I'm already pleased with it. For me, this is the thing to make while other reds are aging.

 

[sour_grapes]

Given that the FWK whites are 40% off right now and under $90 each, I'm more inclined to do theirs than try something new. Just my view.
https://labelpeelers.com/whites-and-blushes/

You raise a good point, Heather!