[Josephhgoins]

Wine​

Recipe Description

Home made wine​

Preparation Steps:

I routinely make this with fruit that is on sale or from trees from my yard.

A word of warning, you REALLY want this to age for at least a year or it will very quickly put you on your butt very quickly.

BTW, homemade wine is legal, if you ran this through a distillation process (stil) you would have moonshine which is illegal.​

Level of Difficulty:

Easy​

Time Needed:

21 days, 30in​

Ingredients:

2 lbs ripe fruit
10 cups liquid
1 TBL yeast
3 lbs sugar or less if a dry wine is preferred, more is sweet​

Serves:

​

Directions:

Wash Fruit and place in a covered bowl or crock and let stand a day or two. Peel and discard skin if not normallly edible. Pineapple skin, however can be used instead of the fruit. Chop fuit and collect all juice. Discard seeds except those of guavas, plums, cherries, tomatoes, Place fruit in an earthenware or glass jar. Measure juice and water and pour over fuit. Add sugar and stir well; add yeast; and again stir well. Cover and let stand for 18-21 days. The mixture will ferment and produce alcohol. Check taste and make certain fermintation has ceased. Strain first through a fine sieve or strainer, then through linen or muslin. Allow to seattle for 48 hours or longer. Carefully pour or filter into bottles and tightly cork them. Label with date and contents. Store in a dark place until ready for use. The longer it is stored, the mellower the wine becomes.​

 

[ImEmile]

Sure wish I'd seen this while we were living in Kuwait.

 

[Debbie-cat]

Wow, this could be a scary recipe! BUT great for gifts! Thanks.

 

[nodmicks]

Neat!!!!!!!!! the only part that freaks me out is letting the plain fruit sit a day or two. Doesn't it rot? Oh wait it isnt cut yet is it?

 

[Ceashels]

question: Is making moonshine illegal or is it the selling of moonshine that is illegal. I was always under the impression that it was the loss of taxes that the Gov didn't like.

And what a great recipe. I remember making dandelion wine growing up with sliced lemons and oranges in a large tub.

My MIL made some "plumb brandy" one time... but it turned out to be plums macerated in gin and strained.... knocked the breath out of me that did. LOL

 

[pollypurebred39]

Thanks Joseph!

 

[Palooka]

I don't think I should temp this.

 

[Squidge]

Thanks for the recipe.

Wow, this could be a scary recipe! BUT great for gifts! Thanks.

Yeah, I thought the same about it making a great gift. I have a colleague who makes his own mead and gives it out at Christmas. Impressive!

 

[Josephhgoins]

Moonshine is illegal in large quantities. You can make your own distilled beverages at home in small quantities for personal use with no problems though. Difference states have different rules though. I know in VA you can make up to 35 gallons of moonshine per year for personal use with no issues. Anything over that and you need licenses and taxes. I never risk the distilled stuff as you never know what the police are going to want it the form of records to prove you didn't make more than whatever the limit is.

This of course is wine which is not distilled and perfectly legal as long as you don't sell it. Not sure what the rules are about giving it away.

I make a double batch of this about 1 or 2 times a year.

I only let the fuit sit if it isn't ripe yet. I usually puree the fruit to make sure the yeast can get to all of the natural sugars, after it has sit for the 3 or 4 weeks I strain out the pulp.

I also, make sure to bring it up to just under a boil to kill anything that is left living in it before I bottle it.

I tried dandelion wine but it did not turn out well, I think I may try that again this year if I can get ahold of some dandelion blossums that haven't been peed on.

 

[Ceashels]

Thanks for the information JG. I've always wanted a little still like Hawkeye had in M*A*S*H but with small one gallon casks for aging. hehehe.

What has been the favorite fruit you've used when making wine?

And now I wonder if dried fruits can be rehydrated and used.... kiwi and strawberry wine? Mandarin orange with some lime? Cherry and vanilla bean? omg, now I think I'm going to have to put this on my project list. lol

 

[Josephhgoins]

believe it or not, the final wine tastes nothing like the fruit you use. The higher the natural sugars the higher the alcohol content though.

I made some pear one time that would bring tears to your eyes if you were in the room when the jar was opened. It took over 2 years for it to mellow enough to be a good drinking wine.

Everything I have used so far turns into a good drinking white wine.

The worst was some peach I made one time that had a very bitter aftertaste. The best was watermelon that was very smooth as soon as it was made.

 

[pollypurebred39]

Joseph, I wanted to try this this week. I have question though. In the directions it states

"Wash Fruit and place in a covered bowl or crock and let stand a day or two."

So if you are using say strawberries, or blueberries you are to wash them, put in a covered bowl or crock and let stand at room temperature for a day or two before you proceed with the rest of the recipe? What about apples?

 

[Josephhgoins]

I think the day or two standing is only so the fruit can get really ripe. I omit this step if I am using fruit that is already good and ripe.

I actually have been known to just use the marked down fruit from the grocery store.

 

[pollypurebred39]

Thanks Joseph, that makes a lot of sense. I can't wait to try this. I'll post back and let you know how I did. I'm going to try it with peaches, even though yours had a bitter taste. These peaches are quite sweet. I'm hoping for a better result then you had. However, I know I'm taking a risk given your experience, I still want to try it though. I'm excited about trying this. The recipe for this is super easy, and super inexpensive. If this turns out for me I'll make lots of wine to give away as Christmas gifts.

Thanks again!

 

[Luckybustert]

Thank you for sharing this recipe! I bet it's awesome with cherries or blackberries!!

 

[Josephhgoins]

Good luck everyone!!

and just a reminder, the wine usually doesn't taste like the fruit you use. The more natual sugars the fruit has the more alcohol the finished product has.

 

[pollypurebred39]

Thanks Joseph! I'm excited to try this this week. I was even wondering if I could do it with lemons, maybe more sugar.

 

[cuteoldlady]

Thank you for sharing!

and thank you Pollypurebred39 for linking me to it!