Fruit and berry honey wines from Oleksandr Kolisnyk: a product that should become famous
This week we held an open tasting of fruit and berry honey wines produced by Oleksandr Kolisnyk.
Oleksandr has been beekeeping since 1993. The apiary is located in the Poltava region, in the Lubensky district. And it has 130 bee families. And for the last year Oleksandr has been defending Ukraine in the army. In the summer of 2022, he was injured in the Izyum direction. After treatment and rehabilitation, he returned to the ranks of the Armed Forces in rear positions. And wine production continues!
The history of Oleksandr Kolisnyk fruit and berry honey wines began in 2016. At that time, honey production significantly exceeded demand and sales opportunities. This is how the idea of producing useful fruit and berry honey wines appeared. Benefit is the key idea of drinks. Honey, selected Ukrainian apples, medicinal herbs for balsam, ripe “Hungary” plum, cherry, black-fruited and red rowan — the vitamin “bombs” in each bottle.
The first one in their history was “Honey Balm”. The basis is apple juice, adjusted to the required acidity and sugar level, honey and yeast. They insist on herbs: collection “Cossack tea”, collection “Vitaminny”, thyme, lemon balm, ground coriander, cloves. The balsam is infused for two weeks to achieve the desired aroma and taste. This is medicine! For health and soul. Spicy, very honeyed, interesting.
“Honey mountain ash” is a fruit and berry honey, unfortified sweet wine. According to the wine blending technique, the juices of red rowan berries and apples are used. Infusion and fermentation processes take place. Acidity and sugar content are controlled to GOST standards.
“Mgarska sliva” is a fruit and berry honey wine, unfortified and sweet. The village of Mgar, where the famous Mgar Monastery is located, is famous for its large plum plantations. It is there that Oleksandr and his family buy ripe fruits of “Hungary”.
Cherazus is a fruit and berry honey wine based on cherry juice. The technique of making cherry honey wine is decoupage. The crushed cherry is infused for up to 1 day with occasional stirring, the juice with yeast – for fermentation. Then the cherry pulp is infused with apple juice. Pleasant, aromatic, sweet cherry wine.
Aronia is a legend! Wine based on black rowan juice and honey. Before the war, Alexander bought berries in Bakhmut, now he planted his own. Tart, sweet, aromatic. Taste and aroma — pomegranate, caramel, raisins, smoke. This wine became the favorite of our tasting.
Oleksandr Kolisnyk’s wines are a real discovery. Natural, useful, honest. They do not hide any stage of production, do not use artificial dyes and flavor enhancers. Only Ukrainian berries and fruits, and honey from our own apiary. Here they love their work with all their heart.
