I want to make a pinot noir and see kits on the market from $75 to $150. I believe that the per bottle price difference is insignifigant but is there any perceptible difference in quality between those kits?
In general the answer is a resounding YES. Quality in wine kits is usually tied to price. That does not mean you will not enjoy the cheaper kits. Heck, you might even like them better so maybe you should try one. There are some kits in the $75 to $90 range that I really like. And there are a few that are in the high price range that I did not like as well. But if you are just starting out, go for the high priced kit and you will be less likely to be disappointed.
I will say that I am much more impressed with white wine kits than red, though I like red wine and make it, just not from kits. But that is me.
Ray
My experience has been that the more expensive the wine kit, the (noticeably) better the end product.
Woods
It is the same grape juice, but they are diluted different. If anyone tells you this is not so, they are a total smuck!
Manufacture use a dilution for cheaper kits, where's a high end is solid juice. How to turn a low-end kit into a high end product is an art in itself.
If you are bumming out on "Sideways" and Pinot Noir and are trying to aceive this via a kit... yeah, if life was just that easy.
SG Brix
Kit Consists of Concentrate (either of the Varietals used or neutral base) and varying amounts of juice which was flash pasturized. THE GREATER THE AMOUNT/QUALITY OF JUICE HIGHER THE PRICE. This is due to higher cost of juice/packaging and transportation. Concetrate is much cheaper than Flash pasturized juice . Much of it comes from Argentina or Chili.
Example a 7.5 litre kit will have about 3.0 liters + of concentrate and 4.5 liters or less of varietal juice
A 15 liter Kit will have 2.0 Liters +/- of Concentrate and up to 13 liters of varietal juice.
My exprience is the 15 + litre kit are much better than the 7.5 liter kits, and work out to being about $1.50 bottle more. I use the kits mostly for 2ns run wines fermented on the pomance (prssed skings/seeds ete) of 1st run wine from grapes.
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