Wines Made From Non-Grape Ingredients

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When most people think of wine they think of grapes. While most wines we think of are made with grapes, there are many varieties that are made with other ingredients. Wines can also be made of other fruits, starches and weeds.

Most fruits can be made into wine and these fruit wines are very popular with home wine makers. Popular choices for fruit wines are apples and elderberries. For fruits with a high acid content that do not have enough sugar to ferment sucrose is added as is potassium, phosphorous and nitrogen when there is not enough yeast to ferment the sugar. Fruit wines do not get better with age and are mainly bottled to be consumed within one year.

Sake is a rice wine and the process to make it is very much like the process to make beer. Sake is a Japanese wine, but they are not the only country to get creative with winemaking. The Chinese invented a wine made from fish. A winery in Scotland has made wine from vegetables such as carrots and turnips. Popular in Europe as well as the United States is a wine made from dandelions. In West Africa there is a wine made from palm trees.

Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from honey that is often referred to as honey wine. It is made from honey and water using fermentation yeast. Its alcohol content ranges from that of ale to strong wine. Mead can be dry, sweet or semi-sweet and is either flat or sparkling.