Question: did wine gums ever have wine in them

Answer: No, Charles Riley Maynard started his business in 1880 by producing confections in a kitchen with his brother Tom in Stamford Hill, London, while his wife Sarah Ann served the customers. Maynard's sweets grew steadily and was launched as a company in 1896. Maynard's Wine Gums were introduced in 1909 by Maynard's son Charles Gordon Maynard. It took Charles Gordon Maynard some time to persuade his strict Methodist and teetotaller father that the sweets did not contain wine.