what 30 bottle kit to buy?

[Brycey]

I'm looking to do my first red wine kit.I was thinking either a barollo or rioja.

California connisure,beaverdale and kendridge all seem to be in the same kind of price range so has anyone got an opinion on which of these kits is best?

Cheers
B

 

[alanywiseman.]

I have a beaverdale Barollo to start in a few weeks time. I picked it based on things s people were saying at wines at home forum. I get the impression they are not too dissimilar though.

 

[fermentall]

done lots of beaverdale & cc kits they are all reasonably good & get better for aging awhile. :

 

[Trev_bo]

Hi, I've done a couple of Beaverdales and 4 CC's and they all turned out very nicely. I did a gallon at first before I commited my self to a big kit but 2nd time around I just bought the one I fancied. Never been disappointed : .

 

[Brycey]

I'm thinking the kenridge for the juice content.

Beaverdale-5.5l CC-7.5l kenridge-10l.I've no experience doing wine but i'm assuming more juice better wine.
I found a sight that has the kenridge kits for £46,free delivery over £45 so they are roughly the same as the other two on other sites.The beaverdale and CC are on offer as well £38 but the free delivery is kind of making my mind up.

Sorry don't know how to post links and it's not one of the sponsors so don't know if this is frowned upon.If anyone is intrested and it doesn't break any rules i'll stick there name up.

B

 

[Bobbynog]

After pouring through reviews I went for the Kenridge classic Barolo and Sauvignon blanc. After trying some very cheap kits in the past I didn't want to be faced with lack of body and flavour so the 10 litres of juice made my mind up.

We have hard water so I used value bottled water to make it up. The Barolo is clearing nicely and the odd taste along the way was promising and the Sauvignon blanc is bubbling away now.

Wine doesn't last long in our house so going straight into 5l bag in the box and expect 20+ litres will be gone in a couple of months.

If these are good I am tempted to push it to the showcase range, especially the NZ Sauvignon blanc as it is great value per bottle. These have 16 litres of juice so I would expect some good results.

 

[bobsbeer]

You tend to get what you pay for with kits. I only make red kits and tend to go for Beverdale. Results are always good. I find that WOW type brews are as good if not better than white kits so having tried one a few years ago have not tried since. But like all wines a few months maturing does a great deal to the taste. I find the minimum is about 4-6 months. After that the improvements are slight. But they do continue to improve. Having said that wine rarely gets past 12 months in our house despite intensive brewing.

 

[Shirazzy]

I think you made the right choice if you want quick drinking : I started a Ken Ridge Shiraz and a Beaverdale Cab Sav a couple of months ago and now they are bottled both taste great (to my limited palate) but I can tell the Beaverdale, though good, will improve with age while the Ken Ridge is pretty much what I'd expect from a reasonable Shiraz right now but I can't imagine it changing much.

Interestingly the Ken Ridge instructions say best drunk within 6 months while the Beaverdale instructions say best left to mature, and (possibly interestingly?) the next kit I put on, a Barollo, I chose to go for Beaverdale as I wanted something that I could put a few bottles away for long term maturing and hopefully have something a bit more special

 

[Brycey]

Kenridge barollo ordered
Along with a the stuff for an extract brew,bottle tree and auto syphon.What the hell it's my birhday next week

B

 

[ScottM]

I've never tried either of those but I quite fancy trying a Roja kit at some point.

I've brewed the Kenridge classic Cabernet/Shiraz and I have a Kenridge classic Shiraz maturing at the moment.

The Cabernet/Shiraz I started drinking after a month, very drinkable IMO and quite nice. It's now over 6 months old (maybe even 7 or 8, would need to check my notes) and it's fantastic. I would say it's now at its peak though as while I did notice a lot of change in the first 3 or 4 months, I've not noticed much of a change since. Great news if you want to drink it early-ish. No issues with allowing it to mature for longer though, not noticed any detrimental effects whatsoever.

As with all kits they over-estimate how much you can make with what they have supplied. If you want a great wine the easy way I would hold back to 20L and use bottled water. If you plan to mature in bulk I would move it to your bulk ageing vessel just before fermentation finishes. That way there will be a CO2 blanket to protect the wine and stop it from oxidising.

I ended up ditching the instructions on the 2nd batch. I didn't like the idea of fermenting on oak chips rather than maturing, so I switched that part around. I also didn't bother using any of the fining agents, potassium sorbate or anything like that, natural-ish wine for me :)

 

[Pearlfisher]

I've made the Kenridge Sauvignon Blanc and it's the best white I've made so far ,previously did Reserve Du Chateau,Beaverdale,Vintners World Reserve ,in reverse order of preference.
The best red I've made so far is the Selection Chateau Du Roi which is the best red I've ever tasted in my life.
I've a Kenridge Showcase Cabernet/Shiraz to make next when the FV is free.

 

[Bobbynog]

Was the Sauvignon blanc the classic or the showcase?

 

[Pearlfisher]

Just the Classic.

 

[tonyhibbett]

With the Kenridge Classic you are paying for good quality quick results. The barolo actually deteriorates after 6 months while their CC version greatly improves after that and surpasses the KC, and for that matter any other red wine kit I have made. I suspect that the extra quantity in the KC is due to some unconcentrated grape juice. The final abv % is the same for both. The KC version additionally includes dried elderberries.