Selection Estate and Crushendo series

[KellsSimon]

I was on the Hop and grape site and saw these kits, and the price blew me away. As a total noob, i did think that some of the attraction of home brewing was price, but at roughly £6 per bottle before you brew it... is it that good? or would i be buying juice so good only to ruin it?
Has any one made wine from one of these kits?
and is it worth the £6+ per bottle? with no big tax on wine it must be really really good juice!

[lockwood1956]

Where do you get the figure of £6 a bottle


they are around £110 for a 30 bottle kit, thats £3.66 a bottle....and the quality of the wine is nothing short of staggering....I have made some of them...truly outstanding, you would need to pay at least £12 a bottle for a commercial wine that came close

[KellsSimon]

i may have buggered upmy maths there....
just like me really.
But are they really that good? as in worth £110 ?

[rjb222]

i may have buggered upmy maths there....
just like me really.
But are they really that good? as in worth £110 ?

I am a dealer and you get what you pay for with any kit manufacturer You pay for more varietal juice and less concentrate regional variety. The system no mater which manufacture works like this. The larger the kit is the less water you need to add the less concentrate the less concentrate the better the wine will be because there are less altered sugars.High end kits will contain regional juice as well as regional concentrate with mid range kits they contain concentrate from the region described and juice from where they get the best supply IE Chilean wine in mid range would contain concentrate from Chile and California or Ontario juice. Upper end would contain both concentrate and juice from Chile.

[lockwood1956]

But are they really that good? as in worth £110 ?

yes they truly are

[lockwood1956]

Tell you what.......


I fancy doing another of the corvino classico kits...i'll go halves with you


its rubbish till its two years old mind

[P cuthbert]

I'll take you up on that one Bob.

[cpfan]

Gee Pat you beat me too it.

KellsSimon:

Winexpert's Selection kits (especially Estate & Crushendo) are Excellent kits. Unfortunately (for you, but not me) they are made in Canada, and there is a hefty freight charge included in your price.

If you can afford it, make one soon. For a red, wait till next fall 2009 (or later) before trying. I'm sure that you will be impressed.

Note there are other comparable brands. Unfortunately I don't know which ones are available in the UK. Since Vineco products have been mentioned here, I will suggest the Ken Ridge Showcase and Founders Series. (BTW, I'm well known as a Vineco kit fan.)

Steve

[lockwood1956]

I made the founders series super tuscan, took nearly two years to fully come into its stride, but when it did it was fab

[Richard S]

Winexpert's Selection kits (especially Estate & Crushendo) are Excellent kits. Unfortunately (for you, but not me) they are made in Canada, and there is a hefty freight charge included in your price.

I don't know how much you pay in Canada but a WineExpert Selection kit is around £60 here.

That reminds me, I need to get that Sonoma Creek Chardonnay kit on.

[cpfan]

So £60 for a regular Selection? And according to Bob £110 for an Estate/Crushendo.

Perhaps the original poster (KellsSimon) should try a regular Selection kit first.

Steve

[KellsSimon]

Cheers folks , this is all good information.
Are there brands of good / premium juice from old world grapes? i.e. france italy spain? less travel costs and food miles? and as i'm still brewing by the 1gallon demijohn what would you recomend by way of a smaller kit or supply of juice?

[lockwood1956]

there are 1 gallon kits available out there, by Beaverdale, Heron Bay and vineco that are good quality, all around £9 to £12