How can we call it wine, if there are no grapes? For this month’s Myth of the Month we are diving into fruit wines, to uncover why, if there are no grapes present, can they still be called wine. Keep reading to bust this myth!

While wine is most commonly known as an alcohol that is made from grapes, fruit wines are still wine. What makes a wine is not necessarily what they are made from, but how they are made.

Wine, by definition, is an alcoholic beverage created through the fermentation of fresh juice from fruits or plants. Grapes are fruit that make wine, as well as strawberries, blackberries or many other fruits you may enjoy. The term wine is used based on the process used to create the alcoholic beverage. Keep reading to learn more about the process!

1. Harvest: Sugar levels are monitored and then the fruit is picked at the ideal time.
2. Crushing and Pressing: The fruit is crushed to release the juice, then pressed to separate the juice from the other parts of the fruit.
3. Fermentation: Yeast is added to the juice, which converts the natural fruit sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This stage is when the juice turns into wine.

While there are more steps to the winemaking process, they differ depending on the winery and style of wine. These three steps are key in making wine, and these steps are the same for both grape and fruit wines.

For some fruit wines, they are labeled as grape wines with specific fruit flavoring. Fruit wines can also be a base of a grape wine and then have the fruit flavoring added into them to make them a fruit flavored wine. But again, they are still wine, because of the 3 key steps listed above. 

Fruit wines are wine. Naming an alcoholic beverage “wine” is based on the process in which it was made, not the ingredients used. Luckily for you, Missouri wineries have a wide variety of grape and fruit wines for you to choose from. Visit Missouri Wine Country to try the wide selection of local fruit wine today!

Let us know what wine myth you want to uncover next using #mowine