OK, we all know how Amarone is made. So when the proprietor told me the En Primeur Amarone kit contained "dried grapes", my initial excitement was quickly subdued by my normal skepticism about red wine kits, so I asked, "Are we talking about a pack of your basic grocery store variety raisins here"? Well, he says, that's what's in the next kit level down, so probably...
Hmmm. Oh what the hell, I'm in an experimental mood, so I buy the kit, take it home, rip open the box as if it's Christmas and I can't wait to see what surprises are in store and sure enough.... a 375g pack of Sun-Maid raisins, best before date July 20, 2005. Well, that still gives me 5 days to make the kit, I guess Wine Kit manufacturers buy their raisins from Liquidation World, or some such place. BTW, does anyone know what 375g of raisins would translate to in terms of pre-dehydrating grape weight?
So, I start researching this a bit on the Spagnol's and Winepress forums, and I find people raving about this product. Some go so far as to add in even more than comes with the kit. I don't know, part of me wants to make the kit as they intended it to be made, but I'm tempted to just eat the raisins as a snack. I'd rather people think it was a decent attempt at a Valpolicella-style, than think, hmmm, kinda tastes like a Valpolicella, but there's something weird in there that's oddly familiar, what the heck could it be.... ;-)
Brian