Need a Recommendation

Well, I have not seen or made a sherry kit, but if she likes PORTS, which I consider close, (what do I know? smile)then the 3 gallon WinExpert makes a great Ruby port. My neighbors like it, I like it, and it's almost gone, again.

I'll be anxious to hear about Sherry kits, though. DAve

Dick Adams wrote:

I don't know about a kit but years ago my Dad and I made a Sherry as per recipe in C.J.J. Berry's book. We compared the wine to a bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream and no one could tell the difference. I now longer have the book but I believe the recipe used apricots, bananas, prunes, raisons and a few other ingredients.

I'm sure that all of the kit companies make a pretty decent sherry. One point is that they are usually 11.5 litre kits, so you will need a small carboy, or make two kits in a 23 litre carboy.

The kit that I have experience with is Vineco's Ken Ridge Classic Sherry. Good feedback, but personally I don't like any sherry, so ...no comment....

However, Vineco's kits are readily available in Canada, but have nearly non-existent distribution in the US.

Steve

I have made Winexpert Sherry kits and they came out very good. I made creme style and dry sherry and both were good.

My family enjoyed them

Later, A.J. The Anchorage Fishwrapper and Litterbox Liner Press

Dick, Does she like sweet or dry? I made some cream (sweet) sherry from a can of Alexanders Chenin Blanc that was awful wine. I just let it oxidize in my furnace room, added vodka to get the alcohol up and added sugar to taste. It's still aging but was good last I checked.

Joe

I don't think I would recomend this receipe but back in the 90's I made 10 gallons of dewberry wine from berries my wife spend days picking. I put it back in a closet and forgot it. Of course the airlock dried out and it oxidised. I left it there for 5 years after that because I could not pour it out and I sure did not want to admit I had wasted all her berries. Finally she was gone for a weekend and I needed the carboys. I started to pour it out but decided to taste it first to see what really badly oxidised shere stated like. It tastes like sherry. Whe she got home I had her taste it and she imediately said, "It tastes just like sherry!". Any way I fortified it and sweetened some and now have more sherry than I will ever drink.

You could do basically the same thing with almost any heavy wine but I would recommend you use a sherry yeast. It might be even better.

Ray

Dick - I've done the WinExpert Sherry kit several times now. Depending on whether you add all of the "F-pack", you can make something from a fairly dry Amontillado style, to a very sweet Cream Sherry. If you're aiming for a very crisp Fino style of sherry (which would surprise me, but one never knows), you would be disappointed. For what it does, though, I thought it was quite pleasant. As mentioned in other posts, these kits are 1/2 size (they make about 11 liters, or about 15 bottles). For a lot of folks, that's a reasonable size. If you want more, buy two. :-)

Oh, I've done their Port kit as well, and I like it, too, but it's really nothing like a Sherry. (Well, they both originate in Iberia, are both fortified, and often sweet. Other than that, nothing in common.)

Doug