Suggest a wine kit to surprise my wife

[dnslater]

Hello all, I've been brewing beers for several years and thought it might be fine to try a wine kit. My wife is a big wine drinker and has fairly high standards. She usually drinks wines in the $10-$20 category, but definitely won't drink any wine. She gets wine delivered monthly from several places in the Russion River Valley that we have been too...........

I would like to try a wine kit, since it doesn't sound too complicated. She is a big fan of Sav Blanc and Cab Sav., so I might go that route, although I have heard that white's are more fool proof. Any suggestions on a quality kit to start with? My thought is to stash it away in a carboy in the basement for 1 year to age and surprise her with it next December (2015) for her birthday.

Any comments are appreciated. Also if you think I am setting myself up for failure....... Thanks

 

[Bob_wv]

I like the Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon with Grape Skins Wine Kit by Winexpert. It's a quality kit, and you'll pay for it. I Made it twice after one year I found it drinkable, 2-3 years it was much better.

 

[WI_Wino]

I agree with the recommendation to use a high end kit. Most of the $120+ kits will come with grape skins (either dry or wet like jam). These add tannins and mouthfeel to the wine. I have a Winery Series Old Vine Zinfandel that I started in 4/2013. Bottled it this past summer and have enjoyed a couple. Did a blind tasting with my sister in law and her husband, they thought it was store bought (they are also in the $10-20 a bottle range for their everyday wine).

Depending on personal preference, it is easy to add aging or finishing tannins and more oak to kit wines. Great wine takes time so be sure to plan for 1+ years of aging.

Whatever you do, completely avoid the cheap red wine kits on amazon. Not worth it. Right now I have 10+ gallons of "sangria" base I need to figure out a plan for.

 

[dnslater]

Thanks for the suggestions. My fear was to buy a kit that was too cheap, wait a year, and discover she won't drink it. I'm all for a higher end kit, looks like they are in the $150 range. Would be nice if she could start drinking after a year, but I understand the need for patience.

I'm assuming the steps are fairly easy to follow on these kits? Wouldn't want to screw up a $150 kit.

Also, when you age for 2-3 years, I'm assuming I would bulk age in a carboy for 1 year and then bottle age for the remaining time?

 

[WI_Wino]

Ritebrew carries winery series kits for $115 or so. En Premier for $130s. Shipping is probably $15 or so. I get almost everything from Ritebrew. The owner (Neil) is very accommodating and has stocked products per my request.

The instructions are generally pretty clear. The only "tweak" I would suggest for your first kit is to plan on bulk aging. The kit instructions usually have you bottle after 3 months or so. But to bulk age you'll need an appropriate size carboy (6 gallons, not the 6.5+ gallon acid carboy) and to add additional sulfites every 3 months or so.

 

[cernst151]

We brewed all of the wine for our wedding and were very happy with the results. The instructions on the kit are mostly very straightforward and wine is way easier than beer. We didn't bother with sulfates at any point in the process and 2 years later every bottle we open is still top notch. I have no idea if that will be a problem long term but we'll see.

The biggest problem we had as far as following the instructions was degassing. Their recommended method (stir stick on a drill) was worthless and we ended up with one slightly fizzy Merlot. It's good for Sangria but your wife probably wouldn't drink it. I recommend this.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UEMFUG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
The pump fits right on top of a standard carboy and as long as you don't have more than a few inches of head space it works wonders. I've heard people jury rigging something with electric vacuum sealers too but this was way easier.

As far as wines we were particularly happy with.
Red:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/winexpert-eclipse-lodi-old-vine-zinfandel-with-grape-skins.html
There used to be one called Trio Red that was great but I don't see it any more.

White:
We did a Sauvignon Blanc/Sangiovese blend that was also great but can't find that either.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/cellar-craft-showcase-yakima-pinot-gris.html

Probably the one we got the most compliments on though was the sparkling wine. Unfortunately, again, they no longer sell it. What I was told though is that it was a Moscato wine and then you just add sugar when you're bottling. Over all, I agree with the previous posters that you probably shouldn't bother with a kit that costs under $100 and, at least for reds, having the skins is worth it.

 

[WI_Wino]

For what's it worth, I have found that manual degassing is not needed after a year of bulk aging. I do have a brake bleeder from Harbor freight rigged up to help degass quick, simple wines like skeeter pee.

 

[cernst151]

For what's it worth, I have found that manual degassing is not needed after a year of bulk aging. I do have a brake bleeder from Harbor freight rigged up to help degass quick, simple wines like skeeter pee.

I guess I was in more of a hurry with the wedding coming up. I couldn't bulk age that long.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the suggestions. My fear was to buy a kit that was too cheap, wait a year, and discover she won't drink it. I'm all for a higher end kit, looks like they are in the $150 range. Would be nice if she could start drinking after a year, but I understand the need for patience.

I'm assuming the steps are fairly easy to follow on these kits? Wouldn't want to screw up a $150 kit.

Also, when you age for 2-3 years, I'm assuming I would bulk age in a carboy for 1 year and then bottle age for the remaining time?

The Cellar Craft "Showcase" kits have been good for us, and they are $170ish, and we loved this one: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/cellar-craft-showcase-red-mountain-cabernet.html

Follow the directions, but you may be able to skip the degassing step if you're aging in a carboy. It won't hurt to do it, though, so you may want to follow the instructions exactly. I generally leave mine in a carboy for 6 months before bottling the high end kits.

You'll have everything you need except corks, more potassium metabisulfite (powder or campden tablets are fine), and a corker. Some brew shops rent a floor corker, as they are the best and you'll want good quality #9 corks for an expensive wine kit which are hard to insert with a hand corker. Or, you may borrow wine from a friend maybe.

Edit- you definitely need a 6 gallon carboy for making wine kits!

 

[Verratti]

If she likes reds, may i recommend Amarone del valpolicela classiico from En Primeur

 

[mxstar21]

Winexpert's Eclipse Barolo was a big hit with all the red wine drinkers that tried mine.

 

[Bob_wv]

Winexpert's Eclipse Barolo was a big hit with all the red wine drinkersqthat tried mine.

Heard good things about that to. In the selection international series the brunello is quite good. A lititle cheaper than the Eclipse series. $99 Southern homebrew.

As long as we're on the subject of wives, anyone reccomend a good riesling kit? She likes blue nun.

 

[uncleleon]

Petite Shiraz if you can find it.

 

[Cyclman]

The Winexpert and Cellar Showcase wines are great, but age will improve the reds significantly. I have a Cab, a Zin, and a Temperanillo in bottle right now, along with a Sauv. Blanc, a Moscato, and of course a Skeeter Pee and an Ed Wort's Apfelwein. My wife loves them all, loves to take them for girl's night out.