Non-wine wines

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Apart from classic distillations, the likes of Underberg and Fernet Branca are made from macerated blends of herbs and botanicals. Jägermeister, on the other hand, is made from 56 different herbs, fruits, roots, and spices. steeped in alcohol and water and aged in oak barrels. Now along comes Aperol, acquired by the Campari Group in 2003, and whose sales have skyrocketed ever since. Aperol's appeal as a competitor to wine is due to its versatility and its role as a wide-ranging mixer, or with just ice and soda.

Wine of the week

• Croft Twist

  Although not really qualifying as a wine, it would be unkind to exclude this possible saviour of Jerez's classic trade if it helps get it out of a hole.
  5

  5º alcohol, it is priced at around 7.40 euros at Mercadona, Carrefour and El Corte Inglés.

A recently launched near-wine product is from the Croft sherry house, Croft Twist, described as a fino spritz, and cleverly formulated for the mega-drinking sessions that typify Andalucía's ferias. However much we may enjoy manzanilla, the typical feria drink since it ousted fino sherry half a decade ago, it is tough going to make countless half bottles go far without feeling the effects, so a reduction in alcohol from 16º to 5.5º must be less damaging on all fronts. Since sherry sales have been dropping like a stone since their historic peak in the 1970s and 80s, the trade has spent millions trying to come up with a formula that would get people drinking it again, including a misguided and unsuccessful campaign to promote it as a cocktail base. Finally someone has come up with the solution.