The Cal. Con. kit comes with the Lalvin (Champagne) yeast. Not tried Beaverdale as some folk have commented that it's not so good, so is it just the yeast that lets it down?
Brew UK emailed me about Kenridge Classic @ £44.98 for 30 bottle kit, boasting 50% more juice than Cal. Con & Beaverdale. Has anyone tried it yet?
As for water, depends where you live. Thames water has been, to put it politely, recycled several times, passed through leaky pipes, picked up agricultural run off chemical residue and before it gets to me, definitely passes through old lead pipes as well as having been dosed with chlorine, etc. But I've been drinking it for 60 years, so I'm immune, but I do filter it nowadays for tea, coffee and culinary use!
I've only drank Barolo once, at an Italian cafe in Twickenham. It may have been a cheap one, but we all got very high on it!