12 Stylish Wines Made From 100% Juice, Not-From-Concentrate Apples, Pears and Other Fruits

Christmas is a time of surprise and delight and an ideal opportunity to try these wonderful wines from apples, pears and other fruits – wonderful with food and each a great Christmas gift in its own right – with a case of 12 making a stunning gift!

The quality of all the products sold is perhaps best shown by the medals won by these drinks at the recent International Wine & Spirits Competition tasting who pretty well swept the board, winning over half the medals awarded in each category and both the trophies – an accolade that puts them firmly alongside the best grape wines, and worthy of a place on any table.

Each one is different, redolent of what winemakers call ‘terroir’, where they come from, the fruit varieties used, and the skill and passion of the maker.

These bottles – wines by any other name – are a great way to taste how different ciders, perries and fruit wines taste when they’re made following EU – and globally accepted – grape winemaking laws from 100% juice and not from concentrate.

Available singly on the Cider Is Wine website – http://www.cideriswine.co.uk – or in a curated case of 12 which the’ve called our ‘Let’s Celebrate The 12 Days Of Christmas Case’ – https://www.cideriswine.co.uk/product/the-lets-celebrate-the-12-days-of-christmas-case/

FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS – A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE

Templars Choice Perry (IWSC medal 2021)

IWSC Silver – Let’s start with something made from pears, seeing as the partridge was in its tree! Light, yet assertive and delightful. Not quite dry, but totally natural, the ferment finished in the bottle. A super start to any meal canapés or smoked salmon.

SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 2 TURTLE DOVES

Pilton Queen of the Brue Quince 2018

Made from quince, This has a beautiful aroma of passion fruits and pears, and the palate is wonderfully beguiling with crisp, citrus poignancy balancing great acidity. Excellent with any oily fish.

THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 3 FRENCH HENS

Brännland Pernilla Perle 2017

From the north of Sweden, made from ice cider, but not sweet! Rich with an intense taste of baked apples, this cider belies the underlying sweetness. A great match for best quality organic or corn fed chicken (hens!).

FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 4 CALLING BIRDS

Berryland Barrel Fermented Cider 2019

A crunchy, textured, layered and all round satisfying drink. Mostly dry and beautifully balance acidity, this wonderful cider from Ukraine has umami with many fruit dimensions. Great with pork chops.

FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 5 GOLD RINGS

Eden Siren Song 2019

Recently featured in The Times Luxx magazine by Jane MacQuitty and described as “fresh, frothy, apple blossom-scented”, this is a beautiful rendition of apples – delicate yet powerful. Wonderful with firm fish like Halibut, but also light desserts.

SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 6 GEESE A-LAYING

Riestra Brut 2020 (IWSC Silver medal 2021)

From the Asturias region of north of Spain, the Riestra family have been making cider for over 100 years. This delightful Champagne alternative makes a great aperitif, although the locals drink their cider with steak! It’s worth a try as the acidity really carries the drink so well.

SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 7 SWANS A-SWIMMING

Long Brothers Apple & Blueberry Co-Ferment (IWSC Silver medal 2021)

Pioneers in growing blueberries, the brothers Long teamed up with expert maker Simon Day to produce this excellent cider. The juice of Katie apples and intense blueberries are fermented together to create this wonderful example of cider, or blueberry wine – you decide. Brilliant with North African chicken dishes.

EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 8 MAIDS A-MILKING

Tinston Anatomy 2017 (IWSC Bronze 2021)

Liam Tinston is both a winemaker and a cidermaker, based in Sussex. This crisp, delicious, light Champagne method sparkler will give your Champagne choice a run (and offers great value for money). Great aperitif and with river fish – trout especially.

NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 9 LADIES DANCING

Welsh Mountain Pipin Pét Nat 2020

James Martin’s favourite UK cidery and you can see why. This totally naturally produced cider, with an in-bottle-finished ferment shows the Pippin variety at its very best. Beautiful and delicate, aromatic fruit blossom dances across the palate with crisp balancing acidity. Great with South East Asian cuisine – and Singapore noodles.

TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 10 LORDS A-LEAPING

Once Upon A Tree Blenheim Superb 2019 (IWSC Silver medal 2021)

The Lords will CERTAINLY be a-leaping when they try this. A tart apple and honey nose with just a hint of spice. The viscous palate has concentrated flavours of apple, apricot, honey and spiced orange with incredible length to the finish. Perfectly partners with citrus desserts and with soft and creamy and blue cheeses.

ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 11 PIPERS PIPING

It takes 2 kilos of pure blueberries to make just one 37.5cl bottle. Dark berries and red fruits nose with a delicate hint of candied violet and rose petal. The palate is velvety smooth and devilishly pure, with ripe berry notes reminiscent of kirsch or blueberry jam. A refreshing acidity lifts the sweet finish.

TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS – 12 DRUMMERS DRUMMING

Brännland Iscider 2018 (IWSC Silver medal 2021)

A drum roll IS appropriate from a dozen drummers as Brännland won the overall Trophy for ice ciders in this year’s IWSC awards. Apart from the wonderful layered notes of the finest Seville marmalade and apricotty stone fruit notes, there’s the balancing acidity caps this outstanding example of naturally cold ice cider.

BANG ON TREND

Sophisticated… elegant… and delicious!

Cider Is Wine sells a growing list of 100% fruit content ciders, perries and fruit wines from more than 20 producers, part of a range of over 100 products from across 4 continents that you’ll find in the Cider Is Wine portfolio http://www.cideriswine.co.uk and which are available nationally on the UK mainland. As well as sparkling, there are still still and every sort of taste profile, from dry to sweet, and every point in between. These are ciders that are redolent of their locality – what winemakers call ‘terroir’ – the varietals used, their year of production and the skill and passion of the maker. All our ciders, perries and fruit wines reflect the growing interest consumers have in quality and authenticity and the general move to drinking less, but better and, as I say, come with, on average, around half the alcohol of grape wines, as well as being gluten free and, mostly, vegetarian and vegan friendly – all very much part of the move to healthier living.