I like to make apple wine, and I’ve noticed it popping up in popular culture. Here’s a list of some references that I remember. Going forward, I’ll update this post with new apple wine appearances as I notice them. And ok, yes, I used to watch “Desperate Housewives.” There. I said it.

Desperate Housewives

Bree gets out of bed and goes downstairs to where Rex is sleeping on the couch. When she reaches him, she coughs politely and he rolls over, telling her that he’s up. She smiles and sits down on the edge of the pull out bed. “Good. I have a question for you.” He rolls his eyes, then pulls off the covers to sit next to her. “Okay.”

Bree: “Do you remember when you proposed?”
Rex: “For God’s sake.”
“We sat on Skyline Drive and drank a bottle of apple wine and when we finished it, you turned to me and you said, ‘If you marry me, Bree Mason, I promise to love you for the rest of my life.’ And even though I was engaged to Ty Grant, and even though my father didn’t like you, I said yes.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“You are going to cancel the meeting with that divorce lawyer and we are going to find ourselves a marriage counselor.”
“Bree!”
“You promised.”

They look at each other.

He nods. “All right.”
“Good. I’m gonna go, uh, make myself some warm milk.” She gets up and walks to the kitchen, stopping halfway to turn around and look at him. “Would you like something to drink?” As he gets up from the bed, he mutters, “Anything but apple wine.”

~ Desperate Housewives – season one, episode 2: Ah, But Underneath

Assassin’s Apprentice

Prince Regal gives a gift of poisoned apple wine to Rurisk and tries to blame Fitz for the murder

~ Assassin’s Apprentice – The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1, by Robin Hobb

After the Sunset

00:11:14  A bottle of the apple wine was his prescription

~ After the Sunset (Movie: 2004)

Something to Talk About

00:54:46  What are you talking about? Have you gotten into the apple wine?

~ Something to Talk About (Movie: 1995)

Update 7/3/2011: One Thousand and One Nights

Often called The Arabian Nights, this collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories goes back centuries. In the tale of the Mock Caliph on the 288th night:

Quoth the sham Caliph, “I have drink other than this, a kind of apple-wine, that will suit thy companion.” So he bade them bring the cider which they did forthright

~ Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4, translated by Richard Burton

Burton translated, “Sharáb al-tuffáh” in Arabic to “apple-wine” in 1885. His notes say it means melapio or cider. Does this mean that in the late 19th century, apple wine and cider were synonyms?

Update 7/23/2011: A Dance With Dragons

No one slept, not even Droopeye Dale, an oarsman who had been known to nap between strokes. Some of the men shared a skin of Galbart Glover’s apple wine, passing it from hand to hand. Those who had brought food shared it with those who had not.

~ A Dance with Dragons – A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5, by G. R. R. Martin

Any others?

Have you noticed apple wine in tv shows, movies, or books? Leave a comment and let me know!