The Ultimate Fruit

Winemaker’s Guide
- E-Book Version -

The Complete Reference Manual For All Winemakers

Dominic Rivard

BACCHUS ENTERPRISES WINEMAKER SERIES

1
The Ultimate Fruit Winemaker’s Guide
Second Edition

Written By:
Dominic Rivard

Published by:
Bacchus Enterprises Ltd.

Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical
photocopying, recording or otherwise without
written permission from the author.

ISBN: 1441450920
EAN-13: 9781441450920

First Edition Printed August 2007

For more information contact:

E-mail: info@djrivard.com
Blog: www.dailyfruitwine.com
Web: www.djrivard.com







2


TABLE
OF
CONTENTS





FOREWORD



Why
This
Book
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7



About
the
Author
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8



SECTION
ONE

 THE
FRUIT
WINE
CONCEPT
AND
SET
UP

 


 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS
FOR
THE
WINEMAKER



Chapter
1

 
 History
of
Wine
and
Fruit
 
 
 
 
 10


 
 
 Wine
in
Ancient
History


 
 
 The
Modern
Fruit
Wine
Industry


 
 
 Types
of
Fruit
Wines
Now
Being
made


 
 
 Fruit
Wine
Categories



Chapter
2

 
 Starting
a
Fruit
Winery

 
 
 
 
 16


 
 
 General
Considerations


 
 
 Start‐up,
Planning,
During
Production


 
 
 Capital
and
Operating
Costs



Chapter
3

 
 The
Wine
Facility

 
 
 
 
 
 22


 
 
 The
Building


 
 
 Production
Facility
Sample
Layouts


 
 
 Plant
Set‐Up


 
 
 Equipment
and
Supplies


 
 
 Production
Planning



Chapter
4

 
 Acquiring
the
Needed
Knowledge
and
Skills

 
 30


 
 
 How
and
Where
to
get
What
you
Need


 
 
 Selecting
a
Winemaker


 
 
 Operational
Consideration
and
Business
Viability


 
 
 Reducing
Overhead
and
Other
General
Expenses










3




SECTION
TWO
 MAKING
THE
WINE



Chapter
5
 
 Fruit
Selection
 
 
 
 
 
 36


 
 
 Selecting
Which
Fruit
For
Winemaking


 
 
 In
depth
Study
of
Each
of
the
Main
Fruit
Categories



Chapter
6
 
 Ingredient
Sources
and
Variety
 
 
 
 42


 
 
 Pros
and
Cons
of
Each
Fruit
Source


 
 
 Sugars,
Variations
and
their
Uses


 
 
 Other
Ingredients
Other
Than
Fruit



Chapter
7
 
 Specific
Winemaking
Procedures
 
 
 53


 
 
 European
Style
Apple
Wines
and
Hard
Ciders


 
 
 Citrus
and
Orange
Based
Wines


 
 
 Plum
Based
Wines
(Western
and
Asian
Styles)


 
 
 Loganberry
Based
Wines


 
 
 Raspberry
Based
Wines


 
 
 Elderberry
based
Wines



Chapter
8
 
 Commercial
Scale
Selected
Fruit
Wine
Recipes
 70


 
 
 Dry
“Traditional”
style
Fruit
Wine
Blend


 
 
 Off
Dry
Varietal
(Aronia,
Blackberry,
Black,
White
Currant)


 
 
 Sweet
Fruit
Wines
(Blueberry,
Blackberry,
Black
Currant)


 
 
 Sparkling
Fruit
Wines



 
 
 Ice
Fruit
Wine
(Apple)



 
 
 Fortified
Fruit
Wines



Chapter
9
 
 Production
Process

 
 
 
 
 81


 
 
 Volume
of
Wine
Production
and
Batch
Size


 
 
 Fruit
Handling,
Tractors,
Containers,
Crush,
Pressing


 
 
 Fermentation,
Storage


 
 
 All
about
Wine
Tanks



 
 
 Pumping,
Filtering,
Bottling
and
Labelling


 
 
 Complete
Wine
Production
Flow
Chart



Chapter
10
 
 Wine
Blending
–
Fruit
Wine
Blend
Considerations
 92


 
 
 Full
Interview
with
Winemaker
Magazine


 
 
 List
of
Good
Fruit
Wine
Blend
Combinations






4


Chapter
11
 
 Cellaring
–
Aging
and
Storing
Wine
 
 
 95


 
 
 Short
Term
Aging
Under
2
Years


 
 
 Cellaring
Wine
for
the
Long
Term


 
 
 Proper
Temperature
for
Wine
Storage



Chapter
12
 
 Quality
Control
 
 
 
 
 
 98


 
 
 Challenges
Faced
by
Fruit
Winemakers


 
 
 Fruit
Quality
Control



 
 
 Wine
Quality
Control



 
 
 Aging
and
Storage
Quality
Control


 
 
 Bottling
Quality
Control


 
 
 Wine
Corks


 
 
 Sanitation
in
the
Wine
Room







Chapter
13
 
 Wine
Faults
and
Flaws
–
Detection
and
Remedy
 106


 
 
 Terminology
of
Wine
Problems



Chapter
14
 
 Guaranteeing
a
Good
Wine
–
Stability
Tests
 
 118


 
 
 Sugar
tests
and
Residual
Sugars


 
 
 Acids
and
Titratable
Acidity



 
 
 Volatile
Acidity


 
 
 Preservatives
and
its
Analysis



 
 
 Sulphur
Dioxide


 
 
 Malolactic
Fermentation
Analysis


 
 
 Ethanol
Analysis
by
Ebulliometer


 
 
 Measuring
pH
and
Its
Relationship
with
TA


 
 
 Pre
Bottling
Tests


 
 
 Determining
Protein
Stability


 
 
 Precipitation
Tests



SECTION
THREE
MARKETING
AND
SALES



Chapter
15
 
 Wine
Marketing
–
An
Overview
 
 
 
 144


 
 
 Sales
and
Marketing



Chapter
16
 
 The
Wine
Markets
 
 
 
 
 
 146


 
 
 Global
Export
Markets


 
 
 Local
Markets
and
Marketing
Wine
in
Your
Area


 
 
 Market
Channels
–
Pros
and
Cons
of
Each






5




Chapter
17
 
 Packaging
and
Branding
 
 
 
 
 157


 
 
 Promotion
and
Publicity


 
 
 Trade
Shows


 
 
 Budget
and
Pricing




Chapter
18
 
 Alternative
Wines
for
Specific
Markets
 
 
 165


 
 
 Organic
Wines


 
 
 Kosher
Wines



Chapter
19
 
 Health
Benefits
of
Fruit
Wines
–
Marketing
Health
 171


 
 
 Anti
Oxidants
in
Fruit
Wines


 
 
 Fruit
Wines
and
Their
“ORAC”
Values



Chapter
20
 
 The
Future
is
Bright
for
Fruit
Wines
 
 
 174


 
 
 Conclusion
and
Next
Steps



BIBLIOGRAPHY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 176



APPENDIX
SECTION



APPENDIX
A

 Equipment
and
Costs
 
 
 
 
 181

APPENDIX
B

 Suppliers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 186

APPENDIX
C
 
 Resources
and
References
 
 
 
 189

APPENDIX
D

 Wine
Competitions

 
 
 
 
 193

APPENDIX
E
 
 Organic
Wine
Production
Standards
 
 
 194

APPENDIX
F
 
 Use
of
Tannins
in
the
Life
of
a
Wine
 
 
 197

APPENDIX
G
 
 Wine
Production
Formulas
 
 
 
 198

APPENDIX
H


 General
Wine
Related
Glossary
 
 
 
 200

APPENDIX
I
 
 Fruit
Wine
and
Cheese
Pairing
 
 
 
 205

APPENDIX
J
 
 List
of
Wine
Importers
and
Distributors
 
 206

6
Foreword

Why this book?

This book is a culmination of a passion for wine that includes 15 years of fruit
winemaking experience.

When I started making wines from fruits, there was really no information specific to
fruit winemaking except for a few small amateur wine recipe books from the UK.
These recipes more often than not made mediocre wines and I feel that these books did
not help the bad reputation fruit wines sometimes had.

There are hundreds of wine related books in the marketplace. A lot of them deal with
wine appreciation and the many wine regions of the world. Others are technical books
on grape winemaking only. Practically none are specifically geared to the fruit
winemaker and the unique considerations that fruit winemaking entails.

A lot of experimentation (and some truly undrinkable wines) has been made due to
this lack of commercial quality fruit wine information. With time, a deeper
understanding of the nuances and techniques of fruit winemaking were developed
and this has contributed to fruit wines now often standing on par with their grape
wine cousins in some parts of the world.

With the rise in popularity of commercially made fruit wines and for the thousands of
amateur and commercial winemakers who enjoy making and drinking well-made fruit
wines, it’s about time this came along!

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. It is my sincere
wish that it helps you produce world-class wines and in doing so enhance the public’s
enjoyment and perception of fruit wines everywhere.

Your friend in winemaking,

Dominic Rivard

7
About the Author


Dominic was born in the province of Quebec, Canada and
comes from a rich heritage of farmers and entrepreneurs
whose ancestry can be traced to the cider making regions of
North Western France.

With over 16 years experience in the wine industry, Dominic

has been passionately about wine since the age of 17 when
he started making wine from local fruits and grapes.

He specialises in fruit wine, dessert wine and ice wine

production and is known in wine industry circles as an
authority in fruit wine making.

After becoming a certified sommelier, he studied winemaking and oenology through

UC Davis in California, undertook and passed the Wine and Spirit Education Trust
(WSET) Diploma in London, UK and is studying towards the prestigious Master of
Wine accreditation.

He is a founding director of the Fruit Wines of Canada Association, which is involved

in promoting fruit wines and its industry throughout Canada and the world.

Dominic has won hundreds of awards in national and international wine competitions.
Including the best desert wine in Canada in 2007 and various best of show awards in
fruit wine and desert wine categories.

Over the last decade, Dominic has been running numerous wine production and
exportation projects for wineries in Canada, USA, Italy, Spain, Chile, Taiwan, Korea,
Japan as well as China. He is a speaker on winemaking and wine marketing at various
symposiums throughout the world and is an acclaimed wine judge for various
professional wine competitions.

Dominic has been engaged in R&D projects for the several Canadian provincial
governments and has perfected numerous dessert wine production techniques
including fruit ice wine cryo-extration.

He is presently involved enological consulting for various wineries in four continents

and part owner in a high quality tropical fruit winery in Thailand.

He is very excited about the developments in the fruit wine industry and its great
potential on a global basis.


8
 SECTION ONE
OVERVIEW OF FRUIT WINERY CONCEPT
AND SET-UP CONSIDERATIONS

9
Bacchus
Enterprises
Ltd.

During Wine Production
• Fruit quality must be good. Although fruit does not have to be always of “A”
grade to make good wine, proper sugar levels must be attained, acid levels
must be manageable and flavour of the fruit must be good. Spoiled or moldy
fruit must be avoided as much as possible.

• Always have equipment in good working order and make sure there are some
spare parts for all equipment. This is important as making wine can be a
sensitive issue and work slow-downs or not being able to complete a task in a
quick amount of time due to equipment malfunction can result in wine spoilage
or lower quality product.

• Make sure that the winery facility can be easily cleaned and kept clean. Proper
drainage should be installed, a good supply of hot water available, and a proper
sanitation regime put into place.

• If the operator hires a

winemaker to oversee
production, he should ensure
that the winemaker loves wine
and it must show. A
winemaker is not only a person
who knows how wine is made
but also is a bit of an artist and
highly creative as well as
having some business sense.
They must have good
winemaking experience and
training and be passionate
about his or her craft. The
operator would be wise to
make sure the winemaker has good references, has won wine awards in the past
and has a flair for producing marketable wines. Tasting his or her wines made
at other wineries may be a good idea before hiring his or her services.

Planning
When thinking of building your own winery, it is always good to know what is ideal,
what your capital will allow, and how you will proceed. There are certain basic pieces
of information you should consider before making a large investment, but always
think ahead and do not try to shortcut your needs.
There are many issues that need to be considered when entering the wine industry.

18
The profitability and success of a winery will depend on several factors:
 The price paid for purchased fruit
 The price received for the finished product
 Marketing costs of finished wine
 The size of the operation
 Location of winery
 Any established contracts
 Debt levels of business
 Management factors
 Staff requirements
 Skill level of manpower (qualified winemaker, lab technician – if necessary)
 Cellar door requirements
 Quality of the fruit and the wine

Listed below are some considerations you should evaluate before you start purchasing
equipment. In addition, visit wineries the size you plan on starting or expanding to,
and work with suppliers and/or visit wine consultants. This will allow you to avoid
some common mistakes. The list below may help guide your decision process and
offers a starting point for decisions:

 Capital determines the size.

 Start large enough – plan where you want to be in 2-3 years.
 Have enough ceiling height – 15 feet is ideal.
 Have a loading dock.
 Have adequate electrical power – need three-phase power.
 How much total capacity should you have? Ideally, one-third more total tank
storage capacity than your total yearly production.
 Need fermentation temperature control on tanks greater than 2000 L.
 How many tons per hour do you need to process? This determines size of
press/speed of crusher.
 Determine pump, filtration, and bottling needs.
 Determine package design: includes labels, capsules and bottle type. How much
will you bottle per day?
 In the appendix section, you will find a list of equipment requirements for three
different production levels: 4500L, 15,000L and up to 37,500L or more. See Notes
for Production Levels 1-3 in the appendix to determine your equipment needs.

19
 CHAPTER 5
Fruit Selection
In the wine industry, it is said that often, wine is made in the vineyards. In our case, it
can be said that fruit wine is often “made in the orchards”.

Obviously, selecting or growing poor quality fruit will make the production of high
quality wine very difficult. Therefore having access to, growing and selecting the best
quality fruit possible under the best situation is of prime importance.

Fruit should be ripe or slightly overripe and take the following into consideration:

• High sugar content, lower acid – easier to adjust and less costly than over
chaptalizing.
• ‘B’ or juice grade is fine, not able to
sell on fresh market – added bonus,
able to use excess crop. The “B” or
even “C” grade fruit does not
always mean that the fruit is inferior
in quality. It is often a way to
differentiate between ecstatically
pleasing fruit geared for the fresh
retail market and fruit that may be
just as good but not as esthetically
pleasing to the eye and selected as
such for the juice or jam market.
• No moldy or overly bruised fruit – prevent potential contamination or over use
of SO2 to neutralize the mold.
• Choose fruit that is well known and will be easy to identify. Will have the
greatest chance to catch on with the public.
• In some parts of the world, indigenous fruit may be of local interest such as
Saskatoon berries in Western Canada, but may not have as much of a following
outside of the local region. Making wines from such fruits will require spending
more time and marketing funds to promote the lesser-known fruit.
• If available, raspberries and strawberries have wide appeal and are easier to
produce than most fruits.
• Make some neutral wines such as rhubarb, pear or apple wines for blending
into more flavorful wines and to standardize, adjust and make consistent

36
 CHAPTER 12
Quality Control

Challenges Faced by Fruit Winemakers

Despite the fact that all

fruits will instinctively
ferment to some degree
under the right
circumstances, there is a
reason “fruit wine” really
means “wine made from
fruit other than grapes.”
When asked why vitis
vinifera won the world
winemaking race, Dr.
James Lapsley, wine
historian and associate
professor at the UC Davis
Department of Viticulture and Enology explains, “Vinifera is unique in fruits in
developing as much sugar as it does, thus resulting in a wine of 10-14% alcohol, which
is more stable.

Ripe pineapple, for instance, is about 15% sugar. Therefore, most fruits need sugar
additions, or water additions (to reduce acidity) or both. Vinifera makes itself, and
hence became the standard.” Commercial fruit winemaking, by default, has largely
become a quest for solidity and stability, dominant rather than self-inventing. One of
the foremost battles any fruit winemaker wages is with the sugar content of the juice or
must. Depending upon the pH of the preliminary material, for a wine to have
adequate alcohol to be microbially constant as well as have the right texture in the
mouth, winemakers aim for at least 11.0% ethanol. On the basis of the sugar-alcohol
alteration factor utilized (0.538 is a general starting point), that would entail an initial
sugar content of 20.45 %. Many fruits can hardly top out at 12.0% (be careful of pulpy
pendant solids in any hydrometer analysis—it is best to centrifuge samples). With
numbers like those, it rapidly becomes apparent that adding sucrose, honey,
concentrate, or some erstwhile form of fermentable sugar is essential. Crowe (2007)

98
What a producer is keen to add to a wine depends upon their stylistic goals. A
Japanese study reviewed in the American Journal of Oenology and Viticulture (vol. 46
no. 1 1995) suggests that fruit wines sweetened by means of glucose and fructose, as is
found in grape juice and fruit concentrates, scored higher in taste panels than the
similar fruit wine sugared by un-cleaved sucrose. A few winemakers get pleasure from
the bouquet and extra body that some kinds of honey ads to a product at the same
time some only sweeten their wines via similar-fruit concentrates. Others merely skirt
the sugar-addition problem by adding together grape or other fruit brandy to their
fruit wines to boost the alcohol content. What a producer can add to a wine is
dependant on their federal and state laws and will impinge on how they eventually
label the bottled product.

For fruit winemakers in the U.S., TTB regulation group 27CFR4, listed at
www.ttb.gov/regulations, is required reading. Ameliorate with slight of the “wrong”
thing and all of a sudden an Upstate New York Pink Lady Apple Wine will have to be
labeled as “Fruit Wine with Natural Flavours.” Attaining the acid equilibrium right is
the next challenge. The goal is to equal the level of acid to the completed wine style
(sweet, dry, or fortified) while maintaining an adequate amount of acid for microbial
solidity and colour constancy, where pertinent. There is nothing erroneous with
having a pH of 2.93 and a TA of 9.75 g/L in a raspberry dessert wine with 7% lingering
sugar. The same final wine chemistry, in a dry apple wine, though, would be
screamingly tart and the wine would be unhinged and unpleasant to drink. Crowe
(2007)

The flip side is likewise hazardous. Low-acid musts (pH’s over 3.80 and TA’s below
5.0 g/L for example) can lead to bacterial incursion, stuck fermentations, high volatile
acidity, a flat taste profile, greasy mouth feel, poor colour, and a concise shelf life. Most
winemakers conflict low acid musts by adding tartaric, citric, malic acid, or an
amalgamation of all three. High acid musts are occasionally de-acidified using calcium
or potassium carbonate but time and again then are simply thinned with water and
have sugar added back to the required fermentation level. In the United States,
winemakers can add water up to 35%.

Fruit winemaking is often a juggling act of sugar, acid, flavor, dilution ratios. Being
intimate in the knowledge of these factors, how they are interpreted by various laws
governing wine production and sales in the market will ensure a higher degree of
success.

Another important factor and challenge facing fruit winemakers is the identification of
“wine problems” or flaws and faults that can occur in the wine process. Being able to
identify this early ensures being able to remedy these problems.

99
In the following sections, we will look at this further.

Fruit Quality Control

Basic tests need to be done to fruit acquired or grown for winemaking to ensure that it
is of adequate quality to render a wine that will be accepted by the buying public.
Consistency is also important at this stage.

The fruit should be ripe; a bit over-ripe is fine, but free of moulding or obvious
spoilage.
If the fruit is to be frozen, it should be placed in containers that are clean and will
prevent freezer burn on the fruit.

Simple tests such as sugar level, pH and titratable acidity of the fruit needs to be
determined to make sure that the fruit will not need too high of an adjustment level in
order to be able to make the wine.

Wine Quality Control

The principle quality control difficulties of the wine industry are: lack of adequate
record keeping, fruit quality, control of phenol extraction in the wines, and oxidative
degradation or oxidation. The key to adequate quality control is to monitor how each
production activity affects the wine and to make adjustments accordingly. Complete
and accurate record keeping is very important and can ensure a successful quality
control program. Only when proper up-to-date accounts of wine production activities
are kept can a full understanding of the parameters affecting wine quality occur.

Aging and Storage Quality Control

1. Sanitation:

Each winery should have an established sanitation program and be periodically

monitored for the effectiveness of that program. Such a simple procedure as tasting
the wines in the tanks is important. Even the water used to rinse or clean tanks and
equipment can be a significant step in ensuring quality. Alcohol is an excellent
solvent. Therefore, any off-character in the rinse water may be picked up in the
wine.

100
 CHAPTER 14
Guaranteeing a Good Wine – Stability Tests
Guaranteeing a good batch of wine is not simple. Wine is
being made at a commercial level and potentially,
thousands of different people will be drinking the wines
made and possibly store them for extended periods of time.
The stability and long shelf life of the wines must be
ensured, not only the taste.

Tests need to be made throughout the winemaking process

for adjustment purposes, determining faults, correcting
these faults and ensuring the long-term stability of the end
product. Certain chemical analyses need to be conducted to
determine the various chemical adjustments in the must and
wine.

The following are the basic chemical analyses that the

winemaker needs to be able to conduct and use routinely in
making adjustments and helping to assess the quality of the
must and wine. However, remember the final assessment is
always based on the sensory determination.

Sugar and Residual Sugars

The sugar content of the juice used to make a wine directly

impacts the final alcohol content of the finished wine, so
determination of the initial total soluble solids content is
important.

Determination of the solids level in fermenting musts or

juices is also important to help monitor the progress of the fermentation. The sugar
content of finished table wines is generally reduced to between 0.5% (dry wine) to
3.0% (sweet wine). It is important to know the level of sugar, because it can affect the
long-term stability of wine.

To measure sugar in juices and fermenting musts/juices, you can use either of two
types of instruments: a hydrometer or a refractometer.

118
Hydrometers are cylindrical glass tubes of varying lengths and diameters that are
loaded with specific amounts of lead in the bottom and graduated at the top to allow
measurement of the density of the liquid. The density measurement is related to a
specific percent of sugar if a Brix hydrometer is used.

The density of pure water is measured as 1.0; measurements above or below 1.0
indicate a solution with a higher or lower density than water. In raw juice or must, the
measurement is read as “degrees Brix,” and in fermenting juices/musts the
measurement is read as “degrees balling.” The two terms are used to indicate
percentage of sugar (Brix) or the relative viscosity of the fermenting liquid Balling).

A rough calculation of the final alcohol content of the wine can be made using the Brix
measurement of the unfermented juice/must. For each initial Brix of sugar in the must,
approximately 0.535% alcohol will result. For a juice with 16 Brix initially, the final
alcohol content will be about 8.5% if all the sugars are fermented. The density of the
juice/must will change as the sugars are converted into alcohol, allowing the
monitoring of the progress of the fermentation. Sugars make the solution denser;
causing the hydrometer to float higher, while alcohol reduces the density of the
solution, which depresses the float level. The two forces tend to offset each other,
allowing relatively accurate measurements with the instrument.

Hydrometers are available from most wine-supply outlets at very reason able prices,
generally around $15. They are available in many different Brix° ranges, but a set of
four with the following ranges would serve the small winemaker very well:

 -5.0 - 5.0 degrees Brix°

 0.0. - 8.0 degrees Brix°
 8.0 - 16.0 degrees Brix°
 16.0 - 32.0 degrees Brix°

Refractometers use the optical density of the solution to determine the sugar content.
The optical density of the solution affects the angle of light refracted off its surface, and
allows very accurate measurements of its density. The most accurate measurements
are made at a specified temperature or are temperature-corrected. Once fermentation
begins, refractometers should not be used and accuracy will be lower. Refractometers
are much more expensive than hydrometers and the increase in accuracy of the
determinations of sugar content is generally not considered to be adequate justification
for the expense.

119
 CHAPTER 17
Packaging and Branding

Packaging

Going through wine package

development is a creative process, yet it
is important to realize how elusive a
successful wine package can be. For
example, it may be a creative product
that wins awards for the designer but
fails to create sales results for the
product. Or, it may be the safe,
traditional tombstone-style label with
an elegant style insignia that does not
distinguish itself from a wine shelf.

Savvy marketers rely on a concept

framework that focuses attention on the brand’s core identity as the starting and
ending point of the work to be undertaken, and serves as a measure along the way in
evaluating creative options. Savvy winemakers/marketers also know that package
development is not to be taken lightly and can take a while to complete.

There are other elements in the wine package that must be managed successfully for a
new design to reach the marketplace. The package designer needs to focus on the
management of the creative process so that the final package is a reflection of the wine
brand in a compelling package that competes effectively in a retail environment. When
developing a logo and packaging, always get feedback and comments at the
development stage, even from friends and family.

157
 CHAPTER 19
Health Benefits of Fruit Wines - Marketing Health
It is now a known fact that drinking
moderately can provide various health
benefits. Research conducted by doctors in
Europe recommends that 1 to 2 alcoholic
drinks per day minimizes one's chances of
developing dementia in old age. Drinking
moderately also reduces chances of
cardiovascular diseases because alcohol helps
in thinning of blood.

Fruits are “natures own desserts”. They are

very beneficial for ones health. Today even a
layman understands that intake of fruits and
vegetables on a regular basis will help him to
lead a healthier and a longer life. Research from the United States, United Kingdom,
and The Netherlands suggests that the role of fruits and vegetables in preventing heart
disease is a protective one. Risk reduction was estimated as high as 20 - 40 percent
among individuals who consumed substantial amounts of fruits and vegetables.

Therefore consuming fruit wines within a reasonable limit will certainly do wonders to
one’s health. Very recently fruit wines have also earned respect with regards to the
health of the mankind. Fruit wines have been recognized and honored by wine makers
all over the world for its amazing health benefits. According to a recent study
conducted by Dr Rupasinghe V, Ontario’s fruit wines have basic health related
constituents in comparison to traditional grape wines which are extremely good for
ones immune system. Different wines made from different fruits have varied health
benefits.

Cranberries have prominent levels of phytonutrients, and many have antioxidant

activity. A research conducted on cardiovascular health depicts that, cranberries have
the ability to reduce total cholesterol and LDL, or bad cholesterol, and raises blood
flow. Cranberries are rich in flavonoids, hence helps in inhibiting certain kinds of
cancers. Cranberries have also found to inhibit ulcer causing bacteria’s also the
polyphenolic.

171
Wines made of raspberries have proved to considerably diminish the pain caused by
sore throat because of cold and flu. Cholera, anaemia, diarrhea and dysentery have
found a home made remedy through wines made of blackberries. Japanese medicine
science recommends blueberry juice and wines for better eyesight and general eye
health. Researches conducted have shown to increase ones memory by intake of
blueberries and associated products.

Fruit Wines can be Healthier than Grape Wines – ORAC Values

One of the most important reasons to start drinking more fruit wine is also because
they are very good for your health.

In regards to fruit wines, the real health property that sets them apart from grape
wines is that they can have a very high ORAC content.

What is ORAC? It stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and is a method of
measuring antioxidant capacities of different foods. It was developed by the scientists
at the National Institute on Aging in the USA.

This is a large a subject to discuss here but as stated above, drinking wines has been
proven to be very good for health, especially the health of the heart, brain functions,
etc. Wines with a good source of polyphenol antioxidants such apples, blackberries,
blueberries, cherries, cranberries, grapes, pears, plums, raspberries, and strawberries
provide huge health benefits and should be part of a healthy diet.

Which wine has the highest count of ORAC?

The following wines and their ORAC content shows that wines made with Aronia
(Chokeberry) are the healthiest wines to drink. More than 4X that of regular red wine!

The berry listed in order of Antioxidant levels per 100 grams:

1. Aronia (15.8K ORAC)

2. Elderberry (14.6K ORAC)

3. Cranberries (9.5K ORAC)

4. Black Currant (8K ORAC)

5. Blueberries (6K ORAC)

172
213