What is fruit wine?

Fruit wine is generally a fermented alcoholic beverage that includes a blend or co-fermentation of grapes and any other plant matter (fruits, berries, flowers, herbs) that can be fermented. Mead, cider, and perry are not considered fruit wine. You can purchase an example of delicious fruit wine from us here (80% Trousseau Gris and 20% Raspberries, both of which are fermented together).

With recent wildfires, drought and other climate change events, winemakers have begun exploring more of fermenting or blending their grapes with fruits such as apples, pears, raspberries, prickly pears from cactus and more. As an example, pears and apples tend to be less prone to absorption of smoke from wildfires. They can also be stored long-term and used in winemaking at a moment's notice and grow more frequently during the year then grapes which typically have one growing season in the late summer/fall giving the winemaker a lot of flexibility and security in being to able to craft wine.

Lastly, consumer taste has been becoming more complex in recent generations and as such the consumer demand has driven the wine producers to go out and become more creative. The demand for fruit wine has been steadily growing, with popularity likely soaring in the years to come!