For other people, including some cider makers, it can mean the finest cider, from selected, better apples, slowly fermented and matured for longer than ordinary ciders. This is a frequently asked question. There is no definitive answer to this. The best that can be said is that first of all apple wine falls outside of the definitions given above. This materially affects the flavour of the finished drink.
Cider apples contain high levels of tannins and significant amounts of malic acid.
These are not found to significant levels in dessert apples. This is not apparent in apple wine. The final distinction is the alcohol content. Apple wines can commonly have higher alcohol contents. These wines will inevitably have been fermented using wine yeasts, not natural or ale yeasts, since only wine yeasts are tolerant to the high alcohol levels.