Is anyone aware of Reserve du Chateau? I believe it is a wine kit
> brand name. Any info re: Dealers, Distributors, Importers, etc.
> appreciated. I live in N.BC. and the local hardware store can bring
> this in for me. I want to compare it with popular brands. If someone
> has made this wine please share your opinions. They come with 30
> caps/labels/corks and are 28 day kits. Thank you.
Kevin,
"Reserve du Chateau" is a widely used appellation (see
I would expect that any wine kit with such an ostentatious name is probably relatively poor quality, especially when the name is tacked onto a 28-day kit. I couldn't locate anything on the internet that would identify the source of this product, or any distributor or retail outlets listing it. Perhaps your hardware store can provide you with the information, or at least a telephone number you can call to find out more about the product.
BrewKing, Vintners Reserve, and Selection are generally considered to be good quality kits, and are available through most (local, mail-order, and internet) homebrew stores. If I were going to purchase a kit, I would select one of these, rather than an unknown. Even if "Reserve du Chateau" is considerably cheaper, you usually get what you pay for --- or less.
I think all kits come with "caps/labels/corks". You don't need caps, labels can be made on your computer, and cheap corks are about 15 cents each in small order quantities. So they aren't really giving you a gift.
As to "28-day kits", this is misleading. Wine can be made in 28 days, but is neither drinkable, nor ready to bottle at that stage. I believe the kits accomplish this by recommending higher fermentation temperatures, premature racking, over-use of fining agents, and pre-bottling stabilization with sorbate. All of these shortcuts will result in an inferior wine. In general, it takes at least a month post-fermentation before a wine is ready for the first racking, and at least six months of further aging before it is ready for bottling. Trying to accelerate the winemaking process, like coitus, works, but you are missing the best part.
In my opinion, you would be far better off obtaining fresh fruit or juice, and working from a decent recipe. The next choice would be frozen fruit or juice, and the next would be concentrates. It will be a little more work, probably the same or less money, and a lot more rewarding. Even if you do decide on a kit (because everything you need is purportedly supplied), you would be better off by following a less hurried wine-making procedure with the ingredients provided.