COMPARATIVE LIT ESSAY:
Stumbling across this "Apple Raspberry Wine" in the middle of nowhere South Dakota I thought I should give it a try as according to the label the only ingredients were the fermented juice of apples and raspberries and sulfites—cider, right? There are certainly a number of excellent ciders made at wineries and so I thought I would do a comparative lit review with a raspberry cider made from a proper cider-only cidery and chose Stem from Denver. At first this experiment seemed worthwhile. They actually looked pretty similar with their inviting orangish-red tones. Stem was clearly bubblier and the nose is bright crisp and refreshing, whereas as the apple wine was dead still and had a sulfidic smell that was a hint soapy. Not a good sign. Then as soon as I took a sip of the Strawbale it was over. It is heavy, dead, medicinal and just bad—and the badness just kept on going as I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth. So, to keep this simple, go with the Stem; unless you like a smelly slow burn, then do that!