Blue Aurora English Blueberry Wine
Did you know that wine doesn’t have to be made from grapes? The definition of ‘wine’ in the Cambridge English Dictionary is ‘an alcoholic drink that is usually made from grapes, but can also be made from other fruits or flowers’. Well, in this case it’s made from blueberries.
Blue Aurora English Blueberry WinesBlue Aurora makes English blueberry wine in Northamptonshire. The blueberries are hand-picked from Lutton Farm, then pressed and fermented to make three styles of wine.
Blue Aurora ‘Midnight’, described as medium-dry, intense, oaky and rich. This wine is to be served at room temperature like a red wine. It looks like a red wine, it acts like a red wine, but one sniff actually throws you off the scent! Loads of ripe, sticky blueberries, red cherry, lots of floral aromas on the nose, as well as something musky - I’m imagining a spice market with bowls of cinnamon, star anise and Turkish Delight.
It’s a bit of an enigma on the palate. It’s fruit-forward but dry, with a tart acidity and warm cornbread on the finish. I can only loosely compare it to a bright and boisterous Beaujolais Nouveau, but there’s no doubt it’s something of its own. I found the ‘Dusk’ wine to be more accessible because of its lighter weight, but my absolute favourite of the three was the Blue Aurora ‘Ice’. This ice wine is made from frozen berries and is so gorgeously concentrated with a velvety texture and a spike of tangy sour cherry, making it refreshing, not cloying.
With a cheeseboard, the experience heightens and I found that blue cheese brought out the fruit in all of wines, particularly making a difference to the ‘Midnight’ and the ‘Dusk’. If you want to try something totally different and want something unique to pair with your cheeseboard, why not give these a go?