Fruit wines are fermented

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

s made from a variety of base ingredients (other than grapes); they may also have additional flavors taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any alcoholic

fermented beverage This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to alcohol using yeast, but other fermentation processes involv ...

except beer. For historical reasons,

mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

, and perry are also excluded from the definition of fruit wine.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 768 Oxford University Press 2006 Fruit wines have traditionally been popular with home winemakers and in areas with cool climates such as North America and Scandinavia. In subtropical climates, such as in East Africa, India, and the Philippines, wine is made from bananas.

Labeling

Fruit wines are usually referred to by their main ingredient (e.g., ''

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

wine'' or '' elderberry wine'') because the usual definition of wine states that it is made from fermented grape juice. In the European Union, wine is legally defined as the fermented juice of grapes. In the United Kingdom, fruit wine is commonly called ''country wine''; the term should not be conflated with the French term '' vin de pays'', which is grape wine. In British legislation, the term ''made-wine'' is used.

Production

Fruit wine can be made from virtually any plant matter that can be fermented.G. Harding ''"A Wine Miscellany"'' pg 5-9, Clarkson Potter Publishing, New York 2005 Most fruits and berries have the potential to produce wine. There are a number of methods of extracting flavour and juice from the fruits or plants being used; pressing the juice, stewing and fermenting the pulp of the fruits are common. Few foods other than grapes have the balanced quantities of sugar,

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

, tannin, nutritive salts for yeast feeding, and water to naturally produce a stable, drinkable wine, so most country wines are adjusted in one or more respects at fermentation. However, some of these products do require the addition of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

to make them palatable and to increase the alcoholic content (sugar is converted to alcohol in the fermentation). Two commonly produced varieties are elderberry wine and dandelion wine. Tainted elderberry wine is the beverage used to commit murders in Joseph Kesselring's play and

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

's film adaptation ''Arsenic and Old Lace''. A wine made from elderberry flowers is called ''elder blow wine''. The amount of fermentable sugars is often low and needs to be supplemented by a process called chaptalization in order to have sufficient alcohol levels in the finished wine.

Sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

is often added so that there is sufficient sugar to ferment to completion while keeping the level of acidity acceptable. If the specific gravity of the initial solution is too high, indicating an excess of sugar, water or acidulated water may be added to adjust the specific gravity down to the winemaker's target range. Many kinds of fruit have a natural acid content which would be too high to produce a savory and pleasant fruit wine in undiluted form; this can be particularly true, among others, for

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

, cherries, pineapples, and raspberries. Therefore, much as to regulate sugar content, the fruit mash is generally topped up with water prior to fermentation to reduce the acidity to pleasant levels. This also dilutes and reduces overall fruit flavor; a loss of flavor can be compensated for by adding sugar again after fermentation which then acts as a flavor enhancer (known as a ''back-sweetener''), while too much acid in the finished wine will always give it undesired harshness and pungency. Many fruit wines suffer from a lack of natural yeast nutrients needed to promote or maintain fermentation. Winemakers can counter this with the addition of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available commercially as yeast nutrient. In the opinion of one wine writer fruit wines often do not improve with bottle age and are usually meant to be consumed within a year of bottling.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 291 Oxford University Press 2006

Plum wine

Plum jerkum is made from fermented plums in a manner similar to the use of apples for

. It was often associated with the north

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

Greensted, M. ''The arts and crafts movement in the Cotswolds'', Sutton, 1996, p.97 and was once a product of the city of Worcester.Edwards, T. ''Worcestershire'', Paul Elek, 1949, p.12

Pomegranate wine

Pomegranate wine is a type of fruit wine. A commercial pomegranate wine product was developed in Israel, and its marketed abroad as Rimon. Since then, commercial pomegranate wine has also started also to be made in Cyprus, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Pineapple wine

Pineapple wine is made from the juice of pineapples. Fermentation of the pineapple juice takes place in temperature-controlled vats and is stopped at near-dryness. The result is a soft, dry, fruit wine with a strong pineapple bouquet. Pineapple wine is popular in Thailand and other SE Asian countries, where it is made using traditional practices and is not available commercially. In Mexico, fermented pineapple beverages are very popular and given the name tepache. Commercial examples from around the world include Maui's Winery in Hawaii and Jacobs Wines of Nigeria, the first pineapple winery in Africa. It is also made in Dominican Republic by Vinicola Del Norte, its alcohol content is 10%. Several varieties of pineapple wine are made in Okinawa, Japan, from local produce. Its alcohol content is 11.5% ABV.

Dandelion wine

Dandelion wine is a fruit wine of moderate alcohol content that is made from dandelion

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s and sugar, usually combined with an acid (such as lemon juice). While commonly made as a homemade recipe, there are a handful of wineries that commercially produce Dandelion wine, including Bellview Winery of New Jersey, Breitenbach Winery of Ohio, Hidden Legend Winery of Montana and

Maple River Winery ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

of North Dakota.

Rose hip wine

Rose hip wine is a fruit wine. It can be made from fresh or dried rose hips. To produce this beverage, the rose hips are fermented in syrup with yeast and citric acid, creating an

extract An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form. The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts, h ...

. This technique is used with only a few other types of fruit wine, including blackthorn (sloe), hawthorn, and

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

Redcurrant and whitecurrant wines

Redcurrant and whitecurrant fruit wines are beverages that are usually produced in northerly cool areas, where it is hard to grow high-quality grapes. They are simple to produce. Their natural chemical balances are such that they can be self-clarified without any additional substances. Redcurrants and whitecurrants contain only a small amount of carbohydrates; this necessitates the addition of sugar or honey.

Cherry wine

Cherry wine is a type of fruit wine made with

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

, usually tart cherries that provide sufficient acid. Cherry wines can be used to make

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...

s and

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

s. Michigan wine makers, located in the leading tart-cherry-producing region of the United States, produce several varieties of cherry wine, including spiced versions and cherry-grape blends. "Cherry Kijafa" is a fortified fruit wine that is produced in Denmark from cherries with added natural flavors, and usually contains 16%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

. Among cherry liqueurs ''Maraska'', a cherry wine made from

Marasca cherry The marasca cherry ( la, Prunus cerasus var. marasca, hr, višnja maraska) is a type of sour Morello cherry known only from cultivation. It is reputed to attain its finest flavor when grown in coastal Croatia (specifically Dalmatia). The frui ...

from Croatia, is among the best known. The last couple of years Fredriksdal Cherry Wine (partly invented by distinguished restaurant owner

Jan Friis-Mikkelsen Jan Friis-Mikkelsen (born 26 February 1963) is a Danish chef and restaurateur. He was also judge on DR1's ''Den Store Bagedyst'', the Danish version of The Great British Bake Off. Career Jan Friis Mikkelsen was born in the Frederiksberg district o ...

) has been produced in Denmark. Cherry wine production is becoming popular in China, where cherry production is high.

Orange wine

Fruit wine can be made from oranges. This should not be confused with

orange wine Orange wine, also known as skin-contact white wine, skin-fermented white wine, or amber wine, is a type of wine made from white wine grapes where the grape skins are not removed, as in typical white wine production, and stay in contact with the ...

, also known as amber wine, which is made from grapes, but is orange/amber in color. Wine made from oranges, although not commercially widely available, is produced in White River, South Africa, and by home wine makers. The taste is a light bodied wine, pale or golden in color, dry, thin in body, alcoholic. Outcome is reliant on the yeast used. Recipes are few and far between. Typically a home wine maker is receiving the bounty of their own orange tree or from a neighbors tree. The wine can be difficult to make because the fruit is very acidic, and the pH must be adjusted up. Further complications are encountered by a type of Penicillium mold that can stop the fermentation and spoil the wine. Great care must be taken to clean and sanitize the fruit. The remainder of the process is straightforward. The US government Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has a standard for orange wine.

Other fruit wines

* Banana wine *

Lychee wine Lychee wine (Chinese: , ''lìzhījiǔ'') is a full-bodied Chinese dessert wine made of 100% lychee fruit. This wine has a golden colour and rich, sweet taste. It is usually served ice cold, either straight up or on the rocks with foo ...

* Fruit wine can also be made from Blackberry,

Blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus '' Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberri ...

Blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, whe ...

, Redcurrant, Cranberry, Elderberry,

Gooseberry Gooseberry ( or (American and northern British) or (southern British)) is a common name for many species of ''Ribes'' (which also includes currants), as well as a large number of plants of similar appearance. The berries of those in the genu ...

Mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

Seaberry ''Hippophae'' is the genus of sea buckthorns, deciduous shrubs in the family Elaeagnaceae. The name sea buckthorn may be hyphenated to avoid confusion with the unrelated true buckthorns (''Rhamnus'', family Rhamnaceae). It is also referred to as ...

, or

Raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

Fruit dessert wines

There is also the option of producing fruit dessert wines. Many homemade country wines and fruit wines are made in a dessert wine style with more or less residual sugar and high alcohol content. But dessert wines don't have to be sweet, e.g.

Fino Sherry Fino ("refined" in Spanish) is the driest and palest of the traditional varieties of sherry and Montilla-Moriles fortified wine. They are consumed comparatively young and, unlike the sweeter varieties, should be consumed soon after the bottle ...

. In Germany fruit dessert wines are fruit wines with more than 12.0% vol. In Austria they need an alcohol content of at least 13.0% vol. to a maximum of 22.0% vol. The total alcohol content may be increased by adding alcohol, fruit spirits, sugar, fruit juice and fruit juice concentrate to the fruit wine or cider. Fruit dessert wines can thus resemble classic dessert wines such as sherry or

port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, sem ...

. In US these wines are often labelled as fruit port and resemble fruit liqueur. It is also possible to produce fruit

vermouth Vermouth (, ) is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th cent ...

or other fruit wines flavored with herbs and spices. There are different production methods for fruit dessert wines. In Canada you can find Apple Icewine, which is produced by cryo-extraction (freeze concentration) of apple juice or

apple cider Apple cider (also called sweet cider, soft cider, or simply cider) is the name used in the United States and Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples. Though typically referred to simply as "cider" in the Un ...

( ice cider). Oxidative vinification (sherrisation) is used, for example, in apple dessert wine. Adding alcohol (port wine method,

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

) can be found with French pommeau or with cherry wine and other fruit dessert wines, for example, from Denmark. For fortified wines that are legally between wine and spirits, a tax is usually paid in accordance with the country-specific regulation.

References

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