Your Favorite Wine Kit Manufacture

[Boatboy24]

I use 'em all. But mostly Cellar Craft, RJS and WE - not in any particular order.

 

[Brian55]

Clearly this question should have been posted in the "Kit Winemaking" section. We could have eliminated at least three pages of replies from non-kit makers.

 

[ibglowin]

I doubt it.

 

[vernsgal]

I buy RJS as my main go to. I used to live right by the company and got some terrific sales.Now I know the kits so I remain with them

 

[LiliPrincess]

I haven't used a kit as yet, but will feed back when I do for sure

 

[RCGoodin]

Wine kits to use

Lookup Eclipse on Ebay.

 

[DoktahD]

Favorite kits

These day I mostly do Cellar Classic Winery Series as the included crushed skins make a HUGE difference in the final product. No matter what kit I use, I tweek them to taste and ALWAYS omit potassium sorbate, as it makes all the wines taste like bubble gum. Have to delay bottling though well beyond their recommendation.

 

[Matt_Pruszynski]

Clarification about MAP Program with Winexpert kits

Mike,

My name is Matt Pruszynski with Label Peelers and I'd like to clarify a few things. First, the MAP program is not a requirement coming from the manufacturer, Winexpert, but instead is a requirement from the Wholesaler that carries the exclusive US rights to the Winexpert kit line, LD Carlson, who is also from Kent, Ohio like us.

Secondly, the MAP program is exactly that, a Minimum Advertised Pricing, and we adhere to every requirement of that policy and have received formal approval from LD Carlson that what we are doing is actually above board and NOT against any rules. We do not advertise any pricing below MAP but instead encourage customers to add the kits to their carts to find out what we charge. As approved by LD Carlson, once a kit is added to a cart, it is no longer a public advertisement but instead is a private transaction between us and our customers.

Finally, we have the utmost respect for Winexpert and the superior quality of their products over any other kit manufacturer in the world and have a great working relationship with LD Carlson and are very fortunate to have them located right down the road from us. We are not going anywhere and plan to continue to offer Winexpert Eclipse and all of their great product lines for years to come.

Sincerely,

Matt Pruszynski
Label Peelers

They are actually playing by the rules here (MAP pricing). The price is not $188 but $169 as everyone now gets the "growers club discount".

You may wake up one day to find that LP no longer stocks Eclipse Kits with what they are doing as they could be pulled by the manufacturer for not following MAP.

 

[LindaLou]

Cellar Craft Showcase wines. I've tried wine expert, didn't care for it. Love Cellar Craft!

 

[MichaelCfffg]

Vintner's Harvest is the only one I've tried so far, and so far have been very pleased with. I buy their products at our local Friar Tuck's.

 

[Pittsburgh127]

I really like the Winexpert Eclipse and Selection kits and buy them almost exclusively. Although, I will use Cellar Craft Showcase kits occasionally. I've also had good success with Juice Buckets from Luva Bella.

 

[lilvixen]

I started winemaking via online research, so I read up on Cellar Craft, RJS, and Winexpert. To better understand their differences, I bought one kit from each to start. The instructions were all different, but that helped show me what parts are flexible and what variations are available in wine making. From the juice perspective, CC and RJS smelled and tasted better than WE, but that may be due in part to the varietals. I fermented the three wines over the month of June (give or take a day), so nothing has had time to age yet, but I'm still more impressed by the CC and RJS than the WE. Since I purchase my kits online, I'll likely stick to CC and RJS, depending on sales, promos, and shipping.

 

[RaymondoChin]

So far I have only done the Wine Expert Eclipse kits. I have done them for a couple of years as they are cheap. I have been thinking about going to a more expensive kit but just haven't yet. I do tweak the kits by adding more sugar and adding part of the Fpacks pre ferment to dry them up some. They turn out very good that way. Not so much like a wine cooler. Have also made several variations of DB and just did my first batch of real grapes.