Food and Drink: Pear by the glass

By: Dave Faries, Editor
Posted 2/28/21

You don’t need to swirl the glass to open the aromas of freshly sliced pear. The semi-sweet Pear Wine from Hickory Ridge Orchard promises a bright and cheerful evening – or afternoon, for that …

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Food and Drink: Pear by the glass

Posted

You don’t need to swirl the glass to open the aromas of freshly sliced pear. The semi-sweet Pear Wine from Hickory Ridge Orchard promises a bright and cheerful evening – or afternoon, for that matter.

Yes, fruit wines have a reputation. Thanks to a lineage of cloying wines palatable only to novice drinkers, most aficionados scrunch their noses at the thought of pear, strawberry, fig or even dandelion varietals.

But fruit wines also have a long history. Many historians believe the first bottles – well, clay jars – produced were from whatever local fruits were growing many millennia ago. And in the new world, pioneers took advantage of anything available.

Hickory Ridge’s Pear Wine is not from necessity. It is, instead, something that can be sipped for simple enjoyment and appreciated by connoisseurs.

Behind the spirited scent of pear lurk more haunting notes, zest peeled from the fruit, a husky minerality with hints of sel gris – that prized balance of clay and sea breeze.

On the palate the wine develops further. A notion of rich pear compote cascades from the glass, with a sheen of ripe Granny Smith apple and candied pineapple that builds at the finish. In between a musty tenor resonates – peeled pear skin and rings of dried fruit. Again, that minerality on the nose shows itself.

There is a sweet face to the wine, but it is demure. What stands out is the crisp fruit and subtle earthiness in balance, like a classic Sauvignon Blanc.

Brandt Schisler of Hickory Ridge Orchard works with the folks at Hopewell Winery in Rockport, Illinois, to produce the wine. The experience behind it shows.

While this fruit wine may share in the heritage of pioneer wines past, it’s in name only. The Hickory Ridge Orchard Pear Wine is fun, but also sophisticated.


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