This is my third Vino Italiano kit and I made a double batch of this Tuscany Rosso Magnifico to fill a 40 liter oak barrel I have ... I want to give this kit every opportunity to shine. It's going to be my "house table wine" to enjoy with everyday meals while I wait for some of my upper end wine kits to fully mature.A couple of hints to better appreciate these Vino Italiano wine kits:
1. Have realistic expectations. These kits make a nice light to medium-bodied wine. Beautifully red and brilliant in the glass, they are light and food friendy wines (and not necessarily great representations of their varietal). But if you're expecting something full-bodied and inky dark like a Napa Cabernet, you're setting yourself up to be disappointed. Keep in mind, this bottle of wine cost you $1.50 to make. (The cost of bottles doesn't count ... you can reuse them over and over stay green!)
2. These wines will improve with time in the bottle. While it's hard to resist dipping into your supply for weekly tastings, six months to a year in the bottle will make for a much nicer, less green-tasting wine.
I'll add more to this review after I bottle this wine, but I will say that it is drinking better than the Valpolicella did at this early stage. Less dry than the Valpolicella with a nice balance of both fruit and tannins. I think I'll be proud to call this Rosso Magnifico my "house red."
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This is a wonderful kit. They ferment out quickly. Use excellent ingredients and they have the added benefit of labels, cork, and foil seals. Best part? they taste good, too. They are a medium body and are quite good!Read Best Reviews of Vino Italiano 4 Week Wine Kit, Tuscany Rosso Magnifico, 15.5-Pound Box Here
I am not sure if I would still consider myself a beginner, anymore, but I am relatively new to this. Only making wine for a little over a year... In the past year, however, I made about 11 kits from different manufactures.This wine, Tuscany Rosso Magnifico, is quite fantastic. I made it at 5 gallons by putting in all of the juice concentrate, but only re-constituting with water up to the 5 gallon mark. I also added 30 Grams of Oak Chips. Now, I personally don't like a lot of oak in a wine. For that reason, I don't like many commercial wines... 30 Grams of Oak is enough not to actually taste excessive oak, but have a better mouth feel. I got the oak from a home brew close to where I live. Medium Toasted Oak. Again, it is just my opinion, but less is more with the oak... You should trust your tongue, and not worry about what others say. You can always add more oak, you can't take it away...
I put the oak in the carboy for the secondary fermentation. Not in the bucket. I learned that from copying a Mosti Mondale kit. Some kits but oak dust in the primary... So far, I have had good luck with the oak chips in the secondary.
The wine does taste much better, if you let it sit in the bottle 6 months after you bottle it. But, you will most likely not be able to wait that long.... Put 3 or 4 bottles away to age, if you can't wait for the whole batch...
I am putting a video series up on YouTube, that shows you how easy it is to make this kit. Search for Sicilian Prince and vino italiano, and you should find my videos. It may be helpful if you never did it, to look at the process and once you see it, you will be confident that you can do it...
You will need some equipment to do this, but you don't need more than a beginner equipment kit to be successful. Once you do it, you will be hooked... I typically do two or three at a time... At the time of this writing, I am doing WE Nero D'Avalo, WE Chocolate Raspberry Port, Vino Italiano Merlot. When I get a free carboy, I will do the Rosso Magnifico again. Mrs.Claus got it to me for Christmas.
By the way, everyone who has tried my Rosso Magnifico loves it...
See what I mean. You will get hooked...
I hope this review helps some of you out there.
Cheers!
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These wine kits are great! I have made most of the reds,and have really enjoyed them.I do however tweak them just a little,and offer the following suggestions to make them really good.First use quality water [not from the tap], make 5 gallons instead of 6,I use red star yeast [it's only .99,and works better] or use a yeast nutrient along with your standard yeast included, and finally I always add a condioner at bottling. The cost is only a few dollars more,but the quality must better. All in all these are great kits both my freinds and family have enjoyed and I will definitly keep buying.
