WineXpert LR Island Mist?

[Boatboy24]

Hard lemonade and limeade. They sound interesting.

http://labelpeelers.com/wine-kits-limited-edition-wines-c-158_159_302.html

 

[SouthernChemist]

I'm curious what the difference is between these kits and actually fermenting/backsweetening lemon and lime juice yourself. Then again, the average kit buying customer (who does not look at winemaking forums) is probably more content just buying a simple kit than doing it on their own.

 

[Boatboy24]

Agree. The first thing I thought of was skeeter pee. But at just over $50, these are tempting. Shipping would probably throw them out of contention.

 

[Dugger]

I'm curious what the difference is between these kits and actually fermenting/backsweetening lemon and lime juice yourself. Then again, the average kit buying customer (who does not look at winemaking forums) is probably more content just buying a simple kit than doing it on their own.

Perhaps I'm too sensitive about this comment as I am a predominantly kit wine maker, but I do find it a bit condescending. I'm not sure what constitutes an "average" kit buying customer nor an "average" non kit wine maker nor what percentage of each look at wine making forums. It would be interesting to see the split on this forum but without all members participating it would be hard to determine. As a matter of interest, however, I did look at the number of threads/posts on this forum for kit wine making, country wine making and grape wine making and the kit section is the largest.
Whether we make wines from scratch or from a kit or from a juice bucket, we all have our reasons and most of us strive to make the best wine we can from what we have.

 

[oreoman]

Well said Dugger.


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[SouthernChemist]

Perhaps I'm too sensitive about this comment as I am a predominantly kit wine maker, but I do find it a bit condescending. I'm not sure what constitutes an "average" kit buying customer nor an "average" non kit wine maker nor what percentage of each look at wine making forums. It would be interesting to see the split on this forum but without all members participating it would be hard to determine. As a matter of interest, however, I did look at the number of threads/posts on this forum for kit wine making, country wine making and grape wine making and the kit section is the largest.
Whether we make wines from scratch or from a kit or from a juice bucket, we all have our reasons and most of us strive to make the best wine we can from what we have.

No condescension was intended at all, and I'm sorry you took that way. I was not stating anything about the pro's or con's of making wines from kits or from scratch or what constitutes an 'average' winemaker. If anything, I am against the attitude that kit wines are inherently inferior just because the ingredients come in a box or that just because you've made wine from grapes you're a better winemaker. My point, which probably could have been better worded, was that there are buyers of wine kits who have no interest in going deeper into winemaking beyond the convenience that wine kits can provide. There's nothing wrong with that, either.

 

[StoneCreek]

I was about to chime in to disagree with the condescending remarks since as a newbie I didn't see them that way. Then Chemist chimed in right as I was hitting the reply button. I read it as someone who reads forums, such as this one, would recognize the value in not buying a "kit" as simple as the one in the Op and fermenting something like a SP on their own. I have come to love kits since they can give me the "true" wine that I enjoy when I'm feeling snobbish and the freedom making my own can give when I want a country or fruit wine. I also feel, that the "average kit buyer" was not referring to anyone who reads and contributes to forums such as this. I think "average" would be the person who only knows how to follow simple instructions and doesn't care as to the "why" and the "when" they are doing something. why do we not have a "two cents" emoticon on this forum??

 

[ColemanM]

Then again, the average kit buying customer who doesn't look at at winemaking forums.... Nothing wrong with that statement, it was the punctuation that made it seem debatable. An average person who doesn't read forums goes into a store and buys a wine kit, ferments it, then enjoys the product. Well, what if he was above average? still doesn't read forums, still buys a kit, still ferments it and drinks it. What were we talking about anyway?


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[Dugger]

No condescension was intended at all, and I'm sorry you took that way. I was not stating anything about the pro's or con's of making wines from kits or from scratch or what constitutes an 'average' winemaker. If anything, I am against the attitude that kit wines are inherently inferior just because the ingredients come in a box or that just because you've made wine from grapes you're a better winemaker. My point, which probably could have been better worded, was that there are buyers of wine kits who have no interest in going deeper into winemaking beyond the convenience that wine kits can provide. There's nothing wrong with that, either.

Thanks for clarifying. I've been making kit wines for about 20 years now and have had to defend the process on many occasions so when I see something that I perceive to be a slight against kits or the kit making process, I'm quick to question it. To be fair, early kit wines were not always that good, but they have developed greatly over the past number of years and as well, the process has improved. You are correct that many kit makers have no interest in delving into the whys and wherefores of the process and, while mostly their product is good, sometimes their product is not so good. On the other hand many fruit wine makers and even grape wine makers also have no interest in exploring what they are doing beyond following a simple recipe or the basics of mixing some fruit, juice, sugar and perhaps yeast and let it do its thing. Some of these products, such as one of my neighbours makes, are also not very good. Whether these groups constitute the average is hard to say but I agree that many of these kit and non kit makers probably do not frequent the forums.
So again thanks for offering your clarification.

 

[heatherd]

So, back to the wine.... I read that those LR twisted island mist kits you mentioned have a higher ABV out of the box, without any tweaks. Kind of interesting! I considered getting the lime one but it sold out.
Heather

 

[sour_grapes]

So, back to the wine.... I read that those LR twisted island mist kits you mentioned have a higher ABV out of the box, without any tweaks.

Well, I am not sure what you mean by "higher." The writeup on the Labelpeelers website says 7.5%:

Hard Limeade has flavors of freshly squeezed limes that make for a classic taste of limeade with a kick of 7.5% alcohol and have a sweetness code of 5. Bottle labels are included.