Regularly we get asked to match some obscure type of wine kit from sources other than ours. We are very familiar with the products carried by privately owned shops in Winnipeg. Generally, we all purchase from the "Big Four" wine kit producers in Canada: Global Vintners, R.J Spagnols, Mosti Mondiale and ABC cork. We deal with the first and third exclusively.
But there are other players out there. We call them the sugar kits, grundage, dregs. Not that we are being snobbish. These kits are made with grape juice that reputable producers will not buy, spiked with sugar, thereby doubling the volume (along with some food colouring for reds).
More than we like, we are sometimes asked "Can you taste this wine and tell me how to fix it?" This is where diplomacy comes in. "Do I have to"?
The real answer can't be stated as it would be "This is swill!" It's from what we call a sugar kit – same alcohol, same colour, same volume. But significantly diluted grape juice means it's not true wine.
Certain box stores carry these kits under a variety of fancy brand names. We have had a proposal from one such company who would design our own boxes with our name and logo! No thanks, it is easier to lose a customer by selling swill than it is to gain one.