Discussion:
Costco wine kit - any good?
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e***@gmail.com
2007-09-10 20:48:02 UTC
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Has anyone ACTUALLY tried the wine kit sold at Costco? It seems pretty
decent as it contains everything you need (minus the empty bottles of
course). I've always had an interest in making my own wine but not is
it tastes like vinagar. Anyone tried this kit?
snowman
2007-09-11 00:05:02 UTC
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Post by e***@gmail.com
Has anyone ACTUALLY tried the wine kit sold at Costco? It seems pretty
decent as it contains everything you need (minus the empty bottles of
course). I've always had an interest in making my own wine but not is
it tastes like vinagar. Anyone tried this kit?
I haven't tried the ones out of Costco, but I have used the ones from
Superstore, which I think are similar if not the same. The wine that it
produces is not bad, provided that you are prepared to let it sit and
age for a while. I usually let my wines sit for anywhere up to 2 years,
the end result was pretty good.
e***@gmail.com
2007-09-11 05:38:07 UTC
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Post by snowman
I haven't tried the ones out of Costco, but I have used the ones from
Superstore, which I think are similar if not the same. The wine that it
produces is not bad, provided that you are prepared to let it sit and
age for a while. I usually let my wines sit for anywhere up to 2 years,
the end result was pretty good.
Thanks for the feedback. The instructions say to wait for at least 2
months and I can just imagine how horrible it would be unless properly
aged. Of course due to limited space I always take my wine bottles to
the depot, so I'd have to locate wine bottles for the purpose, should
I go ahead with the kit. Is there a place where one can buy empty wine
bottles? What about corks?
DevilsPGD
2007-09-11 07:19:12 UTC
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Post by e***@gmail.com
Thanks for the feedback. The instructions say to wait for at least 2
months and I can just imagine how horrible it would be unless properly
aged. Of course due to limited space I always take my wine bottles to
the depot, so I'd have to locate wine bottles for the purpose, should
I go ahead with the kit. Is there a place where one can buy empty wine
bottles? What about corks?
Hit any local wine making store, they'll fix you up with whatever you
need beyond the contents of the kit.
--
You can get more with a kind word and a 2x4 than just a kind word.
snowman
2007-09-12 00:56:26 UTC
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Post by e***@gmail.com
Post by snowman
I haven't tried the ones out of Costco, but I have used the ones from
Superstore, which I think are similar if not the same. The wine that it
produces is not bad, provided that you are prepared to let it sit and
age for a while. I usually let my wines sit for anywhere up to 2 years,
the end result was pretty good.
Thanks for the feedback. The instructions say to wait for at least 2
months and I can just imagine how horrible it would be unless properly
aged. Of course due to limited space I always take my wine bottles to
the depot, so I'd have to locate wine bottles for the purpose, should
I go ahead with the kit. Is there a place where one can buy empty wine
bottles? What about corks?
I always found that if I opened the finished product up after only 2
months, I wasn't entirely happy with what I had, aging definitely does
improve the final product. I'm not sure where one would get empty
bottles from, probably as DevilsPGD mentioned; a wine supply store
should be able to help out. I ended up begging and borrowing empties
from friends and family, with a promise (of course!) for a bottle or two
of the final product in trade. The wine corks I would always get from
the beer & wine supply stores. You'll also need a bottling
machine...I'm not sure if they rent them out here, I ended up just
buying my own which seemed to save a lot of time and hassle. Good luck!
e***@gmail.com
2007-09-13 04:16:32 UTC
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The kit at Costco is $71 and comes with everything minus the juice/
pulp thing. It has two containers one for the fermenting and a large
bottle one and everything in between including the bottle cork thing
and I think even labels. Seems like a decent price no?
As for the wine source itself they have two types, the pure wine juice
and the pulp type, that you add water to. I hear that the juice yields
far better results. They have I think two types, that comes in a 23L
plastic container (like a 20L paint bucket). One is merlot for I think
$82 and a shiraz for $42 (on special). Are these decent prices? I'm
not as familiar with australian shiraz but it seems like such a good
price that it's hard to resist. This is on sale on Costco only till
Sunday, for anyone interested. I was told that this isn't an item
Costco usually carries.

Now, is it important that one lets wine age on its side? Due to
limited space in my apartment that isn't an option due to the lack of
a rack. Can one just fill up a case with bottles upright and stash
somewhere? Is constant temperature really an issue?
I'm temped to get this but not sure I'm a good conditate given some of
these limitations. Figure I ask before dropping 150 on this.
Irv Finkleman
2007-09-13 16:32:25 UTC
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Post by e***@gmail.com
Now, is it important that one lets wine age on its side? Due to
limited space in my apartment that isn't an option
It is aged on it's side in order that that corks do not dry
out and loosen. It is a 'must do' thing.

Irv
Eat Dirt
2007-09-14 06:37:59 UTC
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Post by Irv Finkleman
It is aged on it's side in order that that corks do not dry
out and loosen. It is a 'must do' thing.
Irv
Ahh, that makes sense. Hmm, I can just see myself hiding all the
bottles under the bed, the sofa and any other out of the way place
where they can lie on the side.

On the plus side it is typically darker in these places. On the
downside temperatures at floor level may not be as constant as they
are in higher places. Is this an issue?
snowman
2007-09-17 03:12:32 UTC
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Post by Eat Dirt
Post by Irv Finkleman
It is aged on it's side in order that that corks do not dry
out and loosen. It is a 'must do' thing.
Irv
Ahh, that makes sense. Hmm, I can just see myself hiding all the
bottles under the bed, the sofa and any other out of the way place
where they can lie on the side.
On the plus side it is typically darker in these places. On the
downside temperatures at floor level may not be as constant as they
are in higher places. Is this an issue?
I found that it was. When I was into the wine making, I found that my
best results were when I stored the bottled product in my basement.
Unfortunately, I don't have one in my present condo :-( My only other
suggestion would be to put it into a closet on a rack. Perhaps on
something like this?
http://winerackshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=24H
Eat Dirt
2007-09-17 08:01:28 UTC
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Post by snowman
Perhaps on
something like this? http://winerackshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_C...
Yeah, the closet would be a good place - dark, out of the way and
typically constant temps. Piling up 30 bottes on their sides wouldn't
take up that much room. Can probably save even more space by piling
them atop each other or some kind of makeshift rack that takes up very
little room. Unfortunately I missed the sale on the wine kit and 30L
bucket of juice, which ended Sunday. But knowing Costco it will either
be back or become a permanent fixture. I'm sure I'll get around to it
soon enough. At least I now know that this isn't a bad investment, for
anyone that enjoys a bit of red wine and know of its cancer fighting
benefits (what a great excuse to enjoy some wine guilty free)
Thanks all for the help.

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