Tasting -- Chateau Morrisette Blackberry Wine

 

Another day, another wine tasting! This week when I was with my friends at Kroger trying to choose our wines for the week, I decided to opt for a sweet, fruit wine. I tried Chateau Morrisette's Blackberry wine. It's a winery that is located only an hour away from Blacksburg in Dan, VA. 

Name: Chateau Morrisette

Variety: Fruit - blend of apples and blackberries

Region: Southwestern Virginia 

Country: USA

Vintage: Did not say

Price: $10

Wine Critic Review: Since this is such a niche product in a small area, there has not been a professional review from a critic about it but here's what I could find:

"Virginia-"Sweet and smooth, our Blackberry Wine is packed with the vibrant fruitiness of succulent, sun drenched berries. Apple wine that has natural blackberry flavors to it"

"Chateau’s Orchard Series features several wines that are fruit juice based. This blackberry wine is just what you think, a wine made out of blackberries! Many people at the winery were drinking this, so I was very excited when it came up in the tasting. Sadly, it was a bit too sweet for me and I didn’t much care for the taste of the blackberries. Must just have been me though! It is one of the more popular wines from this series."

https://www.writtenpalette.com/blue-ridge-mountains-winery-chateau-morrisette/

Wine Folly: Unfortunately, there is nothing on apple wines in Wine Folly. 

But I found information using a different source:

"Generally speaking, fruit wine is made from fermented fruit juice; however, floral wines — such as dandelion wine, elderflower wine, or rose hip wine — are also part of the fruit wine family.

Fruit wine is usually alcoholic, but there are some nonalcoholic versions on the market. Alcohol levels tend to be pretty similar to grape wine, with the majority coming in at 10-15% ABV.

While fruit wine may never be as popular as grape wine, for those who love new experiences these intriguing bottles may be just the ticket. As wine lovers look for new ways to whet their whistles, fruit and floral wines are finding their way to tasting parties.

While there are plenty of professional fruit wine sellers all over the world, fruit wine is synonymous with home winemaking. In fact, in the U.K., fruit wine is also known as country wine due to its reputation for being produced by farmers in the country. There are plenty of recipes and guides for DIY fruit wine. All you need is yeast, fruit, and plenty of patience.

To make fruit wine, winemakers must first extract juice from the fruit. This is done by crushing or stewing the fruits. A large quantity of fresh fruit is needed to create a gallon of wine. Many recipes suggest a minimum of 4 pounds of fruit.

Next, the fruit juice is placed in a fermentation bag. Here, the winemakers add a large amount of sugar. While high-quality grape wines rarely have any added sugar (like Usual Wines), fruit wines — especially dandelion or elderflower wines — need plenty of sweetener. 

These sugars not only counteract acidity but also give the fruit wine an alcohol content. Along with the sugar, winemakers add yeast nutrient, which ingests the sugar and produces ethanol, aka alcohol.

Getting the alcohol level just right in fruit wine is easier said than done. During wine production, home winemakers must use a device called a hydrometer to measure the “specific gravity” of the wine, which helps them to control the alcohol content.

As well as sugar and yeast, fruit winemakers often add other additives to help balance the wine. These include:

• Tartaric acid
• Citric acid
• Malic acid
• Pectic enzyme
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Potassium 

The wine is then left to ferment in a cool, dark place. Once the wine has reached its desired alcohol level, the fruit wine is ready for bottling. Unlike some grape wines, fruit wine does not improve with age. In fact, fruit wine lovers suggest drinking it just one year after bottling."

My Review: This wine or cider I should say was very sweet. I wanted to see how a fruit wine differed from the normal traditional grape wine. The wine was very light, very sweet, and very light on the palate. I thought this was really balanced. I enjoyed the wine with a few ice cubes and a side of General Tso's Chicken from the Owens Dining Hall. I tried to pair the sweet wine with a dish that had a bit of a kick, which it does. I would definitely buy this again and serve it as a dessert wine or pair it with a spicy food.