"Doug Freyburger" > wrote in message
...
> Nicole Massey wrote:
>>
>> The first answer is a simple one -- use fruits you think taste good.
>
> So far all of my wine attempts have been variations on mead, with or
> without additional fruit.
>
>> The second answer is a bit more complex. Some fruits do better than
>> others.
>> Fruits with a more bold flavor will permeate the wine or mead better. For
>> example, the more subtle flavor of peach sometimes gets lost.
>
> The time I tried fermenting orange juice the result was nasty. I don't
> think citris fruits do well fermenting. Given that tart apples make
> better cider I don't think it's the acid content. Unless oranges have
> so much acid it becomes a problem?
>
>> And BTW, wine made with fruit other than grapes are called "country
>> wines"
>> and are topical in my personal opinion to any wine list or newsgroup, as
>> they're still wines.
>
> Perhaps apple based wines are the exception to the naming rule.

I know folks that have made great melomels with oranges, lemons, limes, and
other citrus. I'm not sure why yours went off the rails. In my beginning
mead class materials I mention that you can use any juice except for things
like clam juice to make melomels with good effect. The Orange/Mango Melomel
one of our class participants made was good, though strong, as once again it
fermented to dryness.

Oh, and something I forgot to mention -- freeze any fruit you want to use,
as this will break the cell walls of the fruit and give you more juice,
meaning more flavor and sweetness.