Wine Gums are one of the odder-named sweets in a British sweet shop — a gum with wine in the name that has never contained a drop of alcohol. The story behind that name is genuinely a good one, and it's tied up with the Maynards family business that's now well over a century old.
Why a gum with no wine is called a wine gum
Charles Riley Maynard and his uncle Tom began making sweets in their own kitchen in Stamford Hill, London, in the 1880s, formally forming the Maynards company in 1896. It was Charles's son, Charles Gordon Maynard, who introduced Wine Gums in 1909. His father was a strict Methodist and teetotaller, and family history has it that the son had to persuade him at length that a sweet named after wine wasn't secretly promoting alcohol before the elder Maynard would agree to sell it. The name stuck as a marketing idea rather than a literal description — the sweets were pitched as a grown-up, sophisticated alternative to a proper drink, not a version of one.
Each gum was originally stamped with the name of a real wine — Port, Sherry, Champagne, Burgundy, Claret — and made in one of five shapes: kidney, crown, rhombus, circle and oblong. Wine Gums were also one of the first sweets made commercially using a gelatine-set recipe, a formula that later influenced the entire gummy-sweet category, including the gummy bears and jelly sweets that followed decades later. The Maynards company itself merged with Bassetts and Trebor in 1990, which is why the sweets are now branded Maynards Bassetts.
What we stock
Our Maynards Wine Gums Candy Carton 300g is the classic full-size sharing format, and Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums Candy 110g is the smaller bag version of the same recipe — useful if you want to try it, or want individual bags rather than a shareable carton. Both are currently special-order lines, typically arriving within around two weeks at the same price as our in-stock range.
We also carry Maynards Bassetts Classic Fruit Mix Jelly 100g, a fruit-flavoured jelly sweet mix from the same brand family — a different texture and shape from Wine Gums, but part of the same Maynards Bassetts stable if you're after more than one product from the range.
Frequently asked questions
Do Maynards Wine Gums actually contain wine or alcohol?
No — despite the name and the wine-themed stamps, Wine Gums have never contained alcohol. It was always a marketing name, not a description of the ingredients.
Who invented Maynards Wine Gums and when?
Charles Gordon Maynard introduced them in 1909, as part of the family sweet business his father and uncle had started in London in the 1880s.
What's the difference between Maynards Wine Gums and Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums?
They're the same recipe under the same brand family — Maynards merged with Bassetts in 1990, and the names now appear together across different pack sizes.
What Maynards products does Supreme Sweets stock?
Maynards Wine Gums Candy Carton 300g, Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums Candy 110g, and Maynards Bassetts Classic Fruit Mix Jelly 100g.