Considering a Mosti Mondiale Wine Kit? Tips and Recommendations to Guide Your Way
Mosti Mondiale wine kits were my first experience in kit wine making, and I've had nothing but good experiences so far.
I have made four batches of wine from three different types of their kits, and have enjoyed the end result in every case. The higher end kits, produced a better quality wine (as expected) but the entry level kits allowed me to create a very drinkable table wine as well.
Who is Mosti Mondiale?
Mosti Mondiale is a Canadian based company that has been putting together home wine making kits since 1989. They produce wine making kits for beginning wine maker and seasoned hobbyist alike.
In my experience, they provide the widest range of choices available to the home wine maker, and I have continued to be impressed by the number of products that they produce as well as the myriad of choices.
With MM, there seems to be no limit to the number of different wines that I can make using their kits.
Available Kits
Mosti develops wine kits in three basic formats:
- Seasonal Fresh Grape Juice: Just like it sounds, 100% fresh grape juices from Italy, Chile, California, and Washington state. These juices are seasonal, and are available at the beginning of the wine making season. These juices make outstanding wines and are usually drinkable in about 12 months.
- Grape Must Kits: These are 23L (all juice) kits that provide fantastic red & white varietal musts from all over the world. You should expect a minimum of 6 months before enjoying the wines from these kits.
- Blended Kits: The blended kits come with 10L - 16L of grape must, and all of the ingredients to make a good wine. They make decent wines, are very economical, and you can start to enjoy the fruits of your labor in a month or two.
Thus far, I have made wines from three different varieties of Mosti Mondiale wine kits. I have enjoyed the finished product with each one, and will provide my experience, tips and tasting notes.
Mosti Mondiale Vinifera Noble Cabernet Sauvignon
- Kit Size: 10L kit that produces 6 gallons of wine (30 bottles)
- Cost: Low cost, approximately $75.00 USD
- Ease of Use: Very easy. Instructions were very clear, all ingredients present as expected.
This was the very first kit wine that I ever made. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how easy it is to make a drinkable wine from a kit.
I rushed the process a bit more than I should have resulting in a wine that was more sparkly than I would expect from a dry red. In the future, I will pay more attention to the steps for degassing and clearing to ensure a wine that is crystal clear, and as dry as anticipated.
This being my first ever kit wine, I was very eager to try my finished product. I ended up sharing the wine (eagerly) with many friends and family, and somehow consumed all 30 bottles in short order.
The wine was drinkable, but lacked body and character, but I can't blame that on the kit itself. The instructions indicate that the wine would improve over several months, and next time I will be sure and set some aside and monitor progress
Mosti Mondiale Renaissance Old Vine Zinfandel
- Kit Size: 16L kit that produces 6 gallons of wine (30 bottles)
- Cost: Medium cost, approximately $115.00 USD
- Ease of Use: Very easy. Instructions were very clear, all ingredients present as expected.
With better ingredients, comes better wine. I decided to step up with my second Mosti kit. 16L of juice meant less water to be added. Additionally, this kit came with oak chips adding a new dimension to my kit wine making experience.
Still new to kit wine making, I again rushed the time to bottle. The aging recommendations are minimum recommendations, and I believe that this wine would have been very good given a bit more time to age in the secondary.
As before, I was still a very excitable wine maker, and gave away a majority of this batch. The bottles that I drank personally were enjoyable, and matched my idea of what a good Zinfandel should be. Spicy, bold, delightful.
Mosti Mondiale Original All Juice Petite Syrah
- Kit Size: 23L kit that produces 6 gallons of wine (30 bottles)
- Cost: Medium cost, approximately $120.00 USD
- Ease of Use: Moderately easy. Instructions were very clear, and all of ingredients were present as expected. One note of caution: The all juice kit instructions have the first racking occur much earlier in the process. This meant that the active fermentation was still going strong. I racked the entire 23L into my secondary, and within moments had an overflow caused by agitation and renewed fermentation. I would recommend that you rack a bottle full of your juice into a standard wine bottle, and the rest into your carboy. Once fermentation has completed, pour the wine bottle of extra juice into the carbo. This will keep you from having to deal with messy overflows.
I love this wine. The syrah came out very bold and complex. I bulk aged this wine for about four months prior to bottling, and then bottle aged it for a month prior to my first taste. All in all it was six months from pitching the yeast to my first glass, and well worth the wait.
I've stored away about 20 bottles, and will try one a month or so to determine aging and improvement
Original All Juice Malbec
- Kit Size: 23L kit that produces 6 gallons of wine (30 bottles)
- Cost: Medium cost, approximately $120.00 USD
- Ease of Use: Moderately easy. Instructions were very clear, and all of ingredients were present as expected. One note of caution: The all juice kit instructions have the first racking occur much earlier in the process. This meant that the active fermentation was still going strong. I racked the entire 23L into my secondary, and within moments had an overflow caused by agitation and renewed fermentation. I would recommend that you rack a bottle full of your juice into a standard wine bottle, and the rest into your carboy. Once fermentation has completed, pour the wine bottle of extra juice into the carbo. This will keep you from having to deal with messy overflows.
This is my favorite kit wine to date. I'm a huge fan of Malbec to start with, and I was thrilled with this wine! It is very, very good and I have received dozens of compliments to prove it. I would encourage anyone who loves a Chilean style Malbec to give this one a try.
I have been very impressed with the Mosti Mondiale wine kits. The kits are complete, and quite easy to make, and in my experience have produced some very enjoyable wines. If you are looking for a wine kit that will produce a quality wine, Mosti would be a great place to start.