Kit Reviews

March 1, 2009 Last week, I went down to my cellar to store some bottles of mead when I discovered about 8 bottles of Red Zinfandel that I had started in October of 2005. It was a pleasant surprise as I had thought all of that batch had been consumed. I could hardly wait to…

I have a special occasion in mind that will take place who knows when exactly? More than one year – less than five, probably. What wine should I make for it? After some discussions with Bob Collins of Winemakers in Orangeville, I decided to blend some wine from two different kits, with Grenache being of…

As I discussed in my review of the KenRidge “Founder’s Series” GSM, I have a special occasion in mind that will take place sometime in the future. I want to be prepared with a very special wine that I’ve made, that will be wonderful to serve to the guests. The wine that I will be…

I don’t know why Vineco calls their “California Connoisseur kits “Premium” wine kits. The one I have is a “four week” kit with 7.5 liters of juice from grape concentrate. The juice also contains preservatives and yeast nutrient as well as invert sugar added. To me, a “premium” kit contains at least 16 litres of…

Curious about a particular brand of wine making kit, or what you might get when purchasing a wine making kit? Check here as our reviews grow. This section will be definitely a work in progress, as reviewing a wine kit may have many different variables. Some of those variables include the production date, the price,…

Recently, I happened to be in Markham, Ontario which is a town I seldom get to visit. Prior to my travel there, I did a search for winemaking shops and discovered that there was a Wine Kitz franchise close to where I’d be visiting. After doing a search on their website, I found a wine…

One of the most impressive wineries here in Ontario is the Magnotta Winery. Originally began as a home winemaking juice supplier, the founder married a wonderful woman who helped grow the family business from a distributor of juices into a complete winery. Today, even though Magnotta is one of the top independent wineries in Ontario,…

Some time ago, I don’t remember when, I picked up a red wine kit from a company based in Quebec, Canada called Advintage Distribution. The particular kit I picked up was from their “Celebration Series,”, a six week kit with juice from Barolo grapes. The retail price, $80.00, was acceptable and with 30 bottles of…

A couple of weeks ago, I was picking up some supplies at Winemakers here in Orangeville when I noticed a Kenridge “Founder’s Series” home winemaking kit sitting prominently on a shelf. At $110.00, it was about thirty bucks more than I was used to spending on premium winemaking kits, but I managed to dig up…

The other day, I visited another home winemaking outlet and found an Australian Cabernet/Shiraz kit by Kenridge in their “Founders Series.” At $110.00, the kit comes with 18 litres of concentrated juice, apparently originating from the “Riverland Region” of Australia, and a blend of Cabernet and Shiraz. Sounds yummy, huh? According to the distributor, Vineco:…

I recently picked up a “four week” kit, Valpolicella – from one of my favorite shops. The Kit is “Fontana” branded. Who exactly disctributes the “Fontana” brand of wine juice kits? They are distributed by ABC Cork of Ontario, Canada. This ten litre concentrate kit is billed as a “premium” kit on the box –…

One of the limited or “Restricted Quantities” wine kits from R.J. Spagnols in 2006 was a Petit Chenin Blanc, from South Africa. I started making the wine from the kit in August of 2006 and am now enjoying it. First, a bit about the kit itself: According to R.J. Spagnols, this juice originates in South…

Malbec is generally known as the grape of Argentina. However, one of this year’s Restricted Quantities from R.J. Spagnols is Malbec from Chile. Malbec grapes are also known for the blending of good wines from the Bordeaux region. A dark coloured grape, Malbec has been transplanted to a variety of “new world” locations, but especially…