Wine Gums

[Gifted Gourmet]

article here on this item

Quote

Charles Maynard made sweet history when he first delighted candy lovers with his new and unique creation. Bursting with flavor and a delicate pleasure to chew, Maynards Wine Gums are simply a great candy. The pleasantly firm texture allows the full fruit flavors to linger - similar to the pleasurable experience of savoring a fine wine. Wine Gums seemed most appropriate a label.

If you have tried them and found them delightful, which brand did you eat?

What were your impressions?

Have any of you found them in the United States?

I am really anxious to try them!

[Pookie]

You can get them pretty much anywhere in Canada too. There are a couple of different brands but Maynard's are the classic and the best.

I like the lemon but Black is a close second.

[daniellewiley]

A friend of mine has a HUGE gum collection (like, filling an entire room in the basement of his Victorian mansion - I should take pics sometime and share with eGullet).

I asked him about these, and he said that he thinks they are a chewy candy, not a chewing gum - is this true? I had forgotten that "gum" can refer to candy.

[Pookie]

Yup, they are much more like Jujubes than anything else. But much much stiffer to chew.

[jgarner53]

So are they flavored with various wines? Can I eat the cab wine gum with fish or should I opt for the sauvignon blanc gum? How does one pair wine gum with food?

[Gifted Gourmet]

The sun may finally have set on the Empire, but those Brits still export some tasty sweets. Although these colorful candies are emblazoned with words such as "claret," "port," "sherry," and "champagne," they don't especially taste like their namesakes. But the consistency of the chewy morsels -- a happy medium between gummi bears and jujubes -- does allow one to savor their explosive fruitiness like a mouthful of fine wine. Mmm . . . insouciant yet impudent.

from The Boston Phoenix

Wine Gums currently made contain any alcohol, however; they're an all-ages treat.  But what about their flavors? Are their favours supposed to be reminiscent of wines, or of fruit? That's a topic of endless debate among Wine Gum lovers. If Wine Gums were once flavored with wine, they now seem to be primarily fruit-flavored, though of course since wines are produced with fruit, one could argue that they still are wine-based

from Wombania

So, I guess that I really need to order them to satisfy my curiosity ...

[Pookie]

I could mail you some if it's cheaper than ordering from somewhere.

They are availble at the corner store so it's no trouble.

[Sartain]

Wine gums rule! I lived on these and Smarties when I was a kid in Hong Kong. Oh, and jelly babies too, although these are much, much sweeter than wine gums.

Melissa, you can find them online here or here.

I've had both brands (Maynards and Norfolk) and like them equally. I've seen them in New York and, on occasion, here in Philly. Not sure about the South, but I imagine if there's a Brit-food place near you they may be found there as well.

Edited October 10, 2005 by Sartain (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Thanks for the great offers of help in locating these British sweets! Looking forward to putting them to the actual taste test!

[FistFullaRoux]

I seem to recall that there is a shop in Los Angeles that specialized in European candy. Saw it on an episode of The Osbournes.

Unless I hallucinated it. Quite likely. Can't seem to find a website... That would probably be a good place to see if they do mail order.

[bookluvingbabe]

I can't stand them but we buy them by the kilo when visiting Canada for friends who adore them...

[Pam R]

I don't find them all that 'winey' in flavour... similar though less fruity than a swedish berry...

Quite common around here - not something I'd really miss if I couldn't get them.

[Junior]

If your looking for wine gums, only buy the Maynards brand from England. They are the best. I've had several "other" kinds but only Maynards has the right.... what's the word here ??!! The best chew and flavour... maybe that's it. I usually buy the box of them at Costco or Superstore for about $4 CDN. I think there are about 1.5# in box. So just enought to last me a couple of days.

[prasantrin]

If your looking for wine gums, only buy the Maynards brand from England.  They are the best.  I've had several "other" kinds but only Maynards has the right.... what's the word here ??!!  The best chew and flavour... maybe that's it.  I usually buy the box of them at Costco or Superstore for about $4 CDN.  I think there are about 1.5# in box.  So just enought to last me a couple of days.

←

Most Europeans I've met (who like wine gums) much prefer Bassett's to Maynards, but Maynards are easier to find in Canada. I don't really like either of them, but much prefer Swedish berries or green or white gummy bears (but only the green or white ones).

[Saffy]

You can buy wine gums here at the bottom of the planet in New Zealand too. They have been available here since before I was born as far as I know .. and I'm well.. lets just say if I was a steak I would be medium well done!

[Toasted]

I found these at our local Stop and Shop in CT. Yummy and fun! Great for gift bags for the adults. Melissa

[liuzhou]

Wine gums were invented by Charles Gordon Maynard and after some difficulty persuading his strict Methodist father that they do not contain any actual alcohol, were introduced to the market by the family’s London based confectionery company. When I was a kid, these were my favourite confection.

 

Other companies soon copied them – the Maynard family had never trademarked the name! I favoured those by Basset’s another English company. Both companies ended up in the hands of Mondelez International, (originally Kraft Foods) who merged the two into Maynards Bassets.

 

I hadn’t thought of them for many years until recently I saw some on my on-line shopping app when looking for something totally unrelated. Although the merged company still produces the wine gums, they don’t seem to export, at least not to China. What I saw were manufactured in The Netherlands, but by a German company with a distinctly British sounding name - Cavendish & Harvey.

 

They offer two types.

 

 

These are what I would call regular wine gums and similar to what I remember.

 

Regular Wine Gums

 

Then we have these

 

 

These are 'sour wine gums' and yes, they ARE sour. VERY. Yet I like these best. Never had them before.

 

Sour Wine Gums

 

The fine sugar dusting does little to alleviate the sourness.

 

Anyway, these are my new addiction. It'll wear off when my teeth fall out!

 

 

Edited January 1 by liuzhou (log)

[JeanneCake]

where did the name come from?  are they soft/squishy or firmer (toward caramel)?  Chewy?

[liuzhou]

55 minutes ago, JeanneCake said:

where did the name come from?  are they soft/squishy or firmer (toward caramel)?  Chewy?

 

Those produced by the original British companies had the names of various wines formed on top of them - port, champagne, claret, sherry etc. They were marketed as 'wine substitutes' as part of the Temperance Movement, although that may have been in deference to old man Bassett's extreme beliefs.  They may still do; I don't know.

 

Those I have bought here have no words on them, despite words being shown on the packaging illustration.

 

The texture is semi-firm and chewy like a thick jelly or gum.

 

 

Edited Monday at 11:38 PM by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

The texture is semi-firm and chewy like a thick jelly or gum.

They sound to me like wine flavored gummy bears.

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

They sound to me like wine flavored gummy bears.

 

 

Same texture but there's no real wine flavour.

[Tropicalsenior]

That might be an interesting project. I've made wine flavored sherbet and I've made strawberry flavored gummy bears. Now if I can just figure out a way to combine the two. I've got it made.

Edited yesterday at 02:05 AM by Tropicalsenior (log)

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Tropicalsenior said:

They sound to me like wine flavored gummy bears.

 

Yes, the texture is the same, but they aren't wine flavoured.

[liuzhou]

25 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

That might be an interesting project. I've made wine flavored sherbet and I've made strawberry flavored gummy bears.

 

Interesting indeed. I believe some small producers in Europe have made wine flavoured types, but they are not common.

[TdeV]

I remember them from my childhood, so of course I had to buy some!