wine kits

[johnsonbrew]

This is my second wine kit and I cant really seem to tell the difference between the first kit and the second. The first kit was a cheap Vino Italiano Shiraz. The second kit was a Cellar Kraft Lodi Zinfandel that was considerably more expensive. The problem is, I cannot seem to tell much of a difference between the taste of the the two. Granted I have not tasted them side by side, but the same taste from the two of them is very similar. Why would two different styles of wine, one being very cheap and the other much higher quality with grape skins have very similar tastes and not much different characteristics. I expected a much different flavor and better quality of wine. Why would to wines with different quality taste very similar to each other. I will say that the Zinfandel is only 1 month in the bottle and probably has a long way to go but I am very confused and upset at this point, especially since I ordered my third kit, a Carmenere from Wine expert and dont need another case of the same tasting wine. Any ideas? Other than time?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

At one month it is way to early to tell. I've been making wine for a long time, I've only made 4 kits to see what it was all about, 3 Eclipse (premium kits) and one Kit that was a little bit cheaper, I usually make my wine from fresh grapes and juice buckets.
The big problem here is that the Vino Italiano Shiraz is a 4 week kit, there is no wine that is ready in 4 weeks, don't get me wrong, you can drink it, it won't be very good. These Vino Italiano kits are very low end kits, which is disappointing, a lot of new wine makers get discouraged after making these kits.
The cellar craft is a decent kit from what I've read, you need to age it at least a year, 18 months is even better.
I approach all of my wine with the knowledge that I won't be drinking any reds for 15-24 months, and whites between 6-12 months.
Patience is the key to wine making.

 

[johnsonbrew]

I am trying to have patience but I think it is more curiosity than anything. I knew going into it the vino italiano kit was cheap and not good, I did that one just to see what the process was like. I have/had much higher expectations for the cellar craft and was surprised that they had very similar tastes when they were different types of wine. I am trying to stay out of it but I just want to know what is going on inside that bottle.

 

[johnsonbrew]

What does new wine "taste" like? It seems that this Zinfandel kit tasted a lot better before it was sitting in the bottles. I seem to remember there was lots of promise in this wine and now that I tried a bottle 1 month later I am not so confident.

 

[HBngNOK]

What does new wine taste like? That's a good question. To me, new wine tastes "empty", i.e. lacks the body/mouth-feel characteristic of the wine it's supposed to be. The flavors haven't rounded, mellowed, and blended. There's a sharpness/astringency waiting to be softened. Maybe a sense of "rawness".

 

[johnsonbrew]

does new wine of different varieties taste similar? Like I said, I thought this one had promise but am concerned maybe it was exposed to too much oxygen or something. I ordered another kit of a different variety and from a different brand but am not thinking that I am just wasting money.