What Wine Tastes Like Strawberries?

One of the most fascinating things about wine is that they come in so many different flavors, including strawberry.

Fruit wines made from strawberries will always taste like strawberries, but other wines made from grapes taste like strawberries, too. Look for wines made from Grenache or Garnacha, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, and Tempranillo. Chianti, Rioja, and White Zinfandel wines are great choices if you want wines that taste like strawberries.

Here’s what you need to know about strawberries in your wine.

What Wines Taste Like Strawberries?

Several famous wines have strong strawberry flavors thanks to the grapes used to make them. If you’re looking for a wine with hints of strawberry, try any of these:

Wine that Tastes Like Strawberries #1 – Grenache

Grenache (pronounced grah-nash) or Garnacha (if it comes from Spain) makes a light to medium bodied ruby red wine that’s usually dominated by flavors of strawberries.

Wines made from Grenache are widely available at entry-level prices and move up to more premium prices for more complex wines. Most people enjoy the ripe strawberry flavors in Grenache wines, and if you haven’t tried Grenache, this is an excellent choice.

Wine that Tastes Like Strawberries #2 – Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir pronounced Pee-no No-are) is a food-friendly wine that almost always has lively red fruit flavors, including strawberry, cranberry, and raspberry. If you really want bright strawberry notes, look for Pinots from Oregon and California.

Pro Tip: If you see the term “Burgundy” and the wine in the bottle is red, then it’s a Pinot Noir and it will likely have strawberry flavors. Often the wine’s just called “Red Burgundy”. It’s assumed you know that the grape is Pinot Noir. White Burgundy is Chardonnay.

Tip: Check out this full post on Pinot Noir wine.

Wine that Tastes Like Strawberries #3 – Sangiovese

Sangiovese (pronounced san-geo-vay-say): Sangiovese. Sangiovese delivers lovely strawberry and sour cherry notes to wine.

This red Italian grape is the main grape used in Chianti wines from Tuscany. Chianti wines from Italy are an excellent choice if you’re looking for a wine that tastes like strawberries. Chianti, has bright strawberry, orange peel, and sour cherry notes. Here’s a full wine guide to Sangiovese.

Wine Fun: Who doesn’t love Chianti and spaghetti night? Check out this post of 7 fun Chianti facts.

Wine that Tastes Like Strawberries #4 – Tempranillo

Tempranillo (pronounced tem-prah-nee-yo): Tempranillo is an uber-famous red grape from Spain that’s used as the main grape in Rioja wines. Tempranillo wines offer crunchy red berry fruit, like raspberry, red cherry, juicy strawberry, and fresh cranberry. Helpful Tip: Check out the complete guide to Tempranillo wines here.

Wine that Tastes Like Strawberries #5 – Rioja

Rioja wines from the Rioja region in Spain are typically made from a blend of grapes. The two major grapes in Rioja wines are Tempranillo and Garnacha.

This makes Rioja wines an excellent choice if you want a wine that tastes like strawberries. Stick with younger Rioja wines, like Rioja Joven or Rioja Crianza, for livelier fruit.

Wine that Tastes Like Strawberries #6 – White Zinfandel (Rose Wine)

White Zinfandel (pronounced zin-fan-dell) is a classic rosé (pink) wine that’s made from red Zinfandel grapes. This is a light bodied wine that you can enjoy sipping as a cocktail or with food. White Zinfandel almost universally tastes like juicy strawberries and melon.

If you’re based in the US, Sutter Home White Zinfandel is the original maker of this strawberry wine style and a great place to start with an affordable strawberry-flavored wine.

What Other Wines Taste Like Strawberries?

Technically, you can make fruit wine from any fruit, not just grapes. Wines made from other fruits besides grapes are called country wines or simply fruit wines.

Strawberry Country Wine Will Taste Like Strawberries

Strawberry wines made from strawberries will taste like… strawberries! What you miss from strawberry wines are the complexities that come from grapes.

Strawberries don’t have the different chemical compounds to create wines that have different fruit flavors; so a fruit wine made from strawberries will only taste like strawberries.

Wine Coolers Can Taste Like Strawberries

Wine coolers can also come in different fruit flavors, like strawberry. A wine cooler is a carbonated drink made from juice (flavoring), a neutral base wine, and sugar. These aren’t technically wines but are wine-ish (sort of like wine). Strawberry flavored wine coolers are inexpensive and are popular with younger drinkers new to wine.

You can buy strawberry flavored wines. Wines like Boone’s Farm in the US use a neutral base wine (a wine that doesn’t have very much complexity) and then they add natural and/or artificial flavors to make the wine taste like strawberries – or peach, kiwi, raspberry, etc.

These wines are generally lower in alcohol (around 7.5% ABV) and will be sweet and taste very fruity.

What’s the Best Wine that Tastes Like Strawberries?

If you’re just starting out with wine and like your wines with a little sugar or sweetness, then try a White Zinfandel.

White Zin is a friendly, approachable wine made from grapes. White Zinfandel’s a great example of how grapes can taste like other fruits, including strawberries.

If you want a more serious wine that tastes like strawberries, go for a red Rioja Joven from Spain or a red Chianti DOC wine from Italy.

Both of these wines will taste like strawberries, but you’ll notice other fruits as well – maybe cherry, pomegranate, or cranberry. 

Where Do Wine Flavors Come from?

The fruits that you taste in your wine come from chemical compounds found in the grape’s skins or through the fermentation process.

Wine Geek Tip: Here’s an overview of how wine fermentation works with this helpful post (okay, it’s a bit nerdy, but if you like that kind of thing…)

These chemical compounds are actually the same compounds found in the regular fruit you eat. So, if you’re tasting strawberry in your wine, it’s the same flavor compound that you’d find in a real strawberry. 

Helpful Tip: Check out this 30-second tasting tip: how to taste different flavors in your red wine with this useful post (really simple stuff in this one, promise!)

Why Do Grapes Taste Like Other Fruits?

Grapes are unique in that they can taste like many different fruits, flowers, herbs, or even minerals.

Each grape variety (like Merlot or Chardonnay) has distinctive chemical markers that translate into different fruit flavors. The winemaker can also manipulate the winemaking process to enhance or add other flavors and aromas.

For example, if the winemaker decides to ferment the wine at a very low temperature, it can bring out pear drop or banana flavors in a white wine. Who knew?

The more wines you taste, the better you’ll get at pulling out the different fruit flavors. So drink up!

Thirsty for More?

Wine! So many bottles. So little time… If you’re just starting out with wine and deciding what you like and dislike (because there are just SO many options out there), then check out this post that I put together just for you: 6 Wines for Beginners.

The absolute best way to dive into wine is to do wine flights. Not sure what that is or where to get started? Here’s a wine flight overview post to get you tasting like a pro in no time!

You’ve seen people do it, but does it actually help? Does Swirling Your Wine Make It Taste Better?