Fruit Secco Apple Blueberry Cherry – non-alcoholic

Van Nahmen Fruit-Secco Apple Blueberry Cherry, deep red

The Apple Blueberry Cherry Fruit-Secco from van Nahmen is a non-alcoholic aperitif made from apple, blueberry, and sour cherry juice with fine carbonation. It has a dark appearance in the glass, with a violet shimmer, the scent of dark berries, and a long-lasting perlage.

Fruit-Secco Apple Blueberry Cherry is a non-alcoholic fruit secco from the van Nahmen fruit pressery in Hamminkeln on the Lower Rhine. The base note is provided by the "Rheinischer Bohnapfel," an acidic cider apple variety; wild blueberries provide color and body, and the sour cherry adds the finishing touch. The sweetness comes entirely from the fruit itself.

Anyone served this for the first time might mistake it for a light red wine for a moment—until the first sip reveals that fruit is at work here, not wine.

Berry depth and the upright acidity of sour cherry

On the nose, cherry and dark forest berries are at the forefront, followed by the acidity that gives the whole thing its tension.

On the palate, it is subtly sweet; the carbonation gives the dark fruit lift and carries it through the entire sip. Wild blueberries are smaller than large cultivated berries and are colored throughout the flesh—hence the berry depth in the glass and the violet shimmer at the rim.

The sour cherry contributes what the berry cannot provide on its own: a clear, upright acidity that brightens the dark tone and leaves a clean finish.

For toasting and with braised vegetables

Well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees, it is served in a slender champagne flute, where its perlage rises as finely as in a sparkling wine. With zero percent alcohol, it caters to everyone at the table, and those who prefer not to drink alcohol receive the same pour.

At the table, its appeal goes further than one would expect from a juice: with braised vegetables and dark meat, the cherry acidity balances the fat; with berries and vanilla ice cream, fruit meets fruit. A lighter and finer option is the Fruit-Secco Apple Blackcurrant Raspberry; you can find the entire sparkling range among the van Nahmen Fruit-Seccos.

The Bohnapfel is the last to leave the tree

The Rheinischer Bohnapfel is a late bloomer: while other varieties are already long stored in the cellar, it hangs on the tall trees until late October, and in cool locations even until November. It needs these weeks for sugar and tannins, both of which give its juice its backbone.

The wild blueberries bring their own requirements, as they stain heavily and release their aroma quickly. The shorter the distance between bush and press, the more of it reaches the bottle.

Van Nahmen also presses sour cherries as a single varietal in the Morellenfeuer cherry juice—those familiar with it will recognize the fruit here. The portrait of the van Nahmen fruit pressery tells the story of how the company works.

Pour slowly for the perfect perlage

It is best to remove the cork from a cold bottle, as a well-chilled temperature keeps the pressure manageable and the perlage builds naturally when pouring. Once opened, the 750 ml bottle will keep in the refrigerator for about five days, though it is at its best on the evening it is opened.