wine kit advice please

[Fender Precision]

Greetings Wino's, can you please point me in the right direction with a nice red wine kit. I have been brewing lots of beer kits since january and tried a 6 bottle "Youngs Definitive Cab sauv" recently. My beers turn out fine but the wine kit was sweet and fairly *****. I would ideally like to go for a 30 bottle kit but 6 bottles will suffice untill im confident enough that I wont be left 30 bottles of ****. Ive got several 33L F.V's and a glass DJ along with all the tubes and bits. What do I need now and which kit will I use to make some drinkable wine? I usually drink S.American merlot or Cab S. along with rioja and other spanish reds or south african reds.
Thanks in advance, F.P.

 

[Moley]

I don't make kit wines but I do understand that you get what you pay for.

The Young's kits are entry level, add sugar, you get a generic wine base and then have a flavouring sachet to add.

Go up market a bit to something like the Beaverdale or California Connoisseur and you get a bag of varietal grape juice with a glucose/fructose syrup already added, just add water and follow the instructions. Carry on up the scale and I've heard that the Kenridge Classic can be excellent.

I've only ever done a couple of the Beaverdale single gallon kits, the Rioja and the CabSauv, they were drinkable at 1 month and quite decent at 6 months, but if you go for the 30 bottle kit I would recommend that you brew it short and only aim for about 27 bottles to give it a bit more body.

 

[Simon2822]

I agree that you get what you pay for.
Before finding WOW I used to make 30 bottle kits from California Connoisseur (mainly the Pinot Noir). I used to add a bit of sugar to bring them up to the 14% mark (as standard I think tehy work out at around 11%). They were very good and if you can manage to leave them to mature for a while, they are excellent (I recently opened a bottle I found from my first Pinot Noir kit, nearly a year old, and it was better than some commercial wines I've tried).

Simon

 

[suzie]

Personally I hate the Young's kits. They are cheaper kits and as far as I understand they are a mixed fruit concentrate. Also the amount of juice is fairly low.

Try a Beaverdale kit their juice has more volume also good quality grape juice from the relevent region.
Cab sav, barolo, rioja. All of the red kits I have done have been top quality and are much much better than the Youngs kit.
6 bottle = £13 ish
30 bottle = £45 ish
worth every penny

 

[Fender Precision]

thanks for the replies, i think ill try a 6 bottle beaver dale kit. ill post up the results

 

[Wraeccan]

I've done a few of the Young's country 'fruit' wines and they tasted quite reasonable, and were very easy. All the flavouring is in the tin, they're pretty quick and reliable. Not fantastic but enjoyable none-the-less.
I've also done the Solomon Grundy Bilberry wine. This had a lot more sachet's and bits. Was a bit more complicated but still pleasant enough.

Finally, I've done the Young's basic red and white. These were...um...ok for cooking (which to be fair was my main reason for making them) but I certainly wouldn't offer them to a guest.

Think I'll remember the Beaverdale suggestion though. I also must get on and try the WOW. Problem is; I'm not keen on Orange flavoured drinks...

 

[Mr.Everready]

I also must get on and try the WOW. Problem is; I'm not keen on Orange flavoured drinks...

Moley will be along soon to describe how the process works but WOW doesn't taste of oranges :lol: It tastes like a nice white wine.