Wines for the Cheap of Palate

[Conan]

Hi all. My wife's looking to start making wine and I think it's a great idea, but we don't have any idea what kits to start with. We recently found out we like cheap wine- Yellow Tail and Barefoot are our go-to brands (mostly because they're $5), though we do like Niagara/ Finger Lakes wines. We also know our varietal preferences.

What kits do you recommend based on our cheap tastes? It's a little hard to spend $150 or so on cellar wine that we won't touch for many months, and would rather have a table wine to work through over that time. Are the <$100 kits even worth making? Thanks! Kyle

 

[Descender]

Midwest brewing supply has kits below $70. Pretty good variety. Can't vouch for the quality, never made them. Or you could start with Welch's white grape juice to get your feet wet...

 

[DoctorCAD]

There are LOTS of kits priced below $100. Probably 75% of all kits are less than that.

My favorites have become Williams Brewing concentrate kits (5 gallons for $63). They easily taste better than Barefoot (which is all my wife drinks and I think tastes like bare feet) and are simple to make. I'm currently enjoying a 15 month old Williams Pino Noir as I type.

 

[Yooper]

The best "cheap kits" I've found are the Winexpert brand. They are actually pretty good- uncomplex, like a $5-7 bottle of wine, and very drinkable.

They sometimes go on sale in a LHBS near here for $55 or so, but usually are around $60-70, depending on type.

They make 30 bottles of finished wine.

 

[Wulfonce]

I don't know how cheap you want to get, but I'm making wine from frozen concentrate for 66 cents a bottle, and it tastes better then alot of the other kits I've tried.

My last concentrate batch was mango. It came out excellent. Yesterday I started one with peach and another with lemon/lime. There's endless combos you can do with different flavors, apple/cherry, peach/pineapple etc.

I use 20 12oz cans per batch. 17 to ferment and the other 3 to sweeten. It works out pretty well, giving 8-10% alcohol, and the flavor is really good.

Happy drinking!

 

[Cyclman]

When doing a wine kit, a $180 kit works out to $6 per bottle, so even the most expensive kits end up a great value on a per bottle basis.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I did a Winexpert Merlot kit last summer, ~$180. $6 per bottle for some very good wine. It was a well done kit. By my tastes, this wine is on par with a Merlot from a favorite vintner that goes for $20 a bottle. Very much worth the cost of the kit.

I highly recommend investing in a good kit, even if high priced. The quality of the wines are excellent, better than the brands you'll find in the liquor mart.

The lower priced kits might get you some good wine too, but I really think even the high-end kit costs are very reasonable if you consider the cost of purchasing 30 bottles of wine of an equivalent quality.

 

[tdaddy54]

Hey Conan I was just like you I didn't care if a bottle cost $10 if I liked the taste and the abv was up and I felt a good buzz GREAT. I am no expert at this like some people here ( very low experience ) but I started with kits from Winexpert ( Island Mist ) and Cornucopia that were fantastic and shopped on-line and found from anywhere around $48 to $65 / kit that's 28 to 30 bottles !!! Cornucopia kits come with corks, shrink caps, and labels How can u beat that. Ready to bottle Cornucopia Raspberry Pinot Noir tomorrow...

 

[Conan]

Thanks for the responses. I guess what I mean to say instead of cheap is uncomplex (as Yooper suggested). I realize you all probably get this question all the time, and I searched but couldn't quite find the answer I needed. I think we'll look in to the Winexpert Vintner's Reserve for a first attempt. Thanks again! Kyle

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Thanks for the responses. I guess what I mean to say instead of cheap is uncomplex (as Yooper suggested). I realize you all probably get this question all the time, and I searched but couldn't quite find the answer I needed. I think we'll look in to the Winexpert Vintner's Reserve for a first attempt. Thanks again! Kyle

That's a good choice. I enjoy their lower priced kits as my 'house wine' all the time.