This wine from the Vosges is a huge hit, and yet it doesn't contain any grapes

Rhubarb wine—which isn’t wine in the legal sense of the term, since that’s reserved for grapes—is a Vosges institution. It all started with a “Belgian story , ” laughs Yannick Moine. While visiting Liège in 1985, Yannick, Michel, and Damien Moine met a market gardener who was desperate to sell his 400 rhubarb plants before retiring. The three farmers were actually potato specialists. “ But we thought it was a good idea to sell rhubarb in the spring.” They took the rhubarb plants and headed back to the Vosges and their estate in Xertigny.

Red currant wine, raspberry wine, dandelion wine… In this region, fruit and flower wines are very common. After completing a course in oenology and years of apprenticeship, the family launched into rhubarb wine production, and Maison Moine’s “Crillon des Vosges” was born. It is now one of the region’s most iconic fruit wines. “About 70,000 bottles are sold each year,” says the company’s president, Yannick Moine.

From Seafood to Chocolate Desserts

Unique, tangy, and indulgent, rhubarb wine is perfect for many occasions. With an alcohol content of around 13 degrees, the dry version—called “Blanc des Vosges”—pairs well with shellfish and seafood thanks to its lingering finish.

The sweet “Crillon” is served chilled with a strong cheese or a chocolate dessert. The family-run winery also offers dry sparkling wines as well as rhubarb rosé.

A Guaranteed Harvest

Three hectares of rhubarb support this production, and the success is such that four more hectares will be added shortly. It must be said that rhubarb thrives particularly well in the Northeast. “Even though heat waves are making things more complicated,” Yannick Moine notes. This plant doesn’t like wind or direct sunlight. But the vintages have the advantage of being very consistent from one year to the next.

Harvested between late May and early June, the rhubarb is stripped of its leaves and the bitter white part, leaving only the stalk. The stalk is then cut, shredded, crushed, and pressed, “ just like grapes.” After one night, sugar syrup, spring water, and yeast are added to the juice. Then it’s all a matter of patience.

“We let it ferment for three months to reach 12 degrees of alcohol. Then it needs to rest for three months. The wine is released four years after the harvest. ” “Rhubarb improves with age; a ten-year-old bottle, for example, is particularly good!” Sold directly to consumers, a bottle of Crillon retails for 13.80 euros.