I have made this kit a couple of times and it does not disappoint! Eclipse Wine Making Kits have the highest single strength juice and varietal content of any Winexpert wine kit, past or present.

I added the grape skins and oak that was included in the kit and pitched the yeast.  I stuck to the instructions included in the kit and didn’t deviate from the process.  The only exception was aging as I keep the wine in the carboy for bulk aging, racking every few months and taking care not to expose the wine to excessive oxygen.  The finished wine was allowed to age in the carboy for 14 months allowing the flavors time to blend.

In the end, it produced a wine comparable to commercial wines, delivering outstanding varietal character, structure and intensity of flavor.  I was very pleased with the Merlot.  It is a really nice, fruit forward (hint of berries) wine with full body and decent mouth feel, very much enjoyable,

Each Winexpert wine kit contains the concentrate and juice plus they contain all of the necessary ingredients to make 6 gallons of wine – aprox. 30 bottles. An excellent wine for less than $5 a bottle at this price. The Napa Valley Stags Leap Merlot is a kit wine that I have made many times.