Are 6 bottle wine kits worth it?

[Berry454]

Let me just start by saying I know there is a lot more to home brewing other than the cost saving but for me it is a significant consideration.

After all no point producing a wine for the same price as you could get the same quality wine from a supermarket.

The 6 bottle kits seem to vary. Between £9 and £15 each.

Let's take a wine buddy Chardonnay at £9 a kit. Is the wine it produces actually worth £1.50 a bottle?

Beaverdale kits at £13. Thats £2.16 a bottle.

What supermarket price point would these 2 kits compare to?

The wine buddy 30 bottle kits are about £20. That's 66p per bottle. Are the 6 bottle kits at £1.50 a bottle better quality than the 30 bottle kits hence the large price difference?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Are the 6 bottle kits at £1.50 a bottle better quality than the 30 bottle kits hence the large price difference?

Welcome to the forum.

No the 6 bottle kits are exactly the same as the 30 bottle kits, the only difference is you pay for quality a WineBuddy kit at £20 is never going to be as good as a Beverdale kit at £45 but i have always made WineBuddy, Solomon Grundy and the range store make your own kits which are at the cheaper end and we find them as good if not better than low price wines you can buy at the supermarket at £4 - £5 per bottle.

If you look at the prices below you get 30 bottles for just over twice the price of the 6 bottle kit.

If you were to buy five 6 bottle kits to make 30 bottles it would cost - £48.75


WineBuddy Sauvignon Blanc – 6 bottle
£9.75 (Delivery from £3.95)

WineBuddy Sauvignon Blanc - 30 bottle
£24.95 (Delivery from £3.95)

 

[Berry454]

Thanks Chippy! Very informative indeed! I've brewed many of wine kits but only the more expensive kits £45-£100. Wanted to try some of the cheaper kits and just wanted some information on them!

So I'm gathering that I should expect the cheaper kits (Solomon Grundy, winebuddy ect) to be equivalent to a £4-5 bottle from the supermarket. What price equivalent would the more mid range kits be similar to in a supermarket? Kits like Beaverdale and the Wine expert classics.

I did order a range of low value kits and I was shocked to see that a Solomon Grundy gold kit for £22 contained less than 2 litres of grape juice. Compared to 8 litres of grape juice that I got in a Vine Co kit for just £45. Though I believe the low price kits don't require aging like the more more expensive kits.

Thanks

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have never made anything other than the cheaper kits as we have always been impressed with the end result, we prefer the Range store make your own as its been said its made by Beaverdale and is better than the WineBuddy and Solomon Grundy kits we can also pick it up locally so no postage to pay.


https://www.therange.co.uk/cooking-and-dining/drinks/home-brew/#sort=relevance&page=1&lpp=24

 

[DocAnna]

I tried one of the most expensive Beaverdale kits and was really disappointed with it. Kit made wine always seems to have a 'kit' taste that I don't like irrespective of the price. I'm not sure if it's the sorbate or the finings but it is quite frustrating. I did try to make a 30 bottle kit without the additives but gave in when it wouldn't clear well. Having read this thread I'm now inclined to make two parallel batches with the same kit, one without any of the additives and one made to kit instructions. Ferment and condition together and see how they go hmmm...

 

[Berry454]

@DocAnna I've never had an issue with this "kit" taste that you describe with the higher end wine kits. Think wine expert limited editions and private reserves. The cheapest I can vouch for is the Vine Co with 8l of grape juice for £45. Way cheaper than the £100 kits and pretty comparable in quality! I really think you need the additives though! Finnings are not necessary as you can cold crash the fermentation to clear. But things like stabilizer are most definitely needed.

Regarding my questions.. the only other question I have is regarding the mid range kits. Beaverdale, wine expert classics, cellar 7. Stuff in the £40-50 mark. What sort of supermarket bottle would these compare to?

I've also ordered some 6 bottle fruit wines from Solomon Grundy. I'll post updates after brewing these. Got a great deal at £8 a kit.

 

[Cwrw666]

I tried one of the most expensive Beaverdale kits and was really disappointed with it. Kit made wine always seems to have a 'kit' taste that I don't like irrespective of the price. I'm not sure if it's the sorbate or the finings

I've only ever done Beaverdales (plus one California conoiseur) and been very impressed with the results - easily equivalent to a £5 - £6 bottle from Tescos.
There again I've never bothered with the sorbate. Can't see the point of it - never added stuff like that to country wines so why should it be necessary to grape wine kits?
My Mrs is a big red wine drinker - she was a bit dubious when I suggested kits but now she rarely drinks anything else and prefers the Beaverdale (favourite is the nebbiolo) to shop bought.
Is it worth it? - well it's saving us at least £500 a year!

 

[ChrisT]

@Berry454 Are the 6 bottle kits worth it, well yes, BUT in my experience the same variety 30 bottle kits give a better result. Let me qualify that, the 6 bottle kits don't seem as smooth/polished/refined (can't say exactly) when compared to the 30 bottle kits, yes they let you know if you like the style to try a 30 bottle kit.

I know some people say that you get the kit flavour, personally I'm not sure what that is? Does a kit taste the same as a shop bought bottle, well no, but then a same style grape from the corner shop is not the same as from a supermarket. For my and my family the kits I make compare very favourably with £5-8 supermaket wines. Over the last 2 years (since returning to homebrew) I've tried VineCo, On The House and WinExpert. All very similar and offer slightly different grape types in their range, we feel that the WinExpert "just" edged it when I did all three of the Shiraz. Any kit I've made that has a "reserve" seems to take a good month after finishing before it settles down and improves greatly over a few months. Every other kit I've tried definitely improves over 3-6 months but is drinkable immediately. Our family favourites (in no particular order) so far are the Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Diablo Rojo, Viognier and Riesling. Least liked Gerwurztramina and Chardonnay.

I decided to try one of the WinExpert Limited Edition Torrontes Muscat towards the end of last summer and so far I would say it's not worth the extra money. However, the WinExpert Reserve Sauvignon Blanc I finished just after Christmas is superior to the Classic when young.

 

[DuncR]

Once went into my local home brew shop without my reading glasses. Seeing a kit that was different to my normal choices I’d give it a go as it was as cheap as chips and I’d only be stuck with 6 bottles if everything headed south.
It was only when I got home that I realised it was a 5L kit… “just add sugar”. Not a mistake I will make again. Took several months to drink water down with more drinkable brew… One saving too many

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Like everything in life you get what you pay for, we have made many kits at the lower end of the price range and some are more drinkable than others the Range store kits in post #4 are £20 - £25 and are very good it has been said they are made for them by Beverdale which would explain why.

Postage is £3:50 (ish) so worth a try if you don't have a store nearby.

 

[Berry454]

Well I brewed up a number of 6 bottle Solomon Grundy fruit wines. Apricot, cherry, peach, billberry, Elderflower.

After clearing and removing the sediment I ended up with around 3 X 1 litre bottles from each kit. Worked out at £3.35 per bottle.

Honestly not worth anywhere near £3+ per bottle. Sure they taste good but I could have easily created these wines for around £1 per bottle without the kits!

Plus degassing in a demijohn is totally not for me. Very long and time consuming process.

I'll post reviews for all these kits shortly. But overall I wouldn't really bother with 6 bottle kits again. Everything is just so time consuming and tedious with the little kits.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Well I brewed up a number of 6 bottle Solomon Grundy fruit wines. Apricot, cherry, peach, billberry, Elderflower.
After clearing and removing the sediment I ended up with around 3 X 1 litre bottles from each kit. Worked out at £3.35 per bottle.

There is no reason you shouldn't have got near to 6 bottles if you only manage 3 bottles you have done something wrong, i have made lots of 6 bottle kits and have never got less than 5 1/2.

Plus degassing in a demijohn is totally not for me. Very long and time consuming process.

Shaking the DJ is the most basic way of doing it the easy way is to either make a degassing wand (see thread below) or buy one from a home brew shop

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-degas-wine-with-a-home-made-degassing-wand.48971/
I used to have a home made wand but after many years of use it broke so i bought a stainless steel one that is much more efficient.

 

[Phoenix Ale]

I made up a Beaverdale Rioja 6 bottle kit at the end of August '21, bottled 4th October and quaffed over Christmas. Worked out at €3 per bottle and the notes I took are - nice & fruity, easy to drink, around 9% abv. I would like to try a Merlot in a 30 bottle kit next but my better half is asking for a Moscato if anyone has any kit recommendations.

 

[DocAnna]

I tried one of the most expensive Beaverdale kits and was really disappointed with it. Kit made wine always seems to have a 'kit' taste that I don't like irrespective of the price. I'm not sure if it's the sorbate or the finings but it is quite frustrating. I did try to make a 30 bottle kit without the additives but gave in when it wouldn't clear well. Having read this thread I'm now inclined to make two parallel batches with the same kit, one without any of the additives and one made to kit instructions. Ferment and condition together and see how they go hmmm...

A long time ago in a thread far far back....

I had two wine kits I planned on doing a side by side test, one with sorbate and finings and one without. Then got fed up and put the whole lot into a 60 litre pressure controlled fermenter... then left them to ferment, then degass ambient and clear on their own. That was about 6 months ago and in a bit of poor advance planning, did so in my home office on the floor.

Slight problem as I couldn't siphon out of it or move the fermenter without disturbing the sediment. It also was my carpeted home office so using the pump on it filled my with dread of getting wine all over the filing cabinet and laser printer! It was one of my main aims of my annual leave to get this wine out though... oh and I really really couldn't be faffed with bottling 40 odd litres of wine. So I am using single use wine bags for use in boxes, about 3 litres each roughly.

With a bit waterproof dustsheet down and careful use of the pump, I have now filled 13 bags of wine and it tastes much much better than any wine kit I've ever made. No 'kit taste' at all, fresh, fruity and super clear. Better still, I avoided getting wine all over the carpet and printer.

 

[Berry454]

A long time ago in a thread far far back....

I had two wine kits I planned on doing a side by side test, one with sorbate and finings and one without. Then got fed up and put the whole lot into a 60 litre pressure controlled fermenter... then left them to ferment, then degass ambient and clear on their own. That was about 6 months ago and in a bit of poor advance planning, did so in my home office on the floor.

Slight problem as I couldn't siphon out of it or move the fermenter without disturbing the sediment. It also was my carpeted home office so using the pump on it filled my with dread of getting wine all over the filing cabinet and laser printer! It was one of my main aims of my annual leave to get this wine out though... oh and I really really couldn't be faffed with bottling 40 odd litres of wine. So I am using single use wine bags for use in boxes, about 3 litres each roughly.

With a bit waterproof dustsheet down and careful use of the pump, I have now filled 13 bags of wine and it tastes much much better than any wine kit I've ever made. No 'kit taste' at all, fresh, fruity and super clear. Better still, I avoided getting wine all over the carpet and printer.
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Honestly it probably has nothing to do with the use of stabilisers and finnings or not. You probably got such a nice wine this time around because you left the wine so long to ferment and mature on the sediment.

I remember when I brewed up two Winexpert Enigmas. One of them I bottled within a month of finishing fermenting but the second fermenter I honestly just couldn't be bothered bottling! I was busy with work and it must here sat in the fermenter for 12 months on the sediment. Literally the best red wine I had ever tasted in my life! And I've tried many of £50-£60 shop bottles.

Aging a wine on the sediment often produces a much stronger, cleaner and thicker wine overall.

Regarding chemicals. Imo potassium sorbate and sulfate are a must use. We don't have the hygiene protocols or equipment of vineyards and as such it's important to use. Keeping in mind most major brands of wine actually also use them preservatives.

Personally I use finnings and have never noticed a taste difference. If you don't want to use these (for possible vegans?) Then you can most definitely find alternative finnings or even just cold crash the fermenter outside. Or for a more quicker result cold crash the fermenter in a fridge for a few days or in a freezer overnight. Placing a 23lt fermenter of wine in a chest freezer will usually clear 100% of sediment overnight!

 

[DocAnna]

Honestly it probably has nothing to do with the use of stabilisers and finnings or not. You probably got such a nice wine this time around because you left the wine so long to ferment and mature on the sediment.

I remember when I brewed up two Winexpert Enigmas. One of them I bottled within a month of finishing fermenting but the second fermenter I honestly just couldn't be bothered bottling! I was busy with work and it must here sat in the fermenter for 12 months on the sediment. Literally the best red wine I had ever tasted in my life! And I've tried many of £50-£60 shop bottles.

Aging a wine on the sediment often produces a much stronger, cleaner and thicker wine overall.

That is a real relief as I'd been a bit stressed about leaving it so long on the sediment. I reckoned I didn't need sorbate if left that long, similarly with finings. It is a white wine I'd actually drink.... which is quite an accolade as I don't really drink much wine at all, a six bottle case will easily last 9 months to a year for me.

 

[Nicks90]

That is a real relief as I'd been a bit stressed about leaving it so long on the sediment. I reckoned I didn't need sorbate if left that long, similarly with finings. It is a white wine I'd actually drink.... which is quite an accolade as I don't really drink much wine at all, a six bottle case will easily last 9 months to a year for me.

I know it's not a kit wine, but I leave my hedgerow wines on the sediment for 12 months before bottling and also never use any additives or findings.
Other than the initial racking at 2 weeks, they just get left in my dark cellar and ignored. Never fails to impress me.