Choya Umesha Wine With Fruit

This is a plum wine from Kansai in Japan, made by CHOYA, with whole ume fruits included in the bottle. At 10.0% ABV it sits well below most grape wines and well above a light spritzer, which is part of why it works as a sipping drink rather than a long one. Ume is a sour-leaning plum, so expect a profile built on the push and pull between sweetness and tartness, with a distinctly almond-like, aromatic fruit character that is typical of umeshu. Styles like this usually have a soft, syrupy body, no tannin to speak of, and bright acidity that keeps the sweetness from feeling heavy. Oak does not play a role here. The whole fruit in the bottle is the practical detail worth noting. The plums continue to sit in the liquid, so they are edible and can be served alongside the pour, where they tend to carry a concentrated, boozy sweetness. A spoonful of the soaked fruit in the glass adds a little more aroma and a slightly more intense finish than the liquid alone. Serve it well chilled, around 6 to 8 degrees Celsius, or poured over ice, where the dilution softens the sweetness and lets the tartness come forward. A small wine glass or a short tumbler with a few large ice cubes both suit it. Decanting is unnecessary, and a styled plum wine like this gains nothing from air. At the table, it is a natural partner for salty, fatty or lightly spiced food: fried chicken karaage, grilled yakitori with tare, pork gyoza, or a soft blue or aged cheese where the fruit cuts through the richness. It also works as a small dessert pour beside vanilla ice cream or plain cheesecake, or as a base for a simple highball with soda water and a squeeze of lemon. This is a drink-now bottle, not something to cellar; once opened, keep it refrigerated and finish it within a few weeks for the freshest fruit character.