my favorite wine - white zinfandel

I made a zinfandel blush which turned out pretty good with a nice berry flavor. I did the same kit a second time and it wasn't very good, I can't explain it very well other than to say it had a much less pronounced berry flavor and was harsher. I had it temperature controlled at 68 degrees during primary fermentation and whatever the instructions recommended after that. My wine store guy said to stop fermentation at a hydrometer reading of 1.00 and the sweetness will be better. Coming from a beer brewing background I don't know much about wine, has anyone heard of this and will it bring out the berry flavor more or are wine kits just inconsistent like that, with one batch being good and the next not so good?

Was there a reserve pack with the kit? Were they the same kits?

You don't want to attempt to artificially attempt to stop fermentation in a kit. Allow it to ferment all the way then simply make a sugar water solution and backsweeten to get the desired taste. Start with one cup of sugar issolved in one cup of water. If it's already bottled, stir in a half teaspoon of sugar in a glass as you drink it.

Not all kits are created equal or have same shelf life.

they were the exact same kit. I'm not sure what a reserve pack is.

I meant not all producers of kits have same quality. Talk to store you purchused them at and they may fix it for you