Great fruit.
Plenty of possibilities.
Floral whites, dark cherry, bright rosés, and red-fleshed apples. There’s a lot of flavor here to work with. Let’s put some of it into your next seltzer.
Airlie Red Flesh cider apples. A pretty good place to start!
Would our juice work for hard seltzer?
Absolutely! A brewer recently asked us this after finding that grape beers weren’t moving the way he’d hoped. Some of our most successful brewery customers have been using our juice for seltzer for years.
The interesting part is how much character the grape can bring. You’ve got aromatics, acidity, color, and flavor that carries through the finish. Choose a variety you like, keep the first batch simple, and see what it does.
Some brewers want a light, crisp drink. Others are making fuller wine/seltzer hybrids. Both can work. The fruit and the process should fit the style you want to pour.
These have already worked.
One brewery became a regular buyer of substantial quantities of our juice for its seltzers. Their drinks have explored everything from floral whites and fruit blends to herbal reds and spritz-inspired hybrids. There’s quite a range beyond the usual fruit-flavored seltzer.
Another brewer started with a peach Bellini-style batch, then came back for Malbec rosé juice to use with strawberry purée. Michael tasted that rosé seltzer. The color and flavor from just a couple of pails really impressed him, and the grape still had plenty to say alongside the strawberry.
Sauvignon Blanc & peach
A Bellini-inspired combination with fresh white-grape character and peach. You could keep it crisp and dry or leave a softer fruit impression. That depends on your customers and what you like to drink.
Rosé & berries
Malbec rosé and strawberry have been a successful customer pairing. Another direction combines aromatic Muscat with raspberry, tart cherry, prickly pear, and hibiscus. Plenty going on, but the grape can still hold the blend together.
Pinot Noir, raspberry & sage
A customer’s finished hybrid brings Pinot Noir juice together with raspberry and white sage. Fruit first, with an earthy, herbal note behind it. Start lightly with the herb so you can still taste the grapes.
Floral whites & botanicals
Gewürztraminer and elderflower make a natural floral pairing. Muscat can bring intense ripe-grape aromatics to a blend, and aromatic grapes have also worked in citrus-and-botanical, spritz-inspired hybrids.
These examples include higher-alcohol hybrids as well as seltzer ideas. Decide on your intended strength early. Ask us about current fruit options; varieties and vintages change.
Choose your starting point.
Here are a few directions we’re excited about. The tasting notes come from our fruit; the new combinations are ideas to try in a small batch.
Roussanne: think Japanese green tea
Andrew picks up a Japanese-green-tea character in our Roussanne. That’s an interesting place to start a seltzer. Try the grape on its own first, then see whether a little tea or citrus adds something. A dry version alongside sushi or ginger-seasoned grilled fish sounds pretty great. We’d love to see a brewer take this one on.
Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir: dark cherry
Both the 2025 and 2026 Ribbon Ridge lots have expressive dark-cherry flavor and deep color. If you want a more substantial, wine-like hybrid, these are worth a look. They’re grape must with skins, so you’ll need a plan for extraction and pressing or separating the solids.
Sauvignon Blanc: fresh & grassy
Fresh, grassy character gives you plenty to work with. Peach is already a proven direction. A little citrus or an herbal accent could be good too, but taste the grape first. You may not need much else.
Chenin Blanc: a chalky edge
That pleasant chalky, mineral impression is what Andrew likes about our Chenin. Keep the first trial clean and simple. See how that character holds up in a dry, sparkling drink before bringing in another fruit.
Riesling: lime, orchard fruit & acidity
Michael’s notes on our 2022 Riesling picked out lime, honey, and a little petrol. He liked it bone dry, with plenty of acidity, and we’ve had good results making bubbles with it. For seltzer, think about the balance after dilution and fermentation. Bright fruit and a lively finish are a good place to aim.
Orange Marsanne: apricot & skins
Our orange Marsanne has an apricot-like character that could be fun in a fuller hybrid. It comes as must, with skins, so it asks a little more of your process than juice. We have only a small lot left; check with us before building a production plan around it.
And Chardonnay?
A buttery seltzer would certainly be an experiment! That butter character is largely about diacetyl and malolactic fermentation, rather than simply choosing Chardonnay juice. Lees contact and stirring affect texture and can also reduce diacetyl. If that’s the style you’re after, it needs its own fermentation plan. Scott Laboratories explains the diacetyl side here.
Good color. Real fruit character.
These are our rosés in the glasses. Malbec leans toward strawberry, with that lighter salmon color. Carignan is more raspberry-driven, with a brighter pink hue. Both are juice, so there are no grape skins to manage.
We’d taste each on its own before deciding what to blend with it. Strawberry builds naturally on the Malbec’s own fruit character; Carignan gives you a raspberry direction to explore. A simple grape-led version of either is worth trying too. Your finished seltzer’s color will depend on the proportion of juice and how you handle fermentation.
Don’t overlook the cider apples.
Take a look at that apple! Our Airlie Red Flesh cider rosé juice has us thinking about a whole other direction for seltzer.
You’ve got tart apple character and the potential for a natural pink hue. We’d start with a simple apple-led batch, then try a little berry, ginger, or aromatic grape juice alongside it. Keep enough apple in the blend that you can actually taste what makes it interesting.
Cider juice opens up another direction for brewers: crisp apple character, the potential for natural pink color, and plenty of room to develop something distinctive. A dry apple-and-grape blend, a rosé cider seltzer, or a ginger-accented seasonal pour could each bring something different to your tap list. We’re excited to see where brewers take it.
Color will change with dilution and processing, so try a small batch first. These cider lots are limited, and some are pre-orders with shipping dates still to be confirmed. Check the listings or ask us what’s available for your timing.
Taste it. Then decide what it needs.
That’s how we approach our own test batches: do the basics, establish a baseline, and learn what the fruit brings before making a lot of changes. It’s much easier to decide on a blend once you’ve tasted what you’re working with.
Frozen juice lets you plan around your production schedule. Start with pails, keep them frozen until you’re ready, and talk to us about larger quantities once you have a drink you want to make again.
One practical point: our juice is raw, not aseptic. Fermenting it and blending it into a finished base require different plans. Account for the added sugar, final alcohol, and package stability. Must also means skins and solids to handle. Let us know your setup so we can point you toward a suitable starting material.
The same fruit can make still or sparkling wines too, where your production setup and licensing allow. There’s no shortage of possibilities.
Have a batch in mind?
Send us your batch size, when you want to make it, and the style you’re after. Crisp and dry? More fruit? A fuller wine-like hybrid? We can help you choose the fruit and get you pricing.
And if you make something you’re excited about, keep us posted. We always want to hear how it turns out!
Planning a larger batch? See our bulk-order options.
Cheers!
Andrew & Michael
Wine Grapes Direct