Hakutsuru Plum Wine

This is a plum wine from HAKUTSURU, listed under Massachusetts, United States, and filed with both wine and sake. It belongs with fruit-based sweet wines rather than grape table wines. Plum wines in this style are usually sweet and fairly viscous, with a round, soft body, little or no tannin, and a tart edge from the fruit that stops the sweetness from going flat. Expect ripe plum and apricot on the nose, possibly with almond-like or light honeyed notes. There is typically no oak influence, and the finish tends to be clean and gently tangy rather than long and drying. Serve it well chilled, around 4 to 8°C, or over a few large ice cubes if you prefer it diluted and lighter. It needs no decanting, since there is no tannin structure or sediment to manage. A small white wine glass or a dessert wine glass concentrates the fruit aroma. A short tumbler suits the on-the-rocks serve, and a small sake cup works for a neat pour. Because the style is sweet, pour smaller measures than you would for a dry wine. Sweet, tart fruit is a good match for heat and salt. Try it with spicy Szechuan or Thai dishes, where the sugar tempers the chili, or with salty, rich foods such as pâté, aged blue cheese or prosciutto. It also suits desserts that are less sweet than the wine itself, such as almond cake, plain shortbread, vanilla ice cream or fresh stone fruit. For a lighter drink, top a measure with sparkling water or dry sparkling wine and add a lemon twist. This is a drink-now bottle, not one to cellar. Fruit wines like this are made for freshness, so keep it in a cool, dark place and refrigerate it after opening. It generally keeps for a few weeks once opened if it is tightly sealed and kept cold.