wine kits vs home made vs commercial

[Egloff]

Winer & Foodie
I've posted a bit of rant reply already.

You can get fresh grapes in Vancouver, usually in September, depends on the harvest in California. None of the local vinyards sell grapes that I know of.

Typically by the time you rent the press it is best to go in with some friends, we make about 200 bottles a year. It is a risky endevour, prices change as does quality and things can go wrong.

Also with several people involved lots of issues come up. How much sulfite to add, acid ballance, oak cask or no, how fast to force the press, how long to wrack and who owns which carboy.

We measure the sweetness of the grapes before we buy and balance acidity after the press. This requires scientific equipment and friends who know how to use it. We wrack the wine for almost a year before we bottle.

Kits can be fine, but get ones without added sugar and I would recomend at least a month in the carboy after killing the yeast. Get rid of as much of the chemicals as you can.