Cloning Wines

I have searched for this and have turned up almost no results.

Is it nearly impossible to clone wines? There is a wine that is a favorite of my wife and her friends. I would like to try and clone it but I have no idea where to even start.

I do know that they use honeysuckle, honey dew, and some other tropical fruits.

what wine is it?

Have you looked to see what kits they have out there that might come close?

If it's a fancy wine, I bet it's almost impossible to clone. You've got to have the right grapes and that's got to be incredibly hard to do.

Its called Les Bourgeois Riverboat White.

This is the decription:

"This popular sweet white wine has a bouquet of honeysuckle with hints of honeydew and lush tropical fruit. Riverboat White is perfect for cocktail parties or as a dessert wine."

You might find something close here: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_453_477_507

Also you might get more responses at TX's other forum. Winemakingtalk.com. We're primarily HBer's who make wine from time to time.

mizzoueng said:

I do know that they use honeysuckle, honey dew, and some other tropical fruits.

Click to expand...

Ummm people are talking here, but they aren't understanding. Is it a fruit wine? Or is it "wine" wine? Wine does not contain honey dew, honeysuckle, and other tropical fruits. Wine contains grapes. Wine connoisseurs use descriptors like "pineapple" "leathery" "earthy" "apple" "currant" etc to describe the flavors imparted into the wine by the grapes. To replicate that, you need to buy grapes of the right variety, from the right region.


Now, if on the other hand, you are talking about a fruit wine made with honeysuckle, honey dew, and other tropical fruits, and you are trying to clone a recipe, then I fear you are in for a long slog ahead. With some many different ingredients, the possibilities are endless. You are better off, I would say, experimenting and finding a way to make something that is even MORE pleasing to you than the product which you are presently seeking to replicate.

Personally, I've never heard of someone fermenting the fruits you've mentioned, let alone doing it all together. I'm sure it's happened, somewhere, at some time, but I've never heard of it...

"bouquet of honeysuckle with hints of honeydew and lush tropical fruit"

I used to be a wine-o and these terms describe flavor/aroma notes, not adjuncts. You'll never get the results you seek until you can identify the grape source and convince them to sell you some. Varietal wine is 99.9% grape selection (there are only a handful of yeasts used) and then being really, really careful. Blending is outside the limits for all but the most dedicated home wine maker.

You might do better making a low ABV fruit mead.

Thanks for the responses. I am no wine-o. I don't even drink it, but my wife does and I promised to make her some.

I guess I can just give it a shot and see what happens.