Fruit nectar by van Nahmen, velvety and varietal
Nectar by van Nahmen is varietal fruit nectar made from fruits that would be too tart or too dense on their own: rhubarb, quince, apricot, and white peach. Four varieties, pressed in Hamminkeln on the Lower Rhine – velvety in the glass, with high fruit content ranging from 45 to 85 percent.
Nectar is the answer to a simple question: What to do with fruits that are too beautiful to leave behind, but too tart to drink straight? A quince is rock-hard when raw, rhubarb is sour, and a peach is too dense to press. Van Nahmen adds a little water and a touch of sweetness – and otherwise lets them be completely themselves.
Four varieties, from spring to autumn
Each nectar has its season, and all four bear the name of their fruit.
The rhubarb nectar opens the year – delicate pink, mild, made from the Lower Rhine varieties The Sutton and Frambozen, with 70% direct juice. In summer, it is followed by the white peach nectar made from fully ripened fruits from Emilia-Romagna, the foundation of every good Bellini.
Then there is the apricot nectar from the rare Orangé de Provence variety, orange-gold and velvety-dense. And finally, in autumn, the Constantinople apple quince with 85% fruit content – a quince variety that was already cultivated in antiquity and today grows in Lower Rhine orchard meadows.
Why these fruits become nectar
The answer lies in the fruit itself.
An apple yields its juice willingly, while a quince remains hard and fuzzy; rhubarb provides an acidity that makes teeth feel dull when consumed pure, and stone fruits like peach or apricot produce puree rather than juice when pressed. Such fruits are sieved, diluted with water, and slightly sweetened – only then do they release their aroma.
The fruit content reveals how serious a juice producer is: the law allows 25 to 50 percent for nectar, while van Nahmen consistently ranks in the upper range with 45 to 85 percent. Those who prefer to drink pure will find direct juices in the van Nahmen juices collection.
And the sweetness? It remains sparingly dosed – just enough to round out the acidity so that the fruit remains the star. This is especially evident with the rhubarb: it displays a balanced fruitiness without any sharp acidity, along with a slight creaminess that distinguishes it from homemade rhubarb juice.
Rare varieties that almost no one grows anymore
Three of the four nectars come from varieties that are hard to find on the market today.
The Orangé de Provence is considered too sensitive and low-yielding for modern orchard cultivation, white peaches are too delicate for long transport routes, and the Constantinople apple quince grows only on old stocks, some trees dating back 60 years. Van Nahmen presses them nonetheless – varietal and with patience.
Peter van Nahmen has been running the press house in the fourth generation since 2005; it was founded in 1917. Since 1994, the company has been paying a premium to fruit farmers together with the NABU to preserve the orchard meadows. This keeps varietal diversity alive, bottle by bottle.
The effort is evident on the day of harvest: white peaches are picked by hand in Emilia-Romagna in several passes so that only fully ripe fruits make it into the press. The riper the fruit is harvested, the more intense the fragrance of the nectar will be later on – a calculation that every single bottle confirms.
From breakfast to the bar
Nectars are more versatile than their modest reputation suggests.
Serve them well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees, preferably in a white wine glass. The apricot nectar belongs at Sunday breakfast, the rhubarb at a Mother's Day brunch, the apple quince on a cheese board. In a sparkling wine glass, all four become an aperitif – with sparkling wine, a fruit secco, or simply with soda water.
In the bar, they show their second side: the white peach is the soul of a Bellini, the apricot enhances any sour, and the rhubarb becomes an alcohol-free mule with lime and mint. Those who like it tea-like should check out the Sparkling Juicy Teas.
Fruit with character in the glass
The juice press house on the Lower Rhine is highly valued by top-tier gastronomy.
Star chefs like Tim Raue and Joachim Wissler serve van Nahmen drinks by the glass to accompany their menus. In 2025, the German Agricultural Society (DLG) awarded the press house the Federal Honorary Prize for fruit beverages – read more in the DLG list of award winners.
You can read more about the family and their entire range in the van Nahmen manufacturer portrait. Choose the fruit that suits your season – and be surprised at how much character a nectar can hold.
