I bought a Merlot at Cosco. 2 Kits for 60 bucks. I thought at that price it was worth the chance. Any suggestions to make sure it turns out good. Or anything I can add.
It is a 23L kit but I am doing it at 19L right now.
Thanks.
Wonder if we bought the same. I bough 2 kits of Merlo for $50 Canadian at Sams Club--is yours Sommelier Brand out of Missisauga Ont>?
I have one batch going in my primary right now. I figure for less than a buck a bottle, even if it is plonk, it is still worth a buck/bottle, and that even included corks, labels and capsules
Keep us in the loop on these - post some thoughts after a few weeks/months. I've been tempted to try one of these as well but because of the general experience on red kits was going to try their white. If it came out as half decent table wine then why not... my relations grab half my output anyway.
Don
We've had pretty good luck with both the Opus V and the Chateau des Terrasses kits from Costco. Can't say the same for the 2 for $60 Vino Europa kits. Tried one white, don't remember which one, my wife uses it for "coolers" which she says are OK when mixed with some fizzy pop and/or fruit juice.
Ross
Will post intial thoughts in a couple of months. Everyone seems to agree the top quality kits are "worth the extra money" and I agree with that. However, sometimes you just want table wine as well.
I can get "free" wine kits at a grocery chain here-a points promotion related to banking, so I like to use the points for "free" wine kits. Problem is, the kits sold at the grocery store where I can use the points (Loblaws) are at the low end of the scale.
So far I have 3 "free kits" on the go-- a cab sav, chardonnay and a blackberry merlot cooler type wine. Alll are still not bottled, but considering they cost nothing, how can I complain? I do some top end kits as well for better quality quaffing.
I started my wine making with one of these Vino Europa Merlot kits. It was my first attempt and a friend walked me through making it. The directions are easy to follow, as long as you read them at least twice. I followed all of the instructions and made it as 23 litres.
I gave half of it to friends and all of them thought that it was a good wine. It turned out a little sweet, but after a month of sitting in the bottles, it seems to be loosing some of the sweetness. There was one person that I gave some to that does not drink reds without adding some ginger ale to it, but thought this one was great with out adding any thing.
The second half of the kit will be ready to be bottled in about a week.
Stephen
I don't mind so-so 'table' red wines...At least summer is coming...sangria season ;-)
John
I'm 50/50 on this. Half the time I think why not make a good table wine and save $20 or $30 on the kit, the other half of the time I think that alot of labour goes into this so why not spend a bit extra and make each one to a higher quality.
Don
If it was only 20 or $30 difference, I wouldn't care that much, but here are some of the prices I have paid in the past year, all are $Canadian, all for 23 litre kits:
Sam's Club $25 Loblaws $43 Vin Bon $45 (Juice-terrible results) Local Wine Store $50/$70/90 depending on quality Cellarcraft $80 Limited Editions $109
so with prices ranging from 25 to 109, there's quite a range. I like the premium ones, but for a low price, some cheap table wine is always on hand.
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