- "Country wine" is also a common translation of "Landwein" in the German wine classification, or "vin du pays"
Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of ingredients other than grapes (the base of "ordinary" wine) and having a variety of flavours. Fruit wines are always called something wines (e.g., plum wine), since the word wine alone is often legally defined as a beverage made only from grapes. Fruit wine can be made from any sufficiently sweet fruit or, with addition of sugar or honey, from other fruits and many plant sources which are not fruits. The term Country wine is more commonly utilised in Great Britain for fruit wines. In France and Germany, "vin du pays", or "Landwein" refers to relatively inexpensive kinds of standard grape wine. Few foods other than grapes have the balanced quantities of sugar, acid, tannin and water to produce a stable, drinkable wine, so most country wines are adjusted in one or more respects. Enough natural sugar is needed to support a satisfactory fermentation and provide bacteriological stability through sufficient ethanol content, so the winemaker adds table sugar (sucrose) or sweet sap tapped from trees such as maple, birch, or palm; or honey. If a food is too tart, sugar and water may both be added to dilute the acidity, or additional tannin or acid may be required to round out the taste. These are added as chemicals or by adding a balancing fruit like crabapples, raisins or dates to an unbalanced base. The fermentation of fruit wines at home was particularly fashionable in the UK in the 1970s and was popularised in the BBC TV series The Good Life.
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Ingredients
The other ingredients that give the wine its flavour and character can be fruits, flowers, herbs, etc. Examples are elderberry wine and dandelion wine. A wine made from elderberry flowers is called elder blow wine[1]. If the flavouring ingredients are leaves or roots then the beverage is sometimes called a beer (for example, ginger beer). (Note that the beverages known as root beer, ginger beer and ginger ale are often non-alcoholic.) If the sugar source is honey then the beverage is usually called mead; if it is apple or pear juice then the beverage is called cider or perry, respectively. Cyser is made from apples and honey.
List of fruits and plants used
There are two approaches when making fruit wines: to imitate the flavour and appearance of grape wines, or not to. Some fruit wines that resemble grape wines are:
Other fruit wines made from fruits:
- apricot
- banana
- blueberry
- cherry
- cloudberry
- gooseberry
- pear
- raspberry
- redcurrant
- rowan
- persimmon
- pineapple wine
- quince
- rose hip
- strawberry
- watermelon
- mangosteen
- mango
- sweetsop
Wines made from flowers:
- dandelion
- elder blow (made from elderberry flowers)
Wines made from vegetables and roots:
Wines made from tree sap :
- palm wine (toddy)
Plum wine
Plum wine is made from plums. Most plum wine produced in Japan (umeshu) and Korea (maesilju) use the unripe ume fruit.
Pineapple wine
Pineapple wine is made from the juice of pineapple. Fermentation of the pineapple juice takes place in temperature controlled vats and is stopped at near dryness. The result is a soft, dry and fruity wine with an unmistakable pineapple bouquet. It is made in Hawaii by the Tedeschi Vineyards called 'Maui Blanc' located in Ulupalakua, Maui-Hawai`i, on the slopes of Haleakala. Its alcohol content is 11.5% by volume.
Pomace wine
Pomace wine is made from grape pomace. Since it is generally of a low quality and alcohol content, and can not be stored for long, it is generally distilled into pomace brandy. The pomace is soaked in water or must and allowed to macerate for a short time before being pressed again. If the sugar content of the pomace is low, sugar may be added. The resulting product was known to the Romans as lora and was widely used as a wine substitute during ancient and medieval times. Today, pomace wine is uncommon, although it is still known as piquette[2] in France, água-pé in Portugal, aguachirle in Spain, vino piccolo or graspia or acquatico in Italy, and Tresterwein or Haustrunk in Germany and Austria. The Name Haustrunk ("house drink") refers to the past custom of winemakers to sell all their real wine for cash, and to drink only the less valuable pomace wine in their own homes.
Lappish Hag's Love Potion
Lappish Hag's Love Potion (lapin eukon lemmenjuoma) is a traditional homebrewed Finnish fruit wine made from blueberries which ferment naturally with wild yeast (called the bloom) present on the skin.[3] The drink is also known as Lappish Grandmother's Love Potion (lapin isoäidin lemmenjuoma), Lappish Mother's Love Potion (lapin äidin lemmenjuoma), or simply Lappish Love Potion (lapin lemmenjuoma). Lappish Hag's Love Potion is made in a bottle with blueberries, sugar and water. The bottle is left to ferment in the sunlight for a month or so.
