Your Favorite Wine Kit Manufacture

[cimbaliw]

My vote is biased. The lhbs only sells winexpert and that's all I've ever made. About 1/4 of the 100 gallons or so I make annually is kit wine. Half comes from juice buckets and the rest; db, skeeter pee and apfelwein.

 

[SpoiledRotten]

I like the Wine Expert.

 

[SandbaggerOne]

I'm partial to Cellar Classic and Mosti Mondiale.

Cheers,
SB

 

[stormbringer]

The winemaker's toy store.

 

[Geno4vino]

favorite kits

Cellar craft, RJS, and wine expert with grapes

 

[bkisel]

Overall I prefer RJS but have only been doing WE this past year. For whatever reason(s), now that I'm in rural PA and have to mail order, I've been finding WE kits to be less expensive when total cost of the - item and shipping and handling - are taken into consideration. I wait for sales in order to keep my cost down. I'm also doing more fruit wines then ever before.

 

[molitorr]

Way back I try an ice wine kit made by Diamanti I believe it was. Came out great and was loved so much I quickly ran out and still asked for more. Don't know though if they went out of business as I haven't found them again....

 

[dcbrown73]

I've only made the WineExpert Eclipse kits so far, and I haven't had a finished wine yet.

Next year I'm going to make an Amarone, so it sounds like I may need to look at other options as I do not believe there is an Eclipse version of it. I read the WineExpert Selection has one, but I heard some others are better. Though the post I read that said that was from 2010 and also said it didn't have grape skins pack which I believe it does now.

As the time gets closer, I'm sure I will ask you guys your recommendation for Amarone kits.

 

[dcbrown73]

Bejesus!

I just went to www.finevinewines.com as many here noted they use them. They are EXPENSIVE! They want over $70US more for the Eclipse Super Tuscan than what I pay for it and the same for all the other Eclipse kits!

Their prices are above retail! ($169 retail vs their $188) Ouch!

I paid $114 for my Super Tuscan at LP.

 

[richmke]

I think it was Cellar Craft Showcase where they packed the skins in a plastic jar with a wide mouth. That was my favorite. Recently, I have only seen skins in bags.

I have made Winexpert, Cellar Craft, and RJS, Seems like the kits with the best reviews have been Cellar Craft, so those are the ones I have made recently.

 

[ibglowin]

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.

Bejesus!

I just went to www.finevinewines.com as many here noted they use them. They are EXPENSIVE! They want over $70US more for the Eclipse Super Tuscan than what I pay for it and the same for all the other Eclipse kits!

Their prices are above retail! ($169 retail vs their $188) Ouch!

I paid $114 for my Super Tuscan at LP.

 

[soccer0ww]

Have done only wine expert kits. They are decent, but I think the white kits turn out much better than the red kits.

 

[froeschli]

I buy buckets of must from Costas in Hamilton. he owns shares in a bunch of vinyards, and has very reasonable pricing. (usually about $30 per bucket).
they don't cater to "exotic" wine making supplies (if you need pectic enzyme, or a specific strain of yeast etc, you have to look elsewhere) but the "standard lineup" (corks, bottles etc) is priced much better than at wine making boutiques or magnottas for example...

 

[Papawdude]

To be fair, I can't recall who I got my last kit from was and I've also yet to test the batch (that I started some three years ago). The one before that was a gift which was probably five years ago. I remember it was in a blue box. It was okay to me but my friends all raved about how good it a wine it was. I thought it was very watered down. This last one I purchased. I remember it was a dark green box and was around $70. It looks and smells more like a real mass produced wine. My most recent attempts (or incarnations really) have been mead or from the trees in my yard (apple, pear, peach, plum and blackberry). I never really paid any attention to them for years until I started tinkering with wine making.


sorry, i'm rambling again......I chose "other" because I'm ignorant.

 

[roger80465]

I use Cellar Craft and RJS most of the time. I avoid Wine Expert because of the MAP pricing. I refuse to play that game. It's a shame because I would like to try a couple Eclipse kits. Oh, well, I will live with my decision.

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

I love the Winexpert Island Mist kits. I always add extra juice concentrate and corn sugar and they turn out incredibly. It may be more of a "koolaid" wine...lol...but they are so tasty and my friends beg for more.

 

[Brian55]

Mosti Mondiale 23 Liter kits. Dump it into your fermenter, add the yeast and such and you're done. No messing around with measuring and adding water back into a juice concentrate. I really hope WE and/or RJ's jumps onto this for their premium kits.

 

[jsbeckton]

I use Cellar Craft and RJS most of the time. I avoid Wine Expert because of the MAP pricing. I refuse to play that game. It's a shame because I would like to try a couple Eclipse kits. Oh, well, I will live with my decision.

Like others have said, you can get these from LP for about $130, including shipping!

 

[Rocky]

I have made wine from Cellar Craft, KenRidge, Mosti Mondiale, WinExpert, Williams Brewing and RJ Spagnols kits. Lately, however, due to the ready availability and excellent pricing, I have been almost exclusively WinExpert. This notwithstanding, I voted for Cellar Craft as my favorite and KenRidge would be a very close second. I feel I give the same attention to any kit I make and the results that I have achieved from Cellar Craft and KenRidge are unsurpassed. And yes, I realize they are both Vineco wines. They are just a little harder to get and significantly more expensive than the top of the line WinExpert kits.

 

[Lynnelt]

I have the same problem as someone who posted earlier - Wineexpert kits are the only ones I can get around here. I am interested in following this thread, though, because if I ever go somewhere and see ones that have a good following --