
The wine gum's story
The wine gum's history is only a little over a 100 years old and started with the delicious bites of the type English wine gums.
Unlike liquorice, wine gum has a more abrupt start. The baby steps were taken in 1880. The Englishman Charles Riley Maynard started his business by making confectionery with his brother, Tom, in a small kitchen in Stamford Hill, London.
Charles' wife, Sarah Ann, served the shop's customers. It gained popularity and Maynard started a company in 1896.
Maynard's Wine Gums were introduced in 1909 by Maynard's son, Charles Gordon Maynard. The story goes that the old Maynard was close to firing his son, when he invented the concept of wine gums. It took a long time and much perseverance to persuade his father, a conservative Christian, that no wine was used in making the jellies.
