good red kit

[needmorstuf]

I'm on the lookout for a good 30 bottle red kit.. I'm no wine expert but I know what I like.. I like a full bodied rioja or malbec, I don't like too much acidity.

I will be letting it age as I dont drink that much red...

shame there aren't port kits as I love a nice port.

 

[chewie]

Look at the kits that start at £40 upwards, i would say the california connisseur kits of those two varieties you like would lean more towards light to medium rather than full bodied.

 

[TheQuokka]

Port is made simply by adding brandy before fermentation is complete. This stops the fermentation and leaves some sweetness.

 

[Vinotinto]

I have never tried the £70 + showcase kits but at £38.99 Beaverdale do a range of 'flavours' which are very good. I did one Californian Connoisseur and was not over impressed but have ordered a Nebbiolo on recommendation to try again. Apparently the juice used by CC is the same as that used by Beaverdale. I have both versions of the Nebbiolo arriving today so will make them side by side for comparison. Beaverdales Pinot Noir, Rojo Tinto both good. I have a merlot on but not finished yet. I do rack them at 1.010 as recommended. Did not do this with the earlier CC so therein may lie the reason I did not rate the CC so much.

 

[needmorstuf]

I have a CC rose kit on at the moment and the instructions do refer to the other brands.. same parent company.

 

[engineer]

My favourite without doubt is the Kenridge Classic Nebbiolo
Its by far the most consistently good full bodied red i have tried.
It comes with 10 litres of juice and can be bought for approx �£46

I did a Beaverdale Pinot noir recently and its not even close to being as good.
That came with 7.5 litres of juice and was �£39.50

 

[needmorstuf]

My favourite without doubt is the Kenridge Classic Nebbiolo
Its by far the most consistently good full bodied red i have tried.
It comes with 10 litres of juice and can be bought for approx ��£46

I did a Beaverdale Pinot noir recently and its not even close to being as good.
That came with 7.5 litres of juice and was ��£39.50

sounds like a winner!

 

[Vinotinto]

My favourite without doubt is the Kenridge Classic Nebbiolo
Its by far the most consistently good full bodied red i have tried.
It comes with 10 litres of juice and can be bought for approx ��£46

I did a Beaverdale Pinot noir recently and its not even close to being as good.
That came with 7.5 litres of juice and was ��£39.50

Interesting. I appreciate the more juice angle but actually preferred the Beaverdale and I do like a robust red. Did you rack your Beaver ( :lol: ) at 1.010 as suggested?

 

[engineer]

Interesting. I appreciate the more juice angle but actually preferred the Beaverdale and I do like a robust red. Did you rack your Beaver ( :lol: ) at 1.010 as suggested?

I do like a good rack on a beaver but tend not to with Beaverdale or Kenridge these days. Translated......i used to follow the instructions to the letter then just decided to let them ferment out , rack, stabilise and clear......erm optimising the process for my advanced laziness. .
Never tasted any difference so done it like that ever since.

Nothing against Beaverdale, they are pretty good kits, her indoors likes the sauv blanc but not the pinot grigio. Everyones taste is different i guess.

 

[simon12]

Beaverdale are great, but I have never compared to Kenridge.

 

[GDog]

@richytrue and I did a Beaverdale Nebiolo, he's had a bottle, I've only tasted a sample and it's amazing. We racked at 1010.

I've a CC Rojo Tinto (Rioja) bottled too, and initial sample is even better than the Nebiolo.

I'm not touching either until 2 months in the bottle, meaning the last bottle I drink will be substantially older than that.

As we always add stuff on to get free postage from Creative (over £45 = free), I'm going straight for a Kenridge Classic next for £46, so no messing on buying stuff you didn't need.

I make asda red grape juice wine, beefed up with dried elderberries to drink whilst I'm maturing the decent stuff. I've done a few batches, but the one I'm on now (actually this second actually) is amazing, as I left it in a demijohn to clear for a month. There's definitely something about storing this stuff in bulk that changes the taste beyond just having it bottled from day-1 so I'm thinking of moving to BIB's for the Kenridge, as much as I love bottles on the garage shelf.

 

[GDog]

actually, one of my bookmarked kit reviews is yours @vinotinto , and it's for the Kenridge Classic - was it any better than Beaverdale? The wine guru Tony H didn't hugely think so if I remember reading that..

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=65941&highlight=KenRidge+Classic

 

[Vinotinto]

actually, one of my bookmarked kit reviews is yours @vinotinto , and it's for the Kenridge Classic - was it any better than Beaverdale? The wine guru Tony H didn't hugely think so if I remember reading that..

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=65941&highlight=KenRidge+Classic

Personally, prefer the Beaverdale.

 

[GDog]

Personally, prefer the Beaverdale.

@richytrue just text me, he's opened his third Beaverdale Nebiolo experiment and if I may quote him:

1 day - nice, slight chemical twang
1 week - really nice, best wine he's made thus far
1 month - as good as a Wolfblass yellow, and can't see how it can get any better.

(he's a scientific alcoholic, and works in IT - can you tell)

 

[Saltrock]

The Harris all juice kits are good too. The Cabernet Sauvignon is reviewed in the A-Z

 

[needmorstuf]

@richytrue and I did a Beaverdale Nebiolo, he's had a bottle, I've only tasted a sample and it's amazing. We racked at 1010.

I've a CC Rojo Tinto (Rioja) bottled too, and initial sample is even better than the Nebiolo.

I'm not touching either until 2 months in the bottle, meaning the last bottle I drink will be substantially older than that.

As we always add stuff on to get free postage from Creative (over �£45 = free), I'm going straight for a Kenridge Classic next for �£46, so no messing on buying stuff you didn't need.

I make asda red grape juice wine, beefed up with dried elderberries to drink whilst I'm maturing the decent stuff. I've done a few batches, but the one I'm on now (actually this second actually) is amazing, as I left it in a demijohn to clear for a month. There's definitely something about storing this stuff in bulk that changes the taste beyond just having it bottled from day-1 so I'm thinking of moving to BIB's for the Kenridge, as much as I love bottles on the garage shelf.

tell me more about this beefed up recipe... after the success of my wow rose and not being a wine snob I am keen to explore how to get a red made up.

 

[GDog]

tell me more about this beefed up recipe... after the success of my wow rose and not being a wine snob I am keen to explore how to get a red made up.

It's not really a WOW, it's dried Elderberry wine which is covered in many books.

Here was my version of it, the 75g berries-per-gallon was the best..

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=68514

It's a bit of a mess on like, with the straining etc, but I really like it.

I've tried using Raisins too, and a batch with currants, but none of them were amazing to be honest.

 

[needmorstuf]

i think i just use the term wow for supermarket bought juice.. when in fact its worzels orange wine... I did subsequently find your thread.. looks very interesting. apart from the wet sock bit ;-0