Maynard’s Wine Gums : An Un-Reviewed Classic!

THE original wine gum

Reviewed by Jonny

November 27, 2020

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As part of our campaign to resurface good and important candy reviews from the past, here’s a doozy from Jonny. If you still haven’t had Maynard’s Wine Gums, what’s your excuse? 


Why didn’t you guys say anything?

All this time Matty & I have been writing reviews, and we forgot to review Maynard’s Wine Gums?! This CANNOT STAND!

Maynards Wine Gums package

First, let’s get the obvious out the way.  Yes, these are made with a high concentration of wine.  If one eats more than 8-10 pieces, it’s all lampshades and regrettable hookups.  So be careful!

Time to get serious-kitty serious.  NO.  There’s no wine in these. According to the Wik, traditionally the gums come in five shapes: kidney, crown, diamond, circle and rectangle, and are labelled with five names: port, sherry, champagne, burgundy and claret.  While that might be the tradition, a lot of manufacturers take liberties with that. Not Maynards so much.

There are two stories about why Tom Maynard (no, I’m not making this up) decided to call these “Wine Gums.”  First reason: To make them an alternative to people consuming alcohol. Second reason, and the more likely, is that the new candies (at the time) were so damn good, they should be appreciated like fine wines. Truth be told, I like these gums more than wine. A lot more. But I’m a bourbon man anyhow.

Whatever the reason, these are something special.

I liken these to gum drops or pastilles. Not stretchy like a gummy; you can take a bite right out of these. They are chewy however, with a great mouth feel — not sticky at all. Flavor-wise? These are champs. The black currant is my fave, but the other flavors have a very “real” edge to them: lime, raspberry, orange, and lemon.

These are unique — once you’ve had a wine gum, you’ll clearly know the difference between it, and other chewy treats. Maynards also makes sour wine gums, and just plain sours, which re-arrange my chromosomes. But these, their flagship original wine gum, are most definitely something you should all try.

Maynard’s make these in the shapes you see above and in “every piece is the same circular disk” shape that they sell in rolls. I’m sure it’s all in my head, but I like these more: the original shapes.

Now go out there and get wine gum drunk.

Zolli Candy

16 Comments

  1. Mr wishaw

    These are now truly terrible.

    Soft instead of firm and chewy
    Bland
    Not juicy
    No flavour
    Rank

    Reply
  2. Smudger

    I used to love Maynards wine gums when they were imported from the UK but then they started to produce them in Canada for the domestic market. They are truly vile now. They taste and smell of rancid oil and leave that stink on your hands.

    Reply
    • Matt Smith

      A jolly knowledgeable review of my favourite sweets alternative to Haribos. Used to be an annual requirement for my Christmas to have a box of Wine Gums to complement my selection box. Now I’m taking more care of my teeth and less junk!

      Reply
  3. hein krug

    What happened to Maynards Wine Gums :O
    After not having had wine gums for a long time I picked up a bag this morning, looking forward to a sweet, juicy, fruity late afternoon treat (as I remember wine gums). Tasted like bland bitter rubber, no sweetness, no fruitiness, no soft squishiness.

    Reply
  4. Colin lyne

    These used to be good, but not now! Get Tesco’s version, apart from a much better taste, you get more!

    Reply
    • Ronan from ireland

      Yep Tesco version is supreme. Even the Aldi and Lidl versions

      Reply
    • Derick Williams

      I recently had bought for me a bag of Maynards wine gums and I too was very disappointed. They are very bland in taste and they are now made in Switzerland. The closest to what Maynards used to taste like are Lidl’s own.

      Reply
  5. mikeUK

    wine gums = tasty AF

    Reply
    • Matty

      Amen

      Reply
  6. Michael Reed

    i would love to find the original recipe as they are not as hard or as tasty as they were before Maynards was taken over by Bassetts

    Reply
    • Jonny

      I don’t disagree with you!

      Reply
  7. Alan

    Love these. The mouth feel is amazing, chewy and tasty. Never heard of them when I lived in England in the late 60s and early 70s.

    Reply
  8. Paty

    They taste terrible, worst purchase ever. Really stay away from them

    Reply
    • matty

      agree to disagree?

      Reply
  9. assmaster

    Are these made with acetic acid/vinegar? I’ve always thought that was a bit of an unappealing ingredient in candies.

    Reply
  10. matty

    You don’t need me to say these are good. But if you do: these are good

    Reply

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