Country wine
Country wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of ingredients other than grapes (the base of ordinary wine) and having a variety of flavors. Country 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.Few foods have enough natural sugar to support a satisfactory fermentation, so most country wines consist largely of table sugar (sucrose); sweet sap tapped from trees such as maple, birch, or palm; or honey.
The other ingredients that give the wine its flavor 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. Usually if the flavoring ingredients are leaves or roots then the beverage is called a beer (for example, ginger beer).
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.
There are two approaches when making country wines: to imitate the flavor and appearance of grape wines, or not to. Some country wines that resemble grape wines are:
- elderberry
- plum
- blackberry
Country wines made from flowers:
- dandelion
- elder blow