I love fruity wines. Pungent, strong, unabashed fruity powerhouses.
Five delicious, fruity white wines are Moscato d’Asti, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Torrontes, and Riesling. Five fruity red wines are Lambrusco, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Beaujolais Nouveau, and Sangiovese (Chianti). Fruity aromas come from the grape and winemaking process, making some wines fruitier than others.
Here’s what you need to know about delicious wines that taste like fruit.
Why Does Wine Smell Like Other Fruits?
The different fruit aromas you smell in your wine are actually the same chemical compounds found in the actual fruit. For example, if you smell red cherry in your wine, it’s the same aroma compound as actual red cherries.
Despite what you might be smelling, no cherries, plums, apples, or lemons were used to make your wine.
Flavor and aroma compounds come from the grapes and the fermentation process during winemaking.
Here are a few common aroma compounds in wine:
- Linalool – floral and citrus (you actually see this in hand lotion and body sprays, too)
- Limonene – lemon aromas
- Ethyl isohexanoate – banana, pear
- Isoamyl acetate – pear drop
- Raspberry ketone – raspberry
These aroma compounds break free from their bonds and waft up to your nose every time you take a sniff.
This is the quality that makes wine such a mesmerizing experience – all of those different aromas come together in an infinite number of combinations and possibilities.
Some types of wine grapes, called varieties, are fruitier than others.
Some express more savory, earthy, or even meaty qualities. If you like fruity wines, then here’s a list of 5 fruity white wines and 5 fruity red wines worth exploring. Under each wine, I’ve put down how easy it should be to find, along with a general price range.
How Much Does Wine Cost? Here’s a more detailed post that explains the price breakdown for wines – what an inexpensive or premium wine costs, for example.
Five White Wines that Taste Like Fruit
If you’re looking for fruity white wine, you’re really looking for aromatic white wines. These are grape varieties that have noticeable, overt fruity bouquets that burst out of your wine glass. Yum!
Fruity White Wine #1: Moscato d’Asti
Moscato grapes, or Muscat, are believed to be among the most ancient grapes cultivated by man. The name refers to the intense musky, honeyed aroma these grapes have. Moscato d’Asti is a lighter style of white wine with the tiniest bit of effervescence. They are always off-dry (a little sweet), and low in alcohol. You’ll taste pronounced grape, lemon curd, peach, nectarine, honey, and white floral notes in your Moscato.
Availability & Price
Moscatos are widely available and inexpensive, making them great wines for everyday drinking.
Fruity White Wine #2: Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a classic aromatic white wine. These are high acid, medium alcohol dry whites with a light to medium body. Sauvignon Blanc wine grapes reflect their growing conditions. A Sauvignon Blanc from a cooler region will have more pronounced citrus, grapefruit, and green apple. A wine from a warmer region will stray more towards tropical notes, like passionfruit, guava, and even pineapple.
Helpful Wine Buying Tip: Read the label notes before you buy. You may want a more citrusy Sauvignon Blanc or a more tropical fruit style. This is a personal preference. Here’s a full post on Sav Blanc wine.
Availability & Price
Sauvignon Blancs are widely available at all price points, from inexpensive to super-premium.
White Wine that Tastes Like Fruit #3: Viognier
Viognier (pronounced vee-own-yay), is an aromatic white grape from France. Viognier is lower in acid than Sauvignon Blanc, and has a medium body with pronounced aromatics. This wine tastes like a fruit cocktail in your glass. What’s not to love about that?
Availability & Price
Today, you’ll find Viognier wines made in most major winegrowing regions, but it doesn’t enjoy the popularity of other mainstream white wine grapes. You may need to go to your local wineshop or large bottle store to find Viognier.
You may be able to find inexpensive Viogniers, but they are typically mid- to premium-priced.
For outstanding quality Viogniers, look for wines from France’s Condrieu AOC. Here’s a full post on Viognier.
White Wine that Tastes Like Fruit #4: Torrontes
Torrontes is the signature white grape of Argentina. These are crisp, friendly, medium to high-acid white wines that scream tutti frutti candy. You’ll taste lemon, pink grapefruit, yellow cherry, mandarin, peach, and nectarine fruit in your wine. This is the perfect patio pounder wine for summer afternoons.
Availability & Price
Good news. Bad news. The good news is that Torrontes is inexpensive to mid-priced. The bad news is that you’ll need to go to a large bottle shop to find it. Don’t expect to find Torrontes at the average grocery store or drugstore (depending on where you live in the US or abroad).
Helpful Tip: Go check out this complete guide to Torrontes wine.
White Wine that Tastes Like Fruit #5: Riesling
Riesling, the classic white German wine, is another beautifully aromatic, fruity white. Riesling is light-bodied with high acid delivering a powerful fruit profile. You’ll taste lemon, grapefruit, green or yellow apple, peach, nectarine, honey, and even white flower.
Helpful Wine Buying Tip: Rieslings can be dry to sweet. You’ll want to check the back of the label to make sure you’re buying the style you like. Here’s a useful post that goes into more detail on all-things Riesling wine.
Availability & Price
Riesling wines are widely available where you buy your wine. You can find inexpensive wines to
5 Fruity Red Wines
Unlike the majority of aromatic white wines, fruity red wines may or may not be aged in oak. Oak gives aromas like spice, vanilla, and chocolate. So you may pick up on these and taste more than just fruit your red wine.
Fruity Red Wine #1: Lambrusco
Lambrusco (pronounced lamb-brew-skow) is a sparkling red wine from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. This light, higher acid, effervescent red wine tastes like cherries, raspberries, watermelon, blackberry, and purple flowers. Serve your Lambrusco chilled or on ice, which makes it particularly appropriate during warm summer months.
Availability & Price
While you won’t find Lambrusco at your corner grocer, you will find it at most large bottle shops and any wine shop that specializes in Italian wines. An added perk to this already perky wine is that Lambruscos are inexpensive to mid-priced, making them excellent experimental wines to at least try a bottle or two.
Fruity Red Wine #2: Pinot Noir
If you’re looking for a wine that tastes like cherry, strawberry, and plum, then pick up a bottle of Pinot Noir. Pinots typically have pronounced aromatics with intense red berries that explode through your mouth. Here’s a full post on Pinot Noir.
Pinots are higher-acid reds with softer tannins, making them the perfect wine for newer wine drinkers.
Availability & Price
Pinot Noirs are widely available wherever wines are sold. They range from inexpensive to super-premium.
Helpful Wine Buying Tip: Coastal California Pinots tend to be more fruit-forward than French or New Zealand Pinots. As a general rule of thumb, California wines are fruitier than French wines – regardless of the grape variety.
Fruity Red Wine #3: Grenache
Grenache wine tastes fruity, like strawberries, sour red cherries, raspberries, and watermelon. Grenache can come in lighter styles that forefront fruit, and heavier styles that incorporate oak aging to give them more depth of flavor, tannin, and structure. You’ll want to read the labels for hints on which style is in the bottle.
Helpful Wine Buying TIp – Words like: tobacco, toast, vanilla, spice, and chocolate mean the wine is a heavier style
Here’s a full post on Grenache wines.
Availability & Price
Grenache is widely available wherever wines are sold. Most Grenache wines are inexpensive to premium priced.
Helpful Wine Buying Tip: Look for the word Garnacha on wine labels from Spain. It’s the same grape as Grenache, just in Spanish. Spain is home to lovely old-vine Garnacha vines that craft amazing wines for the price.
Helpful Tip: I love Spanish wines. So underappreciated, but they shouldn’t be. Here’s a post on Spanish Red Wines and another post on Spanish White Wines – my mission in life is to convince you to drink more Spanish wines. Okay – onto the next wine…
Red Wine that Tastes Like Fruit #4: Gamay – Beaujolais Nouveau
Beaujolais Nouveau, a red wine made from Gamay, tastes like cherry cola, and watermelon candies with bright red stone fruit and berries. Beaujolais is a region in France, and Nouveau means “new”. This red wine has the privilege of being the first wine released to market after each harvest.
The unique winemaking process means that Beaujolais Nouveau is always a super fruity, uncomplicated, easy-drinking red wine.
Fun Wine History: Gamay was one proclaimed as an “Evil Grape” – check out Gamay’s checkered past and why we drink it on Thanksgiving.
Availability & Price
You’ll only find Beaujolais Nouveau around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Look for it at large bottle shops and specialty shops. It’s always inexpensive to mid-priced.
- Helpful Wine Buying Tip: Look for the word “Nouveau” on red wine labels. Any red wine with “Nouveau” on the label will be made the same way as actual Beaujolais Nouveau and will be light and fruity.
- Helpful Wine Drinking Tip: Nouveau wines can’t age. Bring your bottle home and drink it!
Red Wine that Tastes Like Fruit #5: Sangiovese (Chianti)
Sangiovese, the main red grape used in Italian Chianti, makes bright red wines that taste like fruit, including red cherry, strawberry, and orange peel, of all things. Chianti tends to have more acid (towards the high end), and medium to high tannins depending on the grapes and winemaking style. Winemakers typically use oak with Chianti, so expect at least a little toast and spice.
Here’s a full guide to Sangiovese.
Availability & Price
If nothing else, Italians have spread their love of Chianti around the world and today you can find Chianti almost everywhere. Chiantis are typically inexpensive to premium priced, with some super-premium examples.
Helpful Tip: Not all Chiantis are equal, so I wrote this post to help you know how to buy quality Chianti wines. Check it out!
Final Thoughts – Want fruity Wines? You’ve Got Options
From Sauvignon Blanc, to Lambrusco and Pinot Noir, you’ve got options if you’re looking for fruity wines.
The fruits you smell and taste in wine like cherry, strawberry, blackberry, kiwi, pineapple, pear, and mandarin are actually the same molecules you taste and smell in those actual fruits.
This chameleon-like quality is the true magic of wine grapes and wine. What fruits will you taste?
Thirsty for More?
Here’s a post that dives into all of the different wines that taste like strawberries. Who knew?
If there’s one thing that you can do to lift up your wine drinking experience, it’s tasting with your mouth open. Check out this 30-second tasting tip to learn how (and why) you need to taste wine with your mouth open.
