There’s a lot of wine snobbery about, and you don’t have to stick rigidly to the wine buffs’ rules, but thinking through the kinds of wine you can make, and what different types of wine complement well, can be useful.
The standard dictum about matching wines is that white is light and red is richer. Red wines go particularly well with red meat. White wines are the perfect accompaniment for fish and chicken. Sparkling wines are synonymous with celebrations and special occasions. That’s the baseline that we’re all familiar with, but of course there’s more.
Novice home winemakers may want to start out by producing a wine that can be consumed on almost any occasion. A medium dry (or medium sweet) red or white wine will go down well (quite literally!) on most occasions.
As a rule of thumb, grape-based wines are probably more versatile than fruit or country wines, but it depends on the wine and your personal preferences. Depending on their specific character, a plum or apple wine could be a good accompaniment for a picnic or barbecue. They could also double up as a fruity treat for a cozy evening sitting round the fire in winter.
You are the master of whether your wine is dry or sweet. Fruit wines often lend themselves to being slightly sweeter. They can be light or heavy, suitable for drinking with a summer lunch or as an evening aperitif. A sweet fruit wine can serve the purpose of a dessert wine, which –as the name says – is traditionally served with the dessert course.
You will also be in control of manipulating the alcohol content. Strongly alcoholic, full-bodied homemade wines can be drunk almost like a liqueur, after a meal or as a nightcap. Once again, fruit or country wines can be perfect is this is what you want to produce.
Some wines seem to invite certain types of food to go with them. Olive wine implies Mediterranean food. Pineapple wine says ‘Hawaiian’. Delicate flower wines might be ideal for al fresco dining on a spring evening. Equally, some wines just won’t go with some foods or some occasions. Herbal wines suggest savoury foods, perhaps winter meat dishes. Sparkling elderflower wine isn’t the obvious accompaniment to a rack of lamb.
As a home winemaker you can custom-design your wines for your requirements. That’s one of its many charms, and another reason why creating homemade wines is a pastime that just keeps growing in popularity. With some basic equipment and a little bit of practice, you can make your own wine at a fraction of the cost of buying from the store. You can also craft wines to suit your palate and experiment with creating unusual wines.
Creating new wines and flavors is part of the appeal of making your own wine. Experimenting with new ingredients, blends and accents makes home winemaking a fabulously creative and rewarding hobby.
