Kit wine to Kit beer?

[yashicamat]

Just a thought, but is the difference between kit wine and supermarket wines (£4ish bottles) as massive as the difference between kit beers and AG beers?

Quite tempted by having a shot at a wine kit and I know somebody who raves about these wine kits, but I am slightly reluctant to go barelling in head first in case I end up with something pretty 'orrible!

Cheers.

[lollypopp]

I like the star trek thing,to go where no man as gone before, to discover new worlds!!! well if you know what I mean? I wouldn't spend out on kits, I'm more likely to make wine from Jam, and Cider from Lidl Apple Juice, so I think you should move over to the Force? we call T.C. Have a good read here, you'll soon see how nutty we are, and it's so fantastic to drink something that cost well under a £5er!

[simple one]

I do alot of country wine. I would say it would replicate a sub six pound bottle of white. (reds too complex for replication by the ingridients I can get my hands on)
AG always beats or replicates beer, the ingriedients are fairly consistent. Wine i would say you reach a standard as good as your ingriedients or kit.

There are some kits which replicate the top end vintage wines. Some utilise grape packs. Never tried them. I want to, but price is a bit scary.

A work mate used to make a lot of kit wines, cheap one which you add sugar to. He said they were good. The only drama was drinking all the wine.
A decent kit wine produces a decent bottle of plonk up to the standard of the kit. Youngs tend to be at the bottom of the scale, but are still good. With many wines blending is always an option if it lacks a certian something.

Choose a kit and then check out its review on wines at home. Its not as well maintained as JBK though.

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/foru ... y.php?f=82

Hope this is usefull

[sparky Paul]

There are some kits which replicate the top end vintage wines. Some utilise grape packs. Never tried them. I want to, but price is a bit scary.

The varietal kits are definitely worth the money, they are very good indeed. Avoid the cheaper kits that need sugar added, I tried one and it was crap.

I would go for one of the mid range kits, such as the Beaverdale or Kenridge Classic. The Kenridge is around £45 for a 30 bottle kit, and it includes labels etc., so all you need is the equipment, bottles and corks. It's hard to say how good each particular kit is, but the reviews on the forum mentioned above are a good start. Of the ones I've tried, I would say that the Kenridge kits produce a wine comparable to a decent £8 supermarket wine - and I don't mean the rubbish they sell at £7.99 for a week, and then sell at half price. The Barolo I did last is really good, but it is a very full red wine... very nice though. Sadly, I've only got a few bottles left.

I've not tried the more expensive Kenridge ranges, they come in around £60 and £100, but they are supposed to be superb.

You also find me over at the Wines at Home forum occasionally.

[simple one]

Well you've sold me on a Kenridge kit.

[CyberPaddy66]

Apart from a few of my early wine kits all of them have turned out great and equal if not better than most of the cheap wine in the local supermarket, the better kits are worth waiting longer for full maturity but even the simple Youngs Definitive kits do a decent job (avoid the black cherry unless it's got a flavour sachet in the kit!) at producing a lovely wine after 3 months conditioning.

[sparky Paul]

Well you've sold me on a Kenridge kit.

I don't drink whites, but I certainly like the reds... best kit wines I've tasted.

I don't think anyone would be disappointed.

[RatboyOllie]

i was more than happy with my Beaverdale Merlot kit. We drink a lot of merlot and I like to buy the Lindemans merlot from asda when its on offer otherwise its a £7 bottle i think. The kit produced a wine very similar to this and in my opinion was even better. I served it to the missus and she didnt believe it was my homebrew !

I will definitely be doing another batch

enjoy !

Ive also just finished a heron bay blackcurrant merlot fruit wine. Personally I wouldnt bother, well, unless you like ribena coz thats what it tastes like !

[yashicamat]

Cheers for the replies folks. Sounds like it's worth a shot, especially as I have 2 better bottles which are ideal for wine fermentation. Just need to research corking machines etc. now.

[sparky Paul]

Just need to research corking machines etc. now.

I use a two handled corker, works perfectly and has never failed me, but they leave a small dimple in the top of the cork. It fusses some people, but it don't bother me.

[arturobandini]

I've used a large upright corker and it left a similar dimple in the cork as Paul advises but likewise I couldn't care less. I've now got a handheld Sanbri aluminium single handed lever corker bought for 99p off eBay and it works superbly. Twin handled are probably more common though and of course there is the old school hammer type ones similar to the crown capping equivalents.