The finest and most famous wines in the world are made from grapes, but there’s a whole world of other options out there.
And many of them are available in central Ohio. Apples, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, peaches, kiwi, pineapples, apricots, pomegranates and watermelons are just a few of the fruits that are converted to wine locally.
Buckeye Winery in Newark crafts wines made with juices from Europe, California and Australia. Its flavors range from blackberry, cherry and green apple to acai/red raspberry, kiwi/pear and loquat/ginger. There are even some non-fruits in the line-up, such as chocolate, pumpkin pie, mojito and jalapeno.
Buckeye’s watermelon wines are among its standouts. It offers a watermelon white merlot and a newer flavor: sparkling watermelon.
“Not too many people make the watermelon wine,” says Larry Morrison, who, along with his wife, Kathie, is a
vintner at Buckeye Winery.
It takes about four weeks to ferment, process and age the white merlot. After carbon dioxide is added, it takes about two weeks to create the sparkling effect.
“You’re going to get that true watermelon flavor,” Morrison says. “It’s real popular, especially during the summer months.”
Wyandotte Winery in the Gahanna area crafts 100 percent fruit wines, says Robin Coolidge, who owns the winery with his wife, Valerie.
The winery’s fruit flavors include Hope, a sweet pomegranate wine; Raspberry Summer; and Vintage Harbor, a blueberry port.
“What I really love about fruit wines,” says Coolidge, “(is) when you ferment them the flavor survives the fermenting process.”
This process is similar to that for creating grape wines, with a few subtle differences. The sugar in grapes leads to a higher alcohol content, so to get that same content with other fruits such as pomegranates, Coolidge must add sugar. Pomegranates are also highly acidic, requiring more attention to ferment properly.
The process takes as long as six months to create around 300 gallons of pomegranate wine.
Since these wines maintain the flavor of their respective fruit more than grape wines do, people already have a taste for them, Coolidge says.
“If you like this fruit, you’re most likely going to like this wine,” he says.
For a completely different take on wine fermentation, there’s mead, made from honey. And when it comes to mead in central Ohio, Short North-based Brothers Drake Meadery is the king, with varieties ranging from Apple Pie to Honey Oak.
Among the more unusual flavors is Paw Paw, made with native Ohio pawpaw fruit and spicebush berry. It has a light pink blush and a semi-sweet taste with hints of banana, citrus, melon and spice.
“It’s like a circus because there’s a lot going on, but it ends up balancing,” says Sarah Denary, co-owner of Brothers Drake. “Everyone says, ‘It’s not like anything I’ve ever tasted before.’”
It’s a year-long process to ferment and age the mead because the meadery doesn’t add sulfites, which, while speeding up the process, impede the flavor, Denary says.
Paw Paw is also a great mixer, especially when combined with gin and rosemary.
“You get really interesting tropical flavors,” Denary says. “It’s a fun drink.”
Eric Lagatta is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
