Cherry Infused Wine

Why people make this wine

Cherry season is brief, and when Nourilo sees the stalls piled with bright, plump fruit, he does not just eat them fresh — he sets a bottle aside to steep. Cherries are one of the few fruits classified as warming in Chinese food therapy, and they carry a remarkable nutritional profile: high in iron, rich in antioxidants, and traditionally associated with nourishing the blood, easing wind-damp conditions, and smoothing the skin. In folk medicine, cherry wine is a time-honored remedy for the aching joints and stiff limbs that come with rheumatism, cold-damp arthritis, and gout — particularly the kind of joint pain that worsens in cold, rainy weather. The wine amplifies the fruit’s warming and circulating properties, and the beautiful deep-red color that develops after ten days of steeping is reason enough to make a bottle.