This kit comes with everything that you will need including the corks and labels. Following the directions I was able to create a wine that is very tasty. It is slightly dry and the flavor hits the tongue with a pleasant and slightly fruity flavor. The dryness of this wine disappears quickly after you swallow. This is an excellent wine for meals and should make a very good sangria when combined with fruit and a hot summer afternoon.
I have just started my 15th kit so my experience level is getting up there. I've done kits from a couple of other companies; Wine Expert, and Vino Vida. I've bought kits from other online companies, from a local brew hut, and from Amazon. I'll continue to buy these kits so long as they are selling them at this value.
You cannot beat the Vino Italiano Kits. They are complete with everything, delivered to your door with free shipping, and they make a really good wine. Let me back up and say first that a wine I like may not be good to someone else. We each have our own preferences. I've had many a wine served up at restaurants with price ranges of $10 to $100 a bottle. And the wine I am making now I like better than pretty much anything I've tasted from the restaurant, or the store.
I have tried the Valpolicella, Shiraz, Reisling and the Montepulciano from Vino Italiano. I have made a couple merlots, some white zinfandels also, but from other companies. I prefer the reds, and made the others because my kids requested.
I'll typically, but not always, spike the kit with additional sugar to up the alcohol content slightly. If you follow the instructions, the initial specific gravity comes out around 1.080-1.084. By adding a couple pounds of sugar in the form of corn syrup or simple syrup, you get to around 1.09 or better. That usually will give a final ABV of 11.5 12%. Other things that I do outside of the kit instructions include adding 1 cup of black oak chips, 1-2 tbsp of vanilla extract, and a lb or two of some black cherries, blue berries or black berries (found in the frozen foods section at the store). Lastly, I like my wine not so dry, so I'll back sweeten just as I am bottling. Again using corn syrup and usually between 8 16 oz per 6 gallons. To me the corn syrup seems to be better than simple syrup, but that's just my preference.
I love the stuff. Currently my production is having a hard time keeping up with my consumption. Cheers.
Buy Vino Italiano 4 Week Wine Kit, Montepulciano, 15.5-Pound Box Now
These Vino Italiano kits are a great deal plus free shipping, you can't beat it.
I have made a number of them and make 5 gallon instead of 6. It gives a very good robust flavor. I will buy them as long as they are sold here.
I really like the deep Italian reds.
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This is my second Vino Italiano wine kit. The first was a Cabernet Savignon. I had read reviews of that variety and I ended up making 5 gallons instead of the 6 that the kit calls for. Other reviewers had complained that the Cab was too watery. My adjustment worked out well for the Cab, but for this wine I probably should have bottled the full 6 gallons. Instead, I ended up brewing about 5.2 gallons. The finished wine is very dry and almost has an acetone flavor to it (that's a whole other issue for wine makers and I'm concerned that it might actually be ethyl acetate, but it's hard to tell. It might just be overly acidic due to the high concentration). When I add water to the wine (equal to approx 1/5 the volume of the wine) it mellows out a bit. Other than modifying the total amount of must during primary fermentation, I stuck to the recipe.
For the price, it'll be a decent wine if it mellows out a bit in the bottle. As of bottling the wine is highly acidic (but, again, that's probably due to the higher concentration); it has a nice deep rich burgundy color; it's crystal clear with no signs of oxidation or residual sediment. I did not filter but I carefully racked during the final stage to ensure that no sediment made it into the bottles. The jury is still out on this wine, but, overall, I'm still a fan of the Vino Italiano kits. You can't beat the price.
Oh, and if you're new to making wine from kitsthis kit only includes the ingredients (grape concentrate, additives, plus corks, labels and shrink wrap closures) to make the wine. You will still need to invest another $70, or more, in the wine-making equipment. You will need: A 7 gallon Primary fermenter, 6 gallon carboy, siphon hoses, hydrometer, wine thief, container to hold wine during testing; 30 wine bottles (bottles you drank already work fine, mostly, if sterile and clean); an air lock (inexpensive); sterilizer (campden tablets or "Easy Clean"); a bottle filler (recommended and also cheap) hand corker and, preferably, a brew belt (to maintain proper temperature during primary fermentation). Visit your local home brew shop and they'll show you what you need. Or, visit midwestsupplies.com for mail order supplies. Their prices are competitive. So far I've done 3 kits, made Sangria wine from organic Concord grape juice, and now I'm working on some Cab Sav from juice I picked up at a local vineyard. BEWARE: this is addictive and can be both frustrating and incredibly rewarding. Good luck!
P.S. Of the three kits I've done, I've been most happy with the Vintner's Reserve World Vineyard Collection California Red Zinfandel/Shiraz at $80.00. At that price it works out to about $2.75 a bottle (not counting initial equipment costs). So if you're contemplating spending a little extra for a "nicer" kit, I say go for it.
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Purchased this kit and mostly followed directions, main deviations were to allow more time in primary and secondary. Added a little Hungarian oak early on. Let it age two months after stabilizing then filtered and bottled. Opened the first bottle two months later.
Nice little wine, good bouquet, quite smooth. bright flavor, not a whole lot of body. I expect the flavor to develop with a little more aging but after about 4 months in the bottle (two more to wait)I won't expect additional improvement.
I thought the wine was quite nice, a very pleasant drinking wine. I'll buy more of their kits, at this price point they are a good value.
Several friends have purchased other kits from this vendor with no complaints.
Been in the bottle about a year now, nice little wine that is enjoyable fairly early aging hasn't helped that much. Guess I better drink the other bottles. Have made several other kits with favorable results, good dependable house wine.
Briefly, I agree entirely with the previous reviewer. I have tried a few sources of fresh chestnuts and several brands and types of peeled chestnuts (in water, in syrup, dry, etc.) and none comes close to Clement Faugier's, whether one uses them to make turkey stuffing, chestnuts in syrup, marrons glaces, or in other productions. I have been buying these marrons for well over a decade, and this is a very good price for them.
