WineXpert island mist vs arbour mist

Anyone who made island mist wines tried some of the arbour mist wines sold in stores and could tell if it s comparable? I bought a few arbour mist bottles to taste before buying a batch of island mist. I opened the exotic fruit white zinfandel and neither my wife or I could finish it... I guess I ll pass on island mist if it s a similar product.

I personally hate the Arbor Mist exotic fruit - tastes like barf to me. The Strawberry one was ok.

I've done several of the Island Mist kits and they have received rave reviews from everyone. Peach Apricot Chardonnay and Green Apple Riesling at major winners. I far prefer them over the Arbor Mists.

Arbor mist is awful. Only made one IM. Blackberry Cabernet. It went over well.

I'm glad you posted this. I was looking at some of the cheaper wine cooler kits this morning and wondering if they were drinkable. Now I know what to stay away from.

We make a lot of the Island Mist and the Orchard Breezin for fast drinkers while other stuff is aging. When we first started we made them per instructions. They tend to be real sweet. We now add 4 pounds of sugar to each kit and they are good for fast sipping and sitting around the fire talking wines. Our favorites are Blackberry Cab, Black Raspberry merlot and Pom Zinfandel for the reds and Green Apple Riesling and Peach Chardonnay for the whites. The CranApple Chardonnay is also really good but it is a seasonal Christmas release. All our neighbors love the Peach Raspberry Sangria and we made the Orange Seville Sangria for the first time for the neighbors Gifts bags this year, personally I prefer the Peach better but the neighbors loved both. Some people put half the FPack upfront and then the remaining boost with sugar to about 1.080. I haven't done this yet, mainly because I am unsure whether it would cut down on the flavor. I haven't had Arbor Mist since high school and would preferably like to keep it that way

ShelleyDickison said:

...We now add 4 pounds of sugar to each kit ...

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At what phase are you adding the sugar? Right up front in the primary?

Thanks...

bkisel said:

At what phase are you adding the sugar? Right up front in the primary?



Thanks...

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Yes, I add it at the beginning.

What I do is dissolve 4 or 5 lbs of sugar (whatever is in the bag ) in hot water (not boiling water, boiling drives the o2 out and the yeast need it to start fermentation) and use this simple syrup as part of the water I add to the juice. This gives me a starting S.G. of 1.080-1.090, and an ABV of 10.5-13%

Those ones with the bumped ABV get dangerous in the summer!

Sitting out in the sun, feet in the kiddie pool, drinking this lovely, sweet thing. - Next you're bombed and don't know how it happened!

the_rayway said:

Those ones with the bumped ABV get dangerous in the summer!

Sitting out in the sun, feet in the kiddie pool, drinking this lovely, sweet thing. - Next you're bombed and don't know how it happened!

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Rayway, Thats what I tell my sisters when I visit them at their summer houses. Be careful that Peach Apricot Chardonnay will sneak up on you.

BTW my brother-in-law, aka wine snob, drank a whole bottle of my "homemade" peach apricot chardonnay last summer. Lol, bakervinyard

Bumping the beginning SG is a must!!! They are much better. 1.08 is a good place to be. They taste and store much better.

I've only done the island mist and I use 1/2 the sweet bag in primary.

Do you just discard the other half?

I go dry .992-.990 and I put enough into my secondary for sweetener but only to .998-1.000 it gives the flavor but keeps it non sweet

For me these things are too sweet and the wine is not good enough to stand on it's own. So for summer type wine I personally would rather have Johannisberg Riesling or a Gewürztraminer and if I go with a RJS Grand Cru the cost is only about $5-10 more. With that said I am sure I will continue to make them for my non wine drinking friends

GaDawg-- I usually just put 2 pounds of corn sugar in. The extra 2 pounds doesn't make it too strong for the type of wine it is? The sneak up on you strong is okay -- just don't want initial hit you in the face strong. Thanks

GaDawg said:

For me these things are too sweet and the wine is not good enough to stand on it's own. So for summer type wine I personally would rather have Johannisberg Riesling or a Gewürztraminer and if I go with a RJS Grand Cru the cost is only about $5-10 more. With that said I am sure I will continue to make them for my non wine drinking friends

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ya they're way too sweet as is for my taste too. I make them for one of my daughters (drinking age) .
Last year though at Spagnols they had their orchard breezin mist tangerine sauvignon blanc on for $ 15 apiece. At that price I had to grab 10 lol and I've been playing with them this past year.

Kim, that is an incredible deal , that's $.50 a bottle

It s always a good deal when the cork doubles the price per bottle.

I am with GaDawg, too sweet for my taste but I make them for friends and family to have. Niagara Mist Black Cherry Pinot Noir - they say it is like Dr. Pepper with a kick. It and the IM Apricot Peach are the 2 favs that people seem to like.