Broaden your wine horizons Most of us have only one question when it comes to wine—“Red or white?”—which means we've been seriously missing out. Turns out there's a new trend in winemaking: using anything but grapes. Winemakers have moved beyond the vineyard to bottle everything from strawberries to elderberries, and the results are ridiculously tasty. In addition to the array of fresh, fruity flavors these new vinos offer, there’s also a health benefit: Each variety comes with its own unique blend of disease-fighting chemicals. “Fermentation may improve the health benefits of fruit,” says Elvira de Mejia, PhD, a professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois. “When the sugars are removed by fermentation, some key chemicals, like anthocyanins, become more powerful.”Need any more motivation to pop the cork? Try a glass (or two) of these six delicious fruit wines. “This is a versatile wine,” says Dominic Rivard, an award-winning wine master and author of The Ultimate Fruit Winemakers’ Guide.

“You can use apples for dry wine, cider, sparkling wine, or ice wine.” For a palate-pleasing bottle, look for a blend of aromatic apples (like Golden Delicious, McIntosh, and Red Delicious) and acidic ones (like Jonathan and Winesap).Combining different types gives you complexity of flavor, but also nutritional variety. “Apples that have been bred for size, color, and sweetness have lost a lot nutritionally,” says Mary Ann Lila, PhD, director of the Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University. “Those closest to the wild aren’t very flavorful, but they’re chockfull of health-beneficial compounds.” By combining several varieties, you get a pleasing flavor with lots of health benefits. The primary player: quercetin, which helps build up your immune response. )More from Prevention: The Doctor's Book Of Home Remedies Strawberry wine is best consumed fresh, so grab a corkscrew and start sipping—you don't need to let the wine breathe. “Keep it light—it lends itself to the Rosé style very nicely,” Rivard notes.

“It’s a fun, easy-drinking, summer-type wine.” In your body, however, this wine gets down to business. “The main component in strawberries is anthocyanins—and in the wine, they’re concentrated,” says Dr. Lila. top 10 wine regions to visitThese compounds are bursting with health benefits: In a University of California Los Angeles study, anthocyanin-rich strawberry extract was shown to destroy human colon cancer cells (even more effectively than blueberry, cranberry, or blackberry extracts). best red wine with italian food Low in sugar and high in acid, blueberries are ideal for dry table wines, which are best served at room temperature, says Rivard. top 10 nz white wines“Blueberry wine can fool a lot of people into thinking it’s a grape wine,” he says.famous wine by country

Even though the two have a similar taste, the nutritional impact of blueberry wine is superior to the grape-based stuff: A 2012 University of Florida study found that blueberry wine has more free radical-fighting power than 80% of reds and 100% of whites—which translates into more protection for your heart, digestive tract, and eyes, the scientists say. the best fruit wine recipes One of the few fruit wines that ages well, “blackberry wine reminds people of merlot,” says Rivard. what is the best selling wine in the uk“Blackberries are usually a little less acidic than other berries, so they give you a very round, smooth flavor.”best time to visit winery in vaThe deep color comes from the healthy chemicals inside: Each little orb houses a range of disease-fighting anthocyanins, but perhaps most notable is delphinidin. wine for moms quotes

“This compound helps decrease inflammation,” says Dr. de Mejia, “and we have found that it inhibits some enzymes related to type 2 diabetes.”  Cranberry wine is characterized by a slightly acidic flavor, balanced out by a delicate sweetness. buy wine kit onlineWhen it comes to its health benefits: “A lot of people who have urinary tract problems like drinking cranberry wine—it’s more fun to drink than the juice!” says Rivard. And it’s a proven protector: “Cranberries contain A-type proanthocyanidins,” explains Lila. “These wash pathogenic bacteria out in your urine stream, which helps avoid infection.” Cranberry wine also contains nearly 99% less headache-inducing histamine than red wines, a recent Canadian study found.  Elderberry wine is a serious overachiever. A single glass houses more health-protecting antioxidants than Chardonnay, peach, apple, and plum wines combined, according to a recent study from Canada.

You can credit Mother Nature: “Elderberries grow in the wild—and they can’t run away when there is danger,” says Dr. Lila. “So they have to have this wonderful cornucopia of compounds to protect them from adversity—things like UV rays, bugs, or drought.” The dark-hued berry also boasts magnesium, a mineral few of us get enough of. As you can probably guess, this powerhouse fruit doesn’t produce a weak wine. “It is very full-bodied,” says Rivard. “Elderberry wine has a lot of tannins in it, so it has a very long shelf life and will improve quite a bit over the years.”)More from Prevention: 25 Ridiculously Healthy Foods Let's Stay In Touch Keep this field blank Enter your email address You may unsubscribe at any time.This July, Tasting Table celebrates the great state of American food and drink. The pantry shelves of America's homesteads weren't just lined with pickles and preserves: fruit wine—legally defined as the fermented juice of any fruit other than grapes—enjoyed equal pride on the rural table.

Though fruit wine isn't as common as it once was, there are still some producers making bottles—be they dry or sweet, made from Idaho huckleberries or Florida mangoes—that serve to showcase the pure fruit of their labor. Here are four of the best. Chateau Fontaine Cherry WineAs the nation's tart-cherry capital, Michigan naturally leads the way in cherry wine production. Don Matthies of Lake Leelanau's Chateau Fontaine uses fruit "grown just down the road on my son's farm"—not only sour but also dark and yellow cherries—to make his version, which has proven so popular that he sells out of his 1,000-plus cases annually. Full and ripe rather than exceedingly sweet, it has all the makings of a stellar barbecue wine, especially when served chilled.Availability: Though you wouldn't know it from his website, Matthies can and does ship out of state; call or e-mail for details. Carlson Vineyards Peach WinePalisade, Colorado, is home to a majority of the state's vineyards, but it's most renowned for its peaches.

Upon founding his namesake estate in 1988, Parker Carlson set out to capitalize on that fame by capturing the fruit's essence in a bottle—and to this day, winemaker Garrett Portra aims to replicate the "experience of biting into some of the best fruit in the world." His peach wine is peachy indeed—fresh, crispy floral and delicately juicy.Availability: Though retail distribution is limited to Colorado and Wisconsin, Carlson has an online shop for shipping direct to several other states as well. RELATED   How Bourbon Became America's Drink » Maui Wine Maui BlancIf the sight of the words "caramel color" on the label gives you pause, just close your eyes and open your mind. The off-dry flagship wine of this 40-year-old Kula, Hawaii, operation couldn't be a more delightful surprise, tasting almost exactly like pineapple juice (because that's what it is), only lighter in body and much drier on the finish. Though sales director Joe Hegele recommends pairing it with creamy cheeses or Asian cuisine, you couldn't possibly go wrong with roast pork—even if it isn't pit-cooked at a luau.

Availability: Distributors and online retailers cover at least 25 states. Bishop's Orchards Apple WinesFor the past 10 years, winemaker Keith Bishop has been having a field day, literally, on his family's nearly 150-year-old Guilford, Connecticut, farm. With a plethora of homegrown fruit to choose from, he says, "I can try all kinds of things" to yield a catalog of dry, dessert, blended, spiced and sparkling styles (for instance, he's currently experimenting with strawberry bubbly). Bishop's apple-based bottlings in particular reveal the potential for poise and precision fruit wines possess—check out the Stone House White, which he compares to Chardonnay.Availability: Bad news—Bishop's neither distributes nor ships out of state. Good news—you Eastern seaboarders have a great excuse for a road trip. Your information will never be shared with a third party. I accept the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and confirm I am at least 21 years old.I accept the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and confirm I am at least 21 years old.