How do kit wines stack up against store bought wines?

Thank you to the guys that responded in my other thread. Now I have a different question that is more about the quality of wine. How do the kits stack up against commercial wine? Someone on BA suggested that you won't be making high quality wine with kits because they are not fresh enough. What is your experience with them? Are kits kind of the "no boil home brew kits" of wine making?

i've made a couple of kits. they went over very well. they won't compare to the $100 a bottle stuff, of course, but they will hold up to bottles way more expensive than what the kits cost

My fruit wines stacks up great. Costs me about 2.00 bucks a bottle that is far superior to 12.00 winery grade blackberry wine. That goes for all my fruit wine.

The thing that kills me on the kit wines is the shipping. Ordered 15 gal in 5 gal pails and it cost me 145.00 in shipping. So when I get my fresh blackberries, like Jarret said I can make it for about 1.20 a bottle as I barter with the Farmer for the berries....

I've made a Brunello that doesn't compare to a $300 Brunello. It is very good, though.

I've made Pino Noirs that are every bit as good as $15 Pinos.

I've made Merlots that suck, but still better than Barefoot (My wifes personal fav).

I've just finished a Cab Franc that, even though young, tastes as good as $30 bordeaux.

Mist kits are way better than commercial mist wines.

It depends on how well you work with the ingredients.

To say that kits aren't "fresh" enough, you do realize that wines are not supposed to be fresh except for Beaujolais nouveau.

The kits can make wine that is on par with the quality of wine 3-4x the retail cost of the kit. Like homebrewing beer, a lot of the quality depends on the quality of your process. If your sanitation is perfect, your handling practices are good, and you properly clear and age your wine before drinking, the kits are an outstanding value.

Check around your local area. If there are on-premise wineries where make your own custom wine, they are almost certainly producing wine with the kits, so you can stop in and buy a few bottles to try yourself before you commit to a batch.

My parents have been making wine for about a year and they have done some that are quick and you can drink them as soon as you bottle and some that have to age for a year.

I haven't tasted one they've done that I didn't like. $3/bottle or less for win you like beats paying whatever the liquor stores are charging every day of the week.

They just started opening some bottles that go for $40-$60/bottle at the liquor store and the kit was less than $100.

Thanks guys. I went ahead and ordered the equipment that I need. You guys were a big help.
P.s- for those of you that mentioned shipping costs, brewmasterswarehouse.com has flat rate shipping which includes their wine kits.

If you go more than $100 on an order at Austin Homebrew shipping is free. One wine kit and corks will typically put you over that price limit.

I agree with all that is said here about the kits, plus one other thing. I got fruit+grape wine kits -like a green apple rieseling. I couldn't have found such a bottle at my local wine seller. So in that sense what I made can't be compared to the store wines, except to say I like them as much as anything I'd bought.

So a little bit of that is like beer, if you want a Honey Belgium Wit, you've got to make it yourself, if you want a passable pale american lager, the store has tons of them.

I've only made WineXpert kits...but...

I take my $75-ish kit that makes 6 gallons (2 cases), which puts me at about $3 a bottle.
That wine is MUCH MUCH better than Trader Joe's "2 buck chuck" (which is $2.99 a bottle), hands down.

And it does age and mature in the bottle, and there' are tricks (rasins, banana soup) to increase the body and mouthfeel of the cheaper red kits too.

So, yeah, they make a very drinkable wine that I find to be of better overall quality/taste than 'equivalent' priced commercial wines.

I don't make a ton of wine, but I enjoy the process and results for sure. You can make REALLY cheap cooking wine too if you like.

DoctorCAD said:

I've made a Brunello that doesn't compare to a $300 Brunello. It is very good, though.

I've made Pino Noirs that are every bit as good as $15 Pinos.

I've made Merlots that suck, but still better than Barefoot (My wifes personal fav).

I've just finished a Cab Franc that, even though young, tastes as good as $30 bordeaux.

Mist kits are way better than commercial mist wines.

It depends on how well you work with the ingredients.

To say that kits aren't "fresh" enough, you do realize that wines are not supposed to be fresh except for Beaujolais nouveau.

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I'm new to wine making as also this forum, would be interested what kit you used for the Cab/Frc? Any tweaks you used to make it exceptional, I've read of some who use fresh grapes,raisins,currents ,bananas etc. to add complexity and mouth feel but don't know why and when?

Thax in advance,

+1 to spigots. I've just gotten into winemaking and would love to hear any suggestions as to improving the kit wines that we are working on right now




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Primary1: BYO Magic Hat #9 Clone
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Drinking: "Black Idea" Cascadian Dark, McQaker's Oatmeal Stout

Ive only been at this for a month so too new to give any worthy advise, though there are several things I plan to try. For instance buying fresh grapes next fall then freezing to add to kit later, buying oak barrel, and adding Biolees which seems the rage .

With wine kits, you do get what you pay for. For example, the Wine Expert Estate kits come with juice from specific vineyards in specific regions rather than bulk varietal juice. The extra cost is worth it.

I've made the Marlborough (NZ) Sauvignon Blanc kit a couple of times now and have been very pleased. Early on it was a bit harsh, but with a little age the wine was comparable to any $10-$15 bottle of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Would it stand up to a $30 bottle? Probably not, but my finished cost was less than $5/bottle, so we were pleased with the wine. And, most important, my wife the picky wine drinker really liked it.

For those of you who have been making a good quality wine in your kits, what particular brand do you recommend. I'm looking at purchasing one which consists of a 7.8 gallon bucket and a 6 gallon glass carboy and all of the other accessories needed. The kit is a True Brew, Gold Wine Making Equipment Kit for about $129.99 plus S&H from monsterbrew.com. Anyone used this particular kit and do you recommend it? Thanks!

xoramn said:

For those of you who have been making a good quality wine in your kits, what particular brand do you recommend. I'm looking at purchasing one which consists of a 7.8 gallon bucket and a 6 gallon glass carboy and all of the other accessories needed. The kit is a True Brew, Gold Wine Making Equipment Kit for about $129.99 plus S&H from monsterbrew.com. Anyone used this particular kit and do you recommend it? Thanks!

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Think they're all pretty much the same, though you might want to upgrade a few items in the kit from the getgo. A floor mounted corker and the larger diameter racking equipment are well worth the price.

just some random price info for your comparison:

my wife is from Milan, Italy and a $20 bottle of wine here is equivalent to a bottle that costs about 3-5 Euros over there. it's all import and marketing that drives cost, not quality.
so when comparing your kit wines to bottles here, keep that in mind. your kit is probably very close to what is out there with the exception the high end.

Bump !

Ok, I started out with beer, switched to mead and now having impure thoughts about making wine-making. My dad being a wine nut says i can not make wine that is as good as a store bought, the wine nut never spends more then a $30 on a bottle.... I am thinking of starting with a $50 wine kit (that has grape juice and yest and chemicals, but no equipment.) Given that it's summer. I am also looking for a way to turn a closet into a clear, so I need to cool it to 55f for wine aging and lagering.

Any thoughts and or comments ?

You should do the high end kits of 150 or more. They should be 20 dollar quality or so.

ChelisHubby said:

You should do the high end kits of 150 or more. They should be 20 dollar quality or so.

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Agred. You may need to look up and do "extended maceration" for some of the more full reds, though, to get a super-fast excellent wine (instead of just good). The generic instructions seem to result in insufficient tannin extraction, so some might seem unbalanced toward the sweet side.

ChelisHubby said:

You should do the high end kits of 150 or more. They should be 20 dollar quality or so.

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I see different prices, so like World Vineyard kits that cost 150 some places and 80-90 some other places.

There is also a local store that cells California Grape Juice for like $60(6 gallons). He said that most complains were that the juice started to ferment since it's last year's juice. He is offering 3 for $100 discount. I can not deal with 3 buckets of grape juice unless i get a distilling still.

honkey said:

How do the kits stack up against commercial wine?

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Poorly. You really need a stop or something to keep the bottles from rolling away.