Homebrew Mead Wine

[Brian]

The honey adds flavor and depending on the honey type, different "notes". You could make a fermented beverage, but it wouldn't be mead.

Bingo. Grain as the main sugar source = beer. Fruit = wine. Honey = mead.
Hmm, technically rum is made primarily from sugar canes, but then you have to deal with distillation. Would be fun to try though.

In practice, I've tried a few things made from mostly sugar water, with mixed results. I have used raw sugar, sometimes in decent amounts, to add to fruit juices and call that "wine" though the purists may disagree. You can easily convert the sugar into invert sugar too, which is supposed to help make fermentation easier. I usually do it with a couple of my "regular" recipes, but I'm not convinced how much it helps - especially compared to adding nutrients which does seem to make an actual difference.