Expert: Paul Wagner - 2/23/2011

Question
Hi Paul. The best wine I've ever tasted has to be a home-made peach wine from a backwoods wine maker in Canada. Is it possible for a fruit wine other than one made from grapes to be world class? I've also had outstanding dandelion wines and mead. Could any wine other than one made from grapes get a 100 from Robert Parker? I'm not a "grape wine" connoisseur, as you've probably figured out. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Leonard

You are really asking two questions here.  

The first one is easy:  is it possible to create wonderful, world class wines fromm fruits other than grapes?  The answer is yes.  I have had wonderful wines made from other fruits, including raspberries and pears.

The second question is whether Robert Parker, in his role as a wine critic, will ever accord such a wine a high points rating.  I would have to say that he probably won't do this.  There are any number of fine wines made from unusual grapes that he does not give very high ratings for (rarely do Sauvignon Blancs, Chenin Blancs, or Gewurstraminers ever earn 95 points).  It is unlikely that he would rate fruit wines this high.

I hope that helps with your questions!

Paul Wagner