How To Make Fruit Wine Like A Pro At Home

How To Make Fruit Wine Like A Pro At Home

Who doesn’t love wine, right? Readymade wine is easily available to us in the market. But making your fruit wine is something very easy and no doubt very exciting! You can produce fruit wine from not only grapes but from cherries or plum? 

Fruit wine, also called country wines, have a very simple and easy recipe. You can follow it for any fruit of your choice. So, go through this blog, and after this, we hope you will be a pro at making fruit wine at home. 

Flavors You Can Choose

Whenever we think of fruit wine, it is grapes that pop up on our mind. But there are so many other delicious fruits that you can make wine with. So, let’s explore some other optionsto make fruit wine.

• Cherries: These can create a delicious wine which is simply perfect for the holidays. 
• Blueberry: Wines made from blueberries are extremely delicious and become ready to drink after only one year.
• Plums: Chop up some plums and get ready to ferment them for a year. This will give you an amazing wine for all your special occasions.
• Peaches: Although a bit messy for use, yet its aroma is worth all the effort. Peach wines have an overwhelming taste.
• Strawberries: Strawberry wines taste best when you let it age for at least a year, but it is a sweetheart of fruit wines!
• Apples: If you like your wine light, then choose apples to make your fruit wine. This wine will taste best if you let it age for at least a year.

Checklist The Equipment

1. Fruit of your choice (either raw, which is the best choice, or concentrates also work equally well)
2. A crusher and press
3. Wine Yeast
4. Airlocks
5. A bag for fermentation
6. For primary fermentation, you will need a glass jug (a large gallon would also do)
7. For the secondary fermentation, you will need another container (preferably glass)
8. A siphon tube
9. A clean bottle for storing the wine
10. Optional Equipment: Hydrometer. This is not extremely crucial but will reduce your workload a lot. You can easily measure the quantities of sugar (read, the alcohol level). 
11. Optional Equipment: Wine Barrel. These come quite expensive but can amazingly soak the fruit flavor to your wine. Choose a small barrel if you want to go for it because they are less likely to leak. 

Recipe For Making Fruit Wine

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Fresh fruits (4-6 pounds)
2. Sugar (2-3 pounds) or Honey (1 pound)
3. Boiled water (about the same quantity of wine you want)
4. Active dry yeast (1 package)
5. Lemon juice (of 1 lemon)
6. A liquid pectic enzyme (5-6 drops)
7. Optional: concentrated frozen white grape juice

One special magic ingredient: Time!

Process:

• Chop the fresh fruits into very small cubes.
• In the primary fermentation container, combine the fruit, sugar or honey, and hot water. 
• Use a hydrometer (if you want) to check the quantity of the sugar before you add it.
• Add the lemon juice to this brew along with the pectic enzyme.
• If you’re using grape juice concentrate, then add it to the mixture too.
• Submerge this bag entirely into the liquid. 
• Use a clean towel to cover this fermenter. Store it in a cool and dry place for at least 24 hours.
• After the first 24 hours, remove the towel, and add the yeast to the mixture. The fermentation process should be allowed for 6-7 days.
• After seven days, the fruit will become gooey. At this time, you have to lift it and allow the juice to drip to the wine (make sure you don’t squeeze it).
• Let the wine rest now for a few days.
• After the resting period, it is time to siphon the clear part of the mixture into a clean glass bottle with an airlock.
• Keep at least 5 inches between the airlock and the liquid.
• Keep the mixture at a temperature of 70°F.
• Siphon the mixture again to a clean bottle after at least a month. Check the airlock to make sure that it is clean and properly functional.
• Repeat the same step after three months. 
• If there are live yeasts still present in the mix, then wait for it to dry down. Or, you can also use sulphites to kill them.
• During the sixth month, move the wine to normal room temperatures.
• Check for any bubbles on top of the wine, or near the airlock. If there are no bubbles, then your home-made fruit wine is ready. 
• Move the wine to glass bottles and seal them off. It is best if you wait for a year or two to enjoy a better taste. If you taste it while you are bottling it, then the taste would be too rough. 
• The last touch to your perfect fruit wine is storing it. Storing it is exactly like the grape wine from regular shops. Choose a very cool and dry place. 

Pro Tip: 

Adjust the acids added to the fruit wine to make it a bit more balanced. If you like your wine a bit tangy, keep the proportion of acids a bit on a larger scale.

Will Fruit Wine Be Like Regular Wine?

Yes, why not! By wine, we essentially think of some beverage that is solely made of grapes. But you’ll be amazed to learn that it is the process of making wine that remains the same for fruit wine, and honours its name. 

Wine is made in the breweries by fermentation. You can produce your personalized red wine or white wine! You just have to choose the correct fruit for it.

Happy Holidaying With Fruit Wine

The secret to a perfect fruit wine is the amount of time you allow it to rest. There is not much variation in the procedure of making it. It will taste just like the base fruit that you have chosen to make it. 

A few extra tips to follow while making fruit wine would be to check for the correct ratios. You should be extra careful about the amount of sugar or honey you are adding. Keep it exactly half as that of the quantity of the fruit. It is best to use a hydrometer for this purpose.

You can now make your holidays merrier and keep your guests happy with the perfect fruit wine!