Wines of Waterdeep

Imported Wines

Realms-wide known exporters of wine include the following areas. Nearly every area has its own native wines, however, even if their operations are never large enough to ever see export.

• Waterdeep, Neverwinter in the North
• Amn, Tethyr & Calimshan
• Sembia
• Tashalar & the Vilhon Reach
• The Lake of Steam & Halruaa
• Rashemen & Aglarond
• Chessenta

Types of Wine

• red wine: deep red to black, usually very dry
• white wine: pale white to deep gold, usually sweet or dry (sometimes both)
• fruit wines: apple, apricot, cherry, peach, pear, plum, persimmon, pomegranate, fig
• berry wines: blackberry, blueberry, cloudberry, cranberry, elderberry, gooseberry, huckleberry, raspberry, rowan, strawberry, hawthorne
• flower and herb wine: wines made from flower petals; very floral in taste, even described as "perfume-y" by some; favorites include rose, violet, lavender, lemongrass, cowslip, wormwood, chamomile, dandelion, hibiscus, rose hip, sloe
• nut wines: cashew, almond
• dawnwine: a white wine made from red grapes, innovated by Lathandarn monasteries, resulting in subtly pinkish hues and delicate, sweet flavors (rosé)
• bloodwine: originally Aglarondan (who still produce the best bloodwines); wines made from raisins, dried to concentrate juices, very heavy and blood-red to near-black, with a lush full taste and slight afterbite
• claret: sweet dark red wine
• hill-wine: wines made from various tubers and root vegetables (such as carrots, sweet onions, rhubarb, chives, parsnips), originally found among both gnomes and halflings
• mistwine: sparkling white wines originally elven in origin, named for the "mist" of bubbles in the glass; in Waterdeep, mistwine is called "sluth"
• saraes: delicately tinted wines made from flower pollens and nectars, by secret elven techniques. Not the same taste as flower wines
• honey wine: wine made from fermented honey; not the same as mead, which is thicker with a higher alcohol content
• halracras: dark red wine that is mulled with cinnamon, ginger, clove, long pepper and grains of paradise halfway through fermentation, and then set to fermenting again, producing a very strong, spicy drink that is best when warm; originally from Halruaa, although not actually made there any more
• conditum: a spiced red wine made with honey, pepper, mastic, laurel, saffron, date seeds and wine-soaked dates; standard far from the Utter East, made elsewhere as an exotic
• firewine: wine made from peppers and other complimentary herbs; very much an acquired taste!

Wine Preparations

• ice wine: a wine that is made and then permitted to freeze, removing a portion of its water content
• artwine: wine produced by magically-instigated fermentation, often as part of an alchemical process
• resinated wine: wine that derives part of its flavor from tree resins (notably pines and other evergreens); birch wine, maple wine
• fortified wine: wines that have had other alcohols added to them
  • xera: fortified wine, made with a neutral grape spirit added after full fermentation, and additional sweetener added as well
  • port: fortified wine, made with a neutral grape spirit to stop fermentation, leaving sweetness and adding alcohol content; frequently used in mulling
  • chessentan: fortified wine, in which the alcohol is a grape alcohol derived from over-ripened grapes distilled into greater potency
  • maergrav: fortified wine with a neutral grain or grape alcohol added, along with aromatic herbs, roots, barks, flowers and seeds
• clarry: (not to be confused with claret), a blend of table wines sweetened with honey and spices

For the purposes of the following information, "Domestic Vintages" are those wines that are made locally, from the vineyards and orchards found within a two-to-three day ride of Waterdeep. "Imported Vintages" refer to wines made further way from vineyards and vintner-houses owned by the personages in question.

House Amcathra

Domestic Vintages

• Horseshoe Gold: A Fine honey wine from the Horseshoe vineyards.
• Brightblade Bitterwine: A Good herbal wine made from hibiscus, lavender and a touch of worm wood from the Brightblade herb fields.
• Three Moons Dawnwine: A Good dawnwine from the Three Moons vineyards near Waterdeep.
• Maeldmar's Finest: A Good berry wine made from gooseberries and elderberry.
• Maeldmar's Magical: A Good berry artwine, also made from gooseberries and elderberries.
• Horseshoe Halracras: A Good halracras from the Horseshoe vineyards.
• Brightblade Pear Wine: A Fair pear wine from the Amcathra Brightblade orchards near Waterdeep.
• Three Moons Clarry: A Fair clarry made from Three Moons Dawnwine and Old Red Steed, crafted at Three Moons vineyards.
• Old Red Steed: A Poor table red wine from the Horseshoe vineyards.

House Ammakyl

Domestic Vintages

• Dancing Maiden: A Fine red wine, from vineyards in Maiden's Tomb Tor
• Ardeep Emerald Wine: A Fine tart apple maergrav wine, with an aromatic mixture whose recipe is a closely-guarded secret, resulting in a deep green foresty hue, from Ammakyl orchards on the far side of the Ardeep Forest
• Red Tor Sweetest: A Good strawberry wine, from berryfields in Maiden's Tomb Tor
• Elfin Hill Amphail: A Good mistwine, from the Ammakyl Hill vineyard
• Ardeep Queen Honey Port: A Fair honey wine port, from the Ammakyl orchards on the far side of the Ardeep Forest
• Pale Hill Amphail: A Fair white wine, from the Ammakyl Hill vineyard
• Oak Hill Amphail: A Fair white wine, resinated with oak resin, from the Ammakyl Hill vineyard
• Wizard's Hill Amphail: A Fair white artwine, from the Ammakyl Hill vineyard

House Melshimber

Domestic Vintages

• Manycherries: A Good red wine redolent of cherries.
  • Manycherries Bold: A Fine variety of Manycherries.
• First Frost: A Good wine of an unusual purple-blue color.
• Waterdhavian Harbor White: a Fair white wine. Certain vineyards, mainly Stony Terrace and Shipbreaker Ridge, produce harbor whites ranging from Good to Fine.
• Pulass: This fortified wine has two main varieties. Low pulass is a Fair wine, while high pulass is Fine.
• Clarry: The Melshimbers produce several clarries each year, often with unique names that apply only to a single vintage. The varieties include:
  • Pink Clarry: A Fair blend of red and white wine. Pink clarry is the one Melshimber variety presented every year, though its composition varies with each vintage.
  • Obsidian Clarry: A Common blend almost black in color utilizing peppercorns, fennel, and marigolds as the primary components in its herb mix.
  • Clarry Superior: This year's Good clarry is a rose utilizing raspberries, rosemary, and bee pollen.
• Silver Spring: A Fine and nearly unobtainable white artwine.

Imported Vintages

• Scornubian Rose: Helm-and-Eye Vineyards, Scornubel. A Good rose with highly floral qualities, especially rose notes.
• White-of-the-Run: Helm-and-Eye Vineyards, Scornubel. A Good white wine rumored to have originated at the Unicorn Run in the High Forest. The occasional Fine vintages of white-of-the-run are reputed to have curative properties, but they occur only once a decade or so.
• Moorland Firefly Red: Helm-and-Eye Vineyards, Scornubel. A Fair red wine made from partially cultivated grapes whose rarity makes it more highly sought than its quality implies.
  • Moorland Firefly Red Extra Special Reserve: A single vineyard, Smoke Hill, produces this Fine, effervescent variety of the wine.
• Amnian Honey Wine: Greenfields. Both the red and white varieties of Amnian honey wine are Good wines that are not appreciated in Waterdeep.
• Coin Wine: Greenfields. These are presented in a variety of colors and qualities.
  • Gold Coin Wine: The single Fine variety is a white wine the color of liquid gold.
  • Copper Coin Wine: A Good white wine the color of copper.
  • Ruby Coin Wine: A Good red wine like melted rubies.
  • Emerald Coin Wine: A Fair and uncommon green wine.

House Rosznar

Domestic Vintages

• Laradael Honey Wine: A Good honey wine actually made in the Rosznar villa, using wine taken from the apiary in the smallest building of the villa compound.
• White Magic: A Good white artwine from the Rosznar white grape vineyards in the Redcliffs.
• Redcliffs White: A Poor white wine from the Rosznar white grape vineyards in the Redcliffs.

Imported Vintages

All of the Rosznar imports come from the family's extensive vineyards in Imnescar, Amn, and pressed at their Whitehawk Winery, which gathers the various crops of all those vineyards

• Whitehawk Greatwine: A Fine xera-fortified red wine, greatwine is a traditional Imnescari fortified wine, of which Whitehawk is arguably the best.
• Whitehawk Spicewine: A Fine conditum, the Rosznar spicewine is a heady brew indeed, inflaming the senses with its potency.
• Whitehawk Red: A Good red wine
• Whitehawk Black: A Good chessentan-fortified bloodwine
• Whitehawk Amber: A Fair red artwine crafted of the poorer-quality red wines produced by the winery.
• Bluesky Shire Best: A Fair hill-wine made with carrots, parsnips and a hint of rhubarb, brewed by a clan of halfling vintners who have made this recipe for generations.

House Thann

Domestic Vintages

• Arbor Coast White: A Good white wine
• Radamandar Sweet: A Good clarry mixture of white wines, sweetened with honey, cardamom and a mixture of other secret spices
• Bridgewater Claret: A Good sweet claret wine, grown in the small Thann vineyards around Zundbridge, just south of Waterdeep
• Red Rune: A Fair red wine, also made in Zundbridge, most of which is sold to the Red Rune Inn in the small village for its tables

Imported Vintages

The Thann imported wines come from familial estates in Tethyr.

• Wintermist: A Fine ice mistwine, created through an unknown process that results in an effervescent ice wine whose taste is without equal; always served quite cold
• Daelbar's Own: A Fair bloodwine, known for its richness and taste instilled by its fermentation in pine casks
• Rivershire Pale: A Poor white wine-based port that rarely leaves Rivershire; though the family has tried to refine it into something more palatable over the years, they haven't met with much success, despite it being a favorite of the halflings of Rivershire
• Elemetar Clarry: A Poor red wine clarry whose only claim to fame is that some Tethyrian chefs swear by it for cooking

The Vintners', Distillers' and Brewers' Guild

The members of the Vintners', Distillers' and Brewers' Guild in Waterdeep only produce domestic wines, although fully half or more of them are involved in the importing of fine wines from elsewhere. Each guildsman vintner considers himself an artist, and each attempts to heighten the results of their craftsmanship with a fierce dedication. That said, the majority of the guild's vintners work for others - they are master craftsmen, not necessarily vineyard owners. As a result, the guild's relationship with the vintner Houses is strange: some are strong allies and supporters of the nobles' efforts, while others consider them rivals and seek to outdo them.

• Waterdhavian Fields Finest: A Fine flower and herb wine crafted of dandelions, rose hips, violets and other herbs and flowers, this expensive wine is a sipping pleasure considered the perfect thing to serve at garden or hunting parties. It is a product of Waterdhavian Fields, a small consortium of guild vintners who specialize in non-grape wines, particularly herbal and resinated wines.
• Dark Delights: A Fine resinated bloodwine, this vintage is practically a liquor in its potency. The rich bloodwine is affixed with a variety of woodland scents and tastes, primary of which is the resin of the shadowtop trees of the High Forest, resulting in a languorous, sultry drink that has a reputation for bringing out the most wicked urges in those who imbibe it.
• Taste of the East: A Fine conditum that is hands-down the finest conditum anywhere along the Sword Coast. Calishite merchants so favor the drink that it can be hard to secure amounts of it locally, to the delight of its maker, no doubt.
• Zzar: A Good to Fair white mistwine fortified with an almond-derived neutral alcohol, zzar is a traditional Waterdhavian fare whose making is a closely guarded guild secret. The drink itself is fiery, orange and heady, and is a favorite of many a revel. There are five or six vintners who make zzar active in the guild. Though they do differentiate their labels, the recipe is so precise that they tend to taste fairly similar; only the quality of the ingredients seems to affect the quality of the drink.
• Good Spirits Scarlet: A Good to Fair quality red wine that is a staple in many Waterdhavian taprooms and homes. Made in the guildhall of the Vintners' guild as a training undertaking teaching senior apprentices and journeymen the making of a basic red wine, the sale of Good Spirits augments the guild's coffers directly and well.
• Honey of the Mount: A Good honey wine made from the honey of apiaries on the northern edge of Mount Waterdeep, this is a fine, delicate vintage well-loved by much of the North.
• Honey of the Winter Mount: A Good honey ice wine, much harder to find, as it is well-loved in Neverwinter and Silverymoon, whose merchants buy as much as their makers will permit them to purchase.
• Old Devil Firewine: A Good quality firewine that is practically the gold standard for such vintages in Waterdeep.
• Sweetruff Sweetwine: A Fair quality hill-wine, crafted of carrots flavored with sweetruff and lemongrass, this vintage is the product of the Sweetruff clan of halflings who have been members of the guild for generations.
• Emerald Sun Shondath: A Fair quality herb icewine made primarily from mint, with notes of lemon and ginger, this shondath (an elven term for mint-wine) is cool and refreshing, the perfect drink for sweltering summer evening revels.
• Summer Storm: A Fair quality mistwine that gets its name from the "storm" of fizzing bubbles swirling through the summer-golden liquid, Summer Storm has become a fashionable drink to serve at summer weddings to toast the new couple.