Kenridge classic

[Rob762]

So I’m new to this and I’ve just finished a batch of kenridge classic Pinot Grigio and about to bottle a kenridge classic merlot. I’m finding with intial tasters that they’re both lacking depth in their taste and especially with the Pinot it’s a bit watery there’s not much flavour to it. Is this something that’ll come through with age since it is only a month old??

 

[stephen1546]

Im a newbie too. Discussed these kits at my local homebrew shop. The longer left the better . On another note, i made the Cellar 7 Pinot kit recently and thought it tasted really good after only a couple of weeks, as did someone from my work whom i gave a bottle. Was told you had to leave the Cellar 7 kits for at least 6 weeks.

 

[Rob762]

I think I think I might have over degassed it there’s no fizz at all and I’m trying another white and there’s a slight fizz to it could this be the problem??

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Degassing will not make the wine taste watery and unless you are making a sparking wine you don't want any fizz, I haven't made these kits so cannot comment maybe try a different brand and 6 bottle kits until you find one you like.

You could also experiment using this http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49462

 

[110ben]

Kenridge kits do need time to mature and are great for reds. I prefer the cheaper kits around the £30 mark for whites and rose wines as they are ready to quaff much sooner.Solomon Grundy is my current go to for pinot and rose. California Connoisseur merlot is a pretty good quicker drinking red and is usually ok for my pallete after a month...Plenty to choose from out there and all part of the fun.

 

[2131tom]

I’ve made half a dozen Kenridge kits over the past 12 months and found them to be the best on offer (to my taste, anyhow) for the price. Beaverdale are a bit cheaper but consistently good and the Young’s 23l kits might be more basement prices but they still make excellent glugging wine

I made a Kenridge Pinot Grigio 6 weeks ago and it is thinner than others in the range, but isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? We started drinking our PG straight away, to find it was better than ok.

The Kenridge Merlot is equally acceptable drunk young but does improve markedly after 6-12 months in the bottle. Hard to achieve, maybe, but I find it best to do a couple of batches in quick succession which then allows you to ‘forget’ a few bottles in storage for a bit longer than you might otherwise.

 

[stephen1546]

Think a pinot is supposed to be crisp n fresh with not a whole lot going on with the taste buds. A subtle hit?.. Not that im an expert..

 

[Rob762]

The only reason I ask is the comment some people have said is that it’s a bit watery and I defiantly didn’t go over the 23L mark.

 

[StFlipper]

As @stephen1546 said, Pinot Grigio is "crisp and fresh", which in practice means rather watery in terms of colour and flavour, and on the light end of the ABV range too. Pinot Grigio is usually bottled in clear glass and looks pretty much like water:

Did you measure the specific gravity of the kit before and after fermentation? That would allow you to work out the ABV to see if it really is watery in alcohol terms.

I've made quite a few white wines from Beaverdale, Kenridge Classic, Vineco Atmosphere (previously Kenridge Showcase), and Selection Eclipse, and in generally the more you pay the more juice you get (10L for a Beaverdale or Kenridge Classic kit, 16L for a Vineco Atmosphere kit, 18L for Selection Eclipse) and the more "provenance" the juice. In other words a £40 kit might include 10L of "Sauvignon Blanc" grape juice but a £120 kit will include 18L of "New Zealand Marborough Sauvignon Blanc" juice. It might not always mean a nicer wine, but if you like the particular flavour that a certain region gives then it's an important factor.

My advice would be to go up one step to the Vineco Atmosphere kits, which takes the juice up to 16L rather that 10L. They cost about £25 more than the Kenridge Classic kits, but it still works out at under £2.50 a bottle for something which is generally significantly nicer than a supermarket wine two or three times the price. That said, supermarket Pinot Grigio is often pretty cheap anyway, so a kit works out as much less of a bargain than, say, a Gewürztraminer (rarely under £8 a bottle in shops) or Amarone (£15 or more).

 

[Rob762]

The abv was 12.5% so it’s hit the recommended amount. Ok I might try out one of those kits after my next batch is there somewhere online you get it from because my home brew shop doesn’t stock it?

 

[StFlipper]

I bought them from Home Brew Hop Shop but I'm sure a few places online have them.

 

[GDog]

Am also finding KenridgeClassic to be the sweet spot. Only 8 or 9 quid more than beaverdale/CC, and infinitely better. They aren't far behind some of the £60 and £80 kits I make, so I have almost stopped making those.