Estonian pear cider sounds interesting! I married into part of a family that were original Croatians, and they made something with plums, sugar, and vodka that they called Plum Dum.
P.S. I can't stand dry wines, which sounds like what you have been trying to drink. But there are some wonderful sparkling wines and fruity wines out there. Add a touch of gingerale to a fruity wine and it becomes a sparkling wine also. As for the hard stuff - can't stand gin or Scotch.
And there you have the sommolier's (? sp) report for the evening....