willliams brewing wine kits?

[krenshaw]

i wanted to start on a red wine and a white wine to start aging in my basement.. for the price/reviews, it seems that the kits from williams brewing are quite good.. i've ordered beer stuff from them so i know they are good company, but has anybody tried their wine kits? or have recommendations for reasonably priced ones from other places?

California Riesling Kit

California Pinot Noir Kit

 

[sweetsdream]

They look pretty nice. I have no experience but I will certainly subscribe to this thread to see what others say. I like how they never raise the temperature over 180 degrees and have no sugar or acid added. I also like that they are 5 gallon kits so I could use my 5 gal carboys (I have 7) while my seasonal juice ferments in the bigger carboys.

 

[ArcaneXor]

They seem very concentrated - if that's fluid ounces, it'd be 1.5 gallons of concentrate. Most commercial wine kits come with anywhere between 9 and 15 liters of concentrate (and some of the most expensive ones come with a full six gallons of unconcentrated juice).

 

[Yooper]

They seem very concentrated - if that's fluid ounces, it'd be 1.5 gallons of concentrate. Most commercial wine kits come with anywhere between 9 and 15 liters of concentrate (and some of the most expensive ones come with a full six gallons of unconcentrated juice).

Yes, I"d probably not use these kits because of the high concentrate. My preference is to use more juice, less concentrate. Otherwise, there is a "kit taste" that doesn't seem to go away.

So, that kit makes 640 ounces using 192 ounces of concentrate. This kit: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/produ...d=763&osCsid=48ea72cebbed3befe8d5388be944a69b (I've seen it cheaper locally) uses 333 ounces (2.6 gallons) to make 768 ounces of wine. The "lowest quality" kit I would go with is that Vintner's Reserve kit. But I've seen it for $57 from time to time at another place.

 

[krenshaw]

ah, never noticed that before.. makes sense that the less the difference between the kit and the final volume the more likely the better product.. i'll keep that in mind..