Wine Tasting Club – Fruit Wine

By / Wine + Drinks / October 11th, 2012 / 2

What to make of fruit wine? Wine, if you want to be technical (and I know you do), is made only from grapes. I hear you: I know that, technically (again), grapes are fruit. But, according to the laws that govern winemaking (with which we won’t argue – at least, not today), only the crushed fruit of the vine – the grape – can be officially referred to as wine. Well, that little directive doesn’t seem to bother all of the fruit wine producers in Canada. Nor does it seem to dissuade those of us who have had the pleasure of sampling fruit wine from becoming quite enamoured with it. Whatever you call it, officially or not, fruit wine is made pretty much all over Canada, and if you haven’t had occasion to try it, do so as soon as you possibly can.

So, if fruit wine isn’t actually made from grapes, what does go into it? According to Wines of Canada, which is the organization that oversees all wine production in Canada in its various forms, fruit wines are made from any harvested product from apples to rhubarb and dandelions to ginseng. Impressively, there are more than 160 fruit wine producers operating throughout Canada. Not sure where to find the one nearest to you? Check out your province’s or territory’s website. If you still feel you’re on a wild goose chase, check out www.winesofcanada.com/fruitwines.html.

Fruit wines are as complex in flavour and bouquet as wine made from grapes, so seek out the wineries flavour profile if you’re not sure how to enjoy it. The one that really stands out for me is Alberta’s Field Stone Cherry Fruit Wine. Fruity but dry, it tasted like the ripest cherries with a slightly bitter finish that lasted and lasted.

Fruit wines pair really well with any course. Like wine, the sweeter the fruit wine the more it works with tangy or spicy food. Any natural sweetness in the fruit wine (even if it’s produced in a dry style) will do a great job of pulling out the deeper flavours of a dish. They also come in as many styles as regular wine. Look for iced fruit wine, fortified fruit wine and sparkling fruit wine. Try these combinations:

Apple wine aged cheese.
Cherry wine with pork dishes.
Peach wine will cool the heat of Indian or Thai dishes.

Try these:

Pearsuasion, Forbidden Fruit Winery, BC $17.95
Strawberry Fields Truffle, Scotch Block Winery, ON $13.95
Rous Brook Rhubarb, Lunenberg County Winery, NS (contact winery for pricing)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rosemary Mantini has always loved words. When she isn't working as the Associate Editor at Tidings Magazine, she's helping others achieve their writing dreams, and sometimes she even relaxes with a good book and a glass of wine.

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