Hello
I'm after a little help with choosing a wine kit - I've been kindly offered on for Christmas. So far, I have only brewed beer at home, so diverging into the grape-zone will be fun!
Background
If the brew goes on in mid-late January, I guess it'll be bottled in March and will have settled out by August-September. I shall probably be producing red wine. I favour more gutsty wine, even if it requires a little longer to cellar. Typical things I enjoy are Classico Riservas, Rhone Whites, as well as Reds, italian whites like Greco di Tufo, and not forgetting that toasty-creaminess of white burgundy!
Based on my beer results, I think I can get consistent outcome, so I have no interest in making one of the cheap kits. Kit prices seem to range from < £30 + sugar / 30 btls, right up to £120 / 30btls.
Questions
- Which product range (brand/mfr) gives a good representation of flavours compared with a shop-bought wine of that type?
- What sort of price range offers a good balance between outlay and potential output?
- What's so special about those very expensive kits?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Kit suggestions (Christmas presents)
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sbond10
- Even further under the Table
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- Location: Warrington England usually drunk or being mithered by my 2yr old or wife
Re: Kit suggestions (Christmas presents)
Right from my limited experiance in the grape world. I can fully recommend the beaverdale kits, I have only brewed the pino Grigio but omg the results you could literally drink the out bucket tasted like a 5 quid bottle.I know you asked about the reds and I was watching about what's really in your food and one week they covered wines, and they clearly had a beaverdale Rioja and the guy making it claimed it was as good as a 7-10 quid bottle and judging by the white I can say I wholly believe it.
Good points also they come in 6 bottle testers kits
I have been also been told the kenridge are even better
Right from a previous thread the didferance between the price ranges is the cheapest have a generic grape juice in their and supplied with a powdered sachet to make a pino Grigio style.
And the more expensive you go the more grape juice you get and they tend to be the actual grapes not a style so no flavour sachet required.
And the most expensive contain grape juice and actual skins I believe
Hope this help
Good points also they come in 6 bottle testers kits
I have been also been told the kenridge are even better
Right from a previous thread the didferance between the price ranges is the cheapest have a generic grape juice in their and supplied with a powdered sachet to make a pino Grigio style.
And the more expensive you go the more grape juice you get and they tend to be the actual grapes not a style so no flavour sachet required.
And the most expensive contain grape juice and actual skins I believe
Hope this help
-
crafty john
Re: Kit suggestions (Christmas presents)
I buy these, they are my staple wine kit http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php ... ridge.html the barolo is good, they are a little more expensive than the beaverdale kits but well worth the extra as you get 10 litres of grape concentrate instead of 7.5 litres, no sugar needed. Ready to drink in 6 weeks but do improve with a bit of ageing.
Or if you are looking for something special you can't go wrong with these http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/public/cat ... EL20253150 you get 16.4litres of grape juice and 1.6 litres of grape skins for that extra body, you only add 6 litres of water and they are very full bodied and rich, If it's a present I would go with this. You can brew them in a normal FV with airlock, you will need a spare for racking though.
Hope this helps.
Or if you are looking for something special you can't go wrong with these http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/public/cat ... EL20253150 you get 16.4litres of grape juice and 1.6 litres of grape skins for that extra body, you only add 6 litres of water and they are very full bodied and rich, If it's a present I would go with this. You can brew them in a normal FV with airlock, you will need a spare for racking though.
Hope this helps.