strawberry wine

[justashooter 430]

lucked into some 30 pounds of strawberries at a farmers market for about $.80/pound, and couldn't resist. simple instructions for making into wine given below. this plan yeilds about 5 gallons of 16-18% mildly sweet wine. in the bottle 2 years, it drinks more like a good brandy.

instructions:

rinse and dice fruit into buckets. add juice from two squeezed limes.

add 20 pounds of sugar to enough hot water to hold the fruit (about 4 gallons fruit and 4 gallons water), pour over. add champagne yeast to 1/2 gallon of hot water and allow to foam just a bit (2 hours) before infusing the fruit must.

push the floating fruit under the water often enough to keep it wet, and watch the foaming.

allow to sit 4-6 days in about 70* temps, or until foaming slows dramatically.

higher temps mean faster foaming. allow foam to protect the alcohol underneath.

lift off spent fruit with big stainless strainer net spoon.

pour liquid through screen fabric into another bucket to seperate solids.

rack into glass carboy or gallon vinegar jugs with a rubber tube (glass extension tube a big plus)

apply corks with airlocks. allow to gas for 2 weeks and rack into clean carboy/jugs with rubber hose.

allow to continue gassing and repeat racking at 4-6 weeks, topping with clean water each time.

may continue gassing. allow to sit minimum 4-6 months before bottling, or throwing a really big party.

serves best if in carboy for 6 months and bottles for 6-8 months.

hints:

some people like to wash fruit and sanitize it with metabisulphite.

I prefer to allow the natural yeasts to add flavour.

fruit that is too far gone will go to vinegar if the champagne yeast doesn't take over fast enough.

you can get a hydrometer from a wine/beer making store to set sugar level more reliably.

mix to abt 1.15, or 20% potential alcohol. this is your sugar water mix. the fruit will lower the grade.

1.15 will give a strong sweet wine with champagne yeast. shoot for 7-10% with standard wine yeasts.

primary fermentation in buckets is aerobic process and needs air.

secondary fermentation is anerobic, and needs to exclude oxygen (air).

don't expose working wine to air any more than necessary after primary.

keep all secondary fermentation carboys/jugs topped with clean water to exclude air.

keep carboy and bottles in dark or under cloth to prevent fading of color and loss of taste.

some people like to add metabisulphites to increase shelf life.

they really just need to drink faster.

sulphites give you headaches.

supplies:

wine stores can be found on the net and locally with all the supplies you need.

good clean food grade buckets can be found at bakeries free.

wine made in pickle buckets tastes like pickles.

glass vinegar bottles can be found at yard sales.

used wine bottles can be found cheap at wineries.

a floor corking press is worth the cost, and can be used to reload shotshells, in a pinch.

all containers used in winemaking should be rinsed with metabisulphite.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Or just buy a bottle of Boone's Farm strawberry wine for your homeless whino alcohol

[almaty 19]

i use to work with a lady who made her own wine..dandelion was her favorite..it was good stuff...

[pedroh 21]

yea i think buying the boone's farm strawberry 'wine' is cheaper and more efficient, alcohol wise lol

[justashooter 430]

cost is under $2 a bottle once you have the equipment, but that's not the point. quality is the objective, and wine like this just can't be bought. apple cider is also a good starter. pears make gasoline. peaches are tricky. blackberries and raspberries are best done in small batches as a fruit liquer. i steep them in ethanol with spices, making about 40% liquers with just enough glycerine to cling to the roof of your mouth.

i'm not suprised the concept is lost in this crowd.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

cost is under $2 a bottle once you have the equipment, but that's not the point. quality is the objective, and wine like this just can't be bought. apple cider is also a good starter. pears make gasoline. peaches are tricky. blackberries and raspberries are best done in small batches as a fruit liquer. i steep them in ethanol with spices, making about 40% liquers with just enough glycerine to cling to the roof of your mouth.

i'm not suprised the concept is lost in this crowd.

ethanol?

[Ms. Squirrel 11]

Yeah, what a shame that we are no strawberry wine connoisseurs.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Antifreeze

[minimule 3]

MMMMM Boone's Farm... taste like koolaid

[justashooter 430]

cost is under $2 a bottle once you have the equipment, but that's not the point. quality is the objective, and wine like this just can't be bought. apple cider is also a good starter. pears make gasoline. peaches are tricky. blackberries and raspberries are best done in small batches as a fruit liquer. i steep them in ethanol with spices, making about 40% liquers with just enough glycerine to cling to the roof of your mouth.

i'm not suprised the concept is lost in this crowd.

ethanol?

i have a friend who works for NIH, and gets lab grade ethanol for me for about $4 a gallon from his lab stock. steeped liquers are made by putting very strong acidic fruits like raspberries in the ethanol in a glass or stainless vat for about 6 months and straining off the liquid, then adjusting to 40% or so and adding glycerine to give body. the right spices are important, and sugar/acid balance is a bit of a trick, but the result hides the alcohol and is outstanding. cost is about 10$ a gallon, but a gallon goes a long way.

[Marilyn. 340]

I have had strawberry wine that someone made themselves.. it was really good...

[pedroh 21]

fruit wines are good mixers.. mix vodka, red bull, fruit wine, and top it w sprite.. u get urself a good party cocktail

[justashooter 430]

fruit wines are good mixers.. mix vodka, red bull, fruit wine, and top it w sprite.. u get urself a good party cocktail

Champipple.

[The_Dude 1,142]

fruit wines are good mixers.. mix vodka, red bull, fruit wine, and top it w sprite.. u get urself a good party cocktail

Sounds like a girlie drink on crack