Wine Kit Snobbery
November 13th, 2005 | 
Author: So, you’ve made a few five gallon batches of wine from kits, and you’re starting to really enjoy the hobby. The wine you’ve made is not half bad either! And of course, it is considerably cheaper, and if it means anything to you, you’ve also by-passed the taxman and are enjoying wine that has not had the theft of duties or taxes added to it.
You run into someone else, and during a discussion, find out that he/she also makes wine. You’re excited to find others that share your hobby, when the other person asks, “So, what have you made wine from?”
You respond excitedly, “Well, I’ve made Pinot Noir, a few Valpolicellas, Liebfraumilch, Chamblais, and my favorite right now I think is the six week Pinot kit from RJ Spagnols. And yourself?”
You get a dirty look. And then, “Oh, you’re making wine from those wine kits?”
“Uh, yeah,” you say.
And then it comes. That arrogant voice. “Well, that is not really making your own wine, you know.” And he or she sniffs with their nose in the air. “The real way to make wine is to start with grapes or fruit. Kit wine is well.. just.. not the real winemaking at all.”
You feel disappointed. The excitement you felt at first, meeting another winemaker, and hoping to share some thoughts, or get some advice is blown out of you.
Yes, wine kit snobbery does exist. And you may run into it from time to time. But don’t let it get you down at all. In fact, you are likely to learn more over the next year by using wine kits then the snob did in his or her first year, and first attempt at making wine from the grapes or fruit.
And guess what? You didn’t need to wait a year for your wine to age before you could sample it. And it wasn’t half bad at all, was it?
Yes, you will come across this. But don’t let it bother you in the least. Of course, there are differences in making wine from a kit, where everything has been done for you initially, including ensuring the “balance” of the concentrate you buy is what will produce a nice wine.
But so what? Drink it and be merry, learn if you wish, expand your winemaking skills only if you want to. Snobs are among us, regardless of what we do in life – perhaps it’s a good time to ask yourself, “Am I snobbish about anything I do that I think is the right way to do it, and thereby turn off someone else’s quest for learning more?”
And then get on with your own hobby. Whether you decide to go from handy kits that will make you very nice wine in 8 weeks to making it from grapes or fruit that will take a year to age well, it matters not. This is the only life you have, it is not a dress rehearsal for something else, and you do deserve to enjoy your own fruits of your labour – whether it is from a kit, or berries you’ve hand picked.
If you decide to carry on, keep in mind that snob though. Someday, you may be able to retort right back, “Well, did you actually hand pick those grapes yourself? Use a machine? I handpicked my own blueberries, and I know exactly what blueberries I discarded and that which I decided to keep for my winemaking.”
Don’t worry about snobs. Life is too short. Enjoy what you enjoy, and make no excuses for that which YOU enjoy.
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Nice blog! I found you from Cincinnati Wine Garage. I planted 5 pinot Noir vines 2 years ago, and hope to see some grapes next summer or the year after. Then, I will give the wine-making process a try. That ought to be enough for a couple of bottles anyway.
Keep up the good work!
Scott
Thank you, Scott. I’ll have a visit over at your site – I envy you being able to plant some vines yourself! Someday, I’ll be able to do that as well
In the meantime, pick up a kit yourself and get started with some good quality concentrate
Want to know what wine snobs are, join a wine club. Boy, my first few meetings I felt like a fish out of water. Lucky for me, my wine had taken second place in a wine show and the first place winner was an older guy that was willing to share some of his secrets. Both of us were “newbies” in the club, so there was some kind of bonding there.
As far as the Lavlin yeast, your post from the other day, it is my preferred yeast. Makes a better wine. I haven’t used the liquid yeast yet. Usually, I don’t have the luxury to buy the more expensive yeast and besides, personally I think it is only for the “snobs” that are trying to impress people with their wine. A good dry yeast makes excellent wine and it is cheaper.
I have picked up some good ideas from your blog so keep on blogging.
Thanks for your comment, Ben. Nope, never been a member of a wine tasting club! I like to stay away from snobs
It’s great that you managed to find a club with another person of like mind though.
I just received some liquid yeast, as it was recommended for a sweet mead – have no idea if it is better or not, but I’ll certainly blog on the end result. I’d like to try some different yeast strains for myself, just to see if I can detect a difference. Iverson claims that there may be differences when a wine is young, but after it ages, the differences are all be imperceptible with different yeast strains.
But there must be some differences, as we know that some wild strains won’t produce good tasting wine, while other wild strains will. Perhaps the differences have nothing to do with the taste of the end result though.
I’d like to make more fruit (non grape) wines, and so I’m going to at least try the recommendations of the wine maker at a local fruit winery here – most of his recommendations are Lavelin yeast strains.
Thanks by the way, for the encouraging words about my blog!
Ian, Amen to your comments about wine snobbery. I have been making wine from kits for several years now and I have also made a few batches from juice on my own. In the beginning, the kits taught me a lot about the basic procedures and as I grew more comfortable with the process, I tried it on my own, which continued the learning process. Luckily, I have never had a horrible batch. Some I liked more than others. I continue to make wine from kits, though, mainly because of not having enough time to devote to the details of making without kits. So I think wine kits are a great way to learn the winemaking process and also great if you just don’t have a lot of time. You can even modify the kits to your own personal tastes. My family and friends are always impressed that I make wine. People don’t realize that the process is very simple. It just takes a little attention to detail, such as making sure everything is sanitized. Thanks for your blog. I will be a regular reader.
Finger Lakes Weekend Wino
http://fingerlakesweekendwino.blogspot.com
Hey FL Wino, thanks for dropping by and your comment here. Wine kits really got me interested in the whole home winemaking thing in the first place – I received a starter kit from Father’s Day one year – one of the absolute best gifts ever!
I had always talked about learning – but always thought it would be so involved and beyond me, or take up too much time. Nothing could be further from the truth… well..unless the bug REALLY hits you, like it has me
I’ll be peeking in on your blog as well!
Nice comments on wine snobs. The world’s best vintners, however, would cringe at the thought of using grapes shipped 3,000 miles by truck or train. If a winery plans on using imported juices in their wines, does anyone think they import the grapes? The logical thing to do is have the grapes actually picked at optimum ripeness, and juiced ASAP, at source. Juice picked too young, from a variety designed to travel well, infected by hordes of insects, is not what makes sense. Most of Ontario’s snob winemakers would be buying these California grapes.
Know that buying juice is far more sensible whether it is concentrated or not. Italy has far more registered vinyards than any other country in the world. Every region of that country has a wine industry. Everyone can make wine from grapes grown in their backyard. This is not Italy.
Bob
Thanks, Bob! Some very good points there for folks to bare in mind.
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