Some Sauvignon Blanc advice please!

Hi Guys

My wife absolutely loves New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, it would be her choice over any wine given that choice!

So in the interests of our bank balance I undertook to brew some of our own. I must stay I have started from a point of zero knowledge and reading posts on this forum has been a real help. Our local homebrew shop only had a couple of choices and I really didn't even know what was out there so I have just bottled a Californian Connoisseur Sauv Blanc. I have to say I'm fairly pleased and as a comparison to some of the cheaper Sauv Blancs available in the supermarket its better!

So I have one under my belt, it didn't go wrong and I want to up the stakes and create a nicer wine. Are there any hard and fast rules/ special tips that you might be able to offer to improve my chances of creating a really nice wine? :pray:

I fancy the Kenridge NewZealand Sauv Blanc kit as it has something like 14.5 litres of juice with it (double the Californian Connoisseur!) its a bit more expensive but by no means top of the pile. Does volume of juice necessarily = better quality? Also would anyone be able to say if this is a good kit? :wha:

Do you add the preservative, (the instructions on the Californian Connoisseur said it was optional) so is it necessary?!

And are there any additional ingredients that you might add to promote the flavour of the wine during or after the process? Getting quite excited about this whole home brew thing now!

Thanks in advance for any advice. :grin:

Leo

I have only made Winebuddy sauvignon blanc, which suits me fine. The california connosseur reds are very good, so I would expect their whites to be equally good. Here's an economy tip. Make some winebuddy sauv b and serve it up after the first glass of the cal con version. See if you notice the difference!

I've recently bottled a 6 bottle California Connoisseur Sav Blanc kit. The main purpose was to see if it good enough to consider splashing out on the 30 bottle version.

As is often the case the sixth bottle was only a little over three quaters full, so we decided to drink it that evening (purely for scientific research you understand) whilst letting the remaining 5 bottles mature for a few weeks before sampling.

This is the first wine kit I've attempted so I've nothing to compare it with, however it really was very good, Mrs Slate Miner was also impressed :thumb: Certainly the flavours were not as intense as the NZ Marlborough Sav Blancs, just a very pleasant wine which would easily cost £5 from your local supermarket, it will be interesting to see how it tastes after a few weeks.

Slate Miner said:

I've recently bottled a 6 bottle California Connoisseur Sav Blanc kit. The main purpose was to see if it good enough to consider splashing out on the 30 bottle version.

As is often the case the sixth bottle was only a little over three quaters full, so we decided to drink it that evening (purely for scientific research you understand) whilst letting the remaining 5 bottles mature for a few weeks before sampling.

This is the first wine kit I've attempted so I've nothing to compare it with, however it really was very good, Mrs Slate Miner was also impressed :thumb: Certainly the flavours were not as intense as the NZ Marlborough Sav Blancs, just a very pleasant wine which would easily cost £5 from your local supermarket, it will be interesting to see how it tastes after a few weeks.

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My story is pretty much the same... though we went for the 30 (28.5!) bottle kit and have had to test it a couple of times now since I bottled... on Monday!!!! I have to say that I am impressed with it and as you say it out competes the cheaper super market Sauv Blancs hands down. I was wondering if anyone had splashed out that little bit more for a higher juice brand and whether it was actually worth the extra cost.

I can only speak of the Cal Con and Kenridge Classic versions of barolo, the difference being that the latter is 2.5 litres bigger, the extra being pure varietal unconcentrated grape juice, plus a small bag of dried elderberries and 30 self-adhesive labels. The real difference was that it was ready to drink immediately. I've heard reports that it deteriorates in time and I already suspect this to be the case. After a few weeks, I could not distinguish between the 2. They are both 12% abv. So in this case, I would stick with the Cal Con.

tonyhibbett said:

I can only speak of the Cal Con and Kenridge Classic versions of barolo, the difference being that the latter is 2.5 litres bigger, the extra being pure varietal unconcentrated grape juice, plus a small bag of dried elderberries and 30 self-adhesive labels. The real difference was that it was ready to drink immediately. I've heard reports that it deteriorates in time and I already suspect this to be the case. After a few weeks, I could not distinguish between the 2. They are both 12% abv. So in this case, I would stick with the Cal Con.

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Interesting!