Fruit wines have changed a lot from when they were called country wines, and the most well-known kind was probably scrumpy. However, here it explicitly means fruit wines are not created from grapes, which also means that ciders aren't included. It is a classic summertime beverage that is becoming increasingly well-liked.
These wines may bring back memories of harvesting fruit from farms or foraging around rural areas, followed by crafting homemade wine from fruits like strawberries, brambles, and other possible garden finds.
However, as customers' tastes have expanded and they look for locally grown products, the fruit wine market has become increasingly sophisticated, both in an attempt to promote sustainability and provide consumers with delectable but healthier options.
Like wine, fruit wines will likewise go through a yeast-based fermentation process, but that's probably where the similarities end because different fruit varieties have distinct production techniques. Fruit wines are a fascinating newcomer to the wine market to explore!
Non-Grape Wines To Explore
Chateau Fontaine Cherry Wine
Michigan is the leading brand in the manufacturing of cherry wine, being the capital of tart cherries in the country. The version, so popular that he sells out of his 1,000+ cases a year, is made with fruits harvested just down the road, not only sour cherries but also dark and yellow ones. It's ripe and full without being overly sweet, and it would make a fantastic wine for a BBQ, especially chilled.
Carlson Vineyards Peach Wine
Most of Colorado's vineyards are in Palisade, but the town is best known for its peaches. Parker Carlson founded his eponymous estate in 1988 to capitalise on the fruit's popularity by putting it in a bottle. Today, winemaker Garrett Portra strives to capture the sensation of biting into some of the world's best fruit.
Maui Wine Maui Blanc
Close your eyes and open your mind if the words "caramel colour" on the label make you uneasy. This 40-year-old Kula, Hawaii, winery's off-dry signature wine is a nice surprise that tastes almost exactly like pineapple juice. The only differences are that the body is lighter and the finish is much drier. Even if it's not pit-cooked at a luau, roast pork is always a good choice.
Bishop's Orchards Apple Wines
For the past ten years, Winemaker Keith Bishop has been enjoying field day on his family's almost 150-year-old Guilford, Connecticut, farm. Many varieties of homegrown fruit can be produced, including dessert, dry, blended, spicy, and effervescent varieties. Particularly, Bishop's apple-based bottlings demonstrate the grace and accuracy that fruit wines can have.
Cardinal Hollow Winery's Jalapeno Wine
This pepper-forward wine matches brie cheese on a California cracker as a dinner party appetiser. Better yet, cook with it by soaking a chicken overnight or steaming mussels or clams. The Lansdale, Pennsylvania-based Cardinal Hollow Winery makes wine solely from jalapeños—no fruits or flavourings are added. Before the jalapenos enter the fermenter, they are manually destemmed and seeded, and the wine is fermented for approximately a year before bottling.
Volcano Winery's Macadamia Nut Wine
This mixture has a delicate butter finish and is sweet with honey tones, making it surprisingly mild. Try it with mac nuts, pistachios, cinnamon, whisky, ice cream, and dark chocolate. Even better, the wine warms up nicely as mulled wine or a strong hot toddy. The honey produced by the honeybees, housed inside the macadamia nut plantations, tastes like macadamia nuts. Honey is used in 440 gallons in each batch. The wine has a sweet, light texture due to the addition of champagne yeast and water.
Mill Lane Winery's Rhubarb Wine
Rarely made commercially in the area, rhubarb wine is made at the Mill Lane Winery in Washington State's Yakima Valley. It is chosen by hand from the same farm and fermented by hand. A small-scale, closely supervised fermentation process is used in a variable-step procedure to extract the flavour and sugars from the stalks. No extra flavourings or colours of any kind are added. This isn't your typical dessert wine of rhubarb and strawberries.