[punatic]

Any suggestions for a name for fermented fruit beverages (other than the ones already taken)?  We need something catchy...

Hooch?

 

[edit: Oops. Didn't see "already taken." Also please note that this was tongue-in-cheek. Lots of people getting offended on the board these days it seems, and I don't mean no offense.]

I am sooo offended.  Hooch indeed!!

Eau de vie, perhaps?  (oops... did I say that out loud?)

[tubercle]

Tubercle makes wine every year.

 Plum, blackberry, peach, blueberry & muscadine. Some of the fruit is cultivated and some gathered from the wild.

 Over half of this is given away as gifts to friends, just because.

 Many of these friends are grape wine connoisseurs who speak in some unintelligible language when speaking of wine. A big mistake with wines made of fruits other than grapes is that folks try to compare them with some grape wine they are familiar with. That can't be done. Plum wine is not <insert grape variety here> wine, never was, never will be, and can only be compared to other plum wines; it's its own thing. Once this is explained and the fruit wine is enjoyed in this light, most like it very much. Most beg for more and many are very interested in the process.

 I have two friends that are among these long time grape wine consumers/experts that have asked me to show them how to make it for themselves, which I have. They still enjoy their store bought stuff but have added the challenge of the home concoctions to their arsenal. They make very good stuff of which I have had the pleasure to share.

[markaberrant]

Wine must kits are huge in Canada, with most folks just doing them at on-site U-brew stores.  I believe they are super popular here because they are easy to make, and our high taxes on commercial alcohol makes most wine quite pricey (the cheapest rot gut wines are $7-8/bottle, you are looking at $18-25 as an entry level price point for something decent).

I also feel their popularity has a negative impact on homebrewing.  The high profit margins on these kits means most LHBS don't bother stocking decent supplies (usually just pre-hopped beer kits, same as the wine must kits).  As a result, a lot of people who do try "homebrewing" just make one of these beer kits, then give up because the quality is poor (most of the beer kits are old and stale).  And because the kits they sell are "idiot" proof, this means that most of the people managing/working in these stores know absoutely nothing about brewing in general, even those that have worked there for 15-20 years.

Because these kit wines are so popular, you invariably get bottles of "homemade" wine gifted to you, and most of it isn't very good.  I did make a premium wine kit about 4 years ago that included grape skins, I added additional oak, and let it age 2 years before drinking.  It is actually pretty decent, and did favourably in some blind taste tests against some commercial wines we enjoy, but at $175/kit, and not being a big wine drinker, I haven't bothered to make another.

What makes me laugh is that if you follow the basic instructions and add all the chemical crap that is included with the kits, they are supposedly "drinkable" within 4-6 weeks... yeah right, but again the target market are people looking for a quick, easy and cheap alternative to low grade commercial wine, so quality really isn't at the forefront for these consumers.

[oscarvan]

There are five or six "vineyards" within  45 minutes driving of my house. Based on what I have tasted there, making GOOD gape wine is VERY challenging.

[euge]

I've made ciders and meads but never fruit-wine. Homebrew gives quicker results in most cases. Wines are a delayed gratification type of endeavor.

Tubercle how does fig wine sound? My neighbor's fig tree produces a lot of fruit and it mostly all goes to the squirrels and birds. Next year maybe wine?

[tubercle]

I've made ciders and meads but never fruit-wine. Homebrew gives quicker results in most cases. Wines are a delayed gratification type of endeavor.

Tubercle how does fig wine sound? My neighbor's fig tree produces a lot of fruit and it mostly all goes to the squirrels and birds. Next year maybe wine?

 Tried fig wine once and it had a very "thin body"; good taste but zero mouth feel and watery. Reading online seems to indicate this is normal for fig wine. A can or two of frozen white grape concentrate (make sure it has no preservatives) from the grocery store seems to eliminate this. Haven't tried it since but may since I have a huge fig tree in my backyard.

 Hate to see good fruit go to waste...give it a try.

[tschmidlin]

I'm definitely going to try something with figs, my plant is just a baby but we got one fig this year.  We ate it.

I think fermented fruit juice should be called wine, just put a modifier on it.  Blueberry wine.  Plum wine.  Fig wine.  I don't think anyone will be confused

[capozzoli]

Im actually fermenting prune wine now.

Might as well be able to get drunk while I am keeping regular.

[tubercle]

Never tried prune but have used raisins which are nothing but dried grapes.

 As far as calling wine, well, wine. Usually wine by itself is grapes and other ones has the name in it; ie. date wine.

[tschmidlin]

That's my take too tubercle, not sure why winers would have their panties in a bunch.  Other than that is the default position for winers.

[punatic]

That's my take too tubercle, not sure why winers would have their panties in a bunch.  Other than that is the default position for winers.

Perhaps that should be spelled whiners? 

I enjoy wine very much.  I used to be a wholesale wine salesman back in the 70s.  It's a great buzz, but the worst hangover for sure!

[tschmidlin]

That's my take too tubercle, not sure why winers would have their panties in a bunch.  Other than that is the default position for winers.

Perhaps that should be spelled whiners? 

I enjoy wine very much.  I used to be a wholesale wine salesman back in the 70s.  It's a great buzz, but the worst hangover for sure!

It's pronounced the same

I like wine on occasion too, but the snobbery that goes along with wine is  . . . unwarranted IMO.

[beerocd]

I like wine on occasion too, but the snobbery that goes along with wine is  . . . unwarranted IMO.

I think there's quite a few beer drinkers headed in that direction too. I'm sure you've seen beer reviews given on Beeradvocate or RateBeer. Obviously some of those people think they are in some Elite category of beer drinker and don't sound that much different than the wine snobs.

[capozzoli]

Yeah that snobbery is some funny stuff.

If you are ever in Eastern Europe go to the Hungarian wine country. It is very rustic and un-snob like. They serve wine in clay cups from big clay pitchers. They draw the wine right out of giant wooden kegs. You sit and drink at heavy wodden tables with no table cloth. Nothing like a slab of fatty roasted pork, a big slab of fresh baked bread and a mug full of bulls blood. Man, I love it there.

Those french and Italian fairy pants have nothing on the Hungarians.

[nicneufeld]

I think there's quite a few beer drinkers headed in that direction too.

This is true.  I love great beer and great wine as much as the next guy (unless the next guy is Mel Gibson...hat tip to Ricky Gervais), but at some point we have to realize, no matter how expensive it is, no matter how rare or special it is made out to be, wine and beer is little more than the urine and flatulence of a microscopic fungus in some sort of sugar water.