Fresh, fruity, fabulous. And I’m not talking about a Sauvignon Blanc! I’ve recently rediscovered non-grape fruity wines, and they’ve sure caught my fancy!
There’s the red-coloured, intense flavoured cherry wine, for instance. I sipped it recently at a friend’s and found it full-bodied and aromatic. The origin of this cherry wine — it’s called Kijafa — is Finland, and it’s considered truly one-of-a-kind. There’s such a homogeneity in the flavours.
India also has a few fruit wines to boast of. There’s litchi, pineapple, strawberry and mango — all of these are used to make wines. In other parts of the world, raspberry, cranberry, cloudberry, apricot, watermelon, pomegranate, loquat and huckleberry are also used.
Sadly, in India, not many people seem to take fruit wines seriously. Maybe that’s why these fruit varieties make up only five per cent of India’s total wine production. However, people in the wine biz tell me that lately, there has been a renewal of interest in fruit wines — maybe a sign that we’re getting more adventurous in our quest for tipples?
I love fruits, which is why wines made from fruits appeal to me — the sweeter, the better. But yes, the sugar and acidity need to be balanced perfectly. Maybe that’s why pineapple wine doesn’t suit my palate — it’s a little too tart owing to the high acid content. I prefer fresh, crispy, sweet and floral fruit wines.
Rhythm of Pune has been around for a bit and they have brought us some nice fruit wines in the past. Their sweet fruit wines are hugely popular among those being initiated into the good stuff.
Well-made fruit wines can be very rich and versatile. These can easily be paired with spicy Indian food or even with cheese and desserts. But by no means are all of these dessert wines. Some are not very sweet, they vary in dryness, and the alcohol content in all is 12.5 per cent.
An expert once told me that strawberries and raspberries make great wines as the tannins in their seeds provide robust and full-bodied flavours. Pit fruits such as plums and cherries make fantastic wines, especially wilder varieties, as they have a bite to them. In the Far East, I believe delicious wines are made from fermented plums too. Interesting.
I am eagerly waiting to taste a kiwi wine which has been made in Himachal Pradesh. But for now, I’m more than happy to be sipping the cherry wine my friend generously gifted me, after I waxed eloquent about it. Cheers!
Mini is a food writer
