How to Make Raisin Wine

Raisins make a great-tasting wine. Raisins are available any time of the year, so you don't have to wait for them to be in season. You can also use raisins to add body to other fruit wines. Dark raisins make a dark, brown-colored wine, while golden raisins make a golden-colored wine. The following steps will show you how to make a basic raisin wine.

Things You'll Need

• 4 lbs of raisins
• Knife or mincer
• 1 lb sugar
• 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
• Primary and secondary fermentors
• 1 gallon water
• Cloth
• 1 campden tablet
• 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme
• 1 package activated wine yeast
• A nylon straining bag
• Siphon
• Airlock
• Bottles
• Corks

Instructions

1. Chop 4 pounds of raisins to a very fine texture or run them through an electric or manual mincer. Place the chopped raisins, 1 pound of sugar and 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient into the primary fermentor.

2. Pour 1 gallon of boiled water over the ingredients in the fermentor and stir until everything is combined and the sugar is dissolved. Cover the fermentor with a cloth and let cool.

3. Add one crushed campden tablet when the mixture has cooled down to room temperature. Cover the fermentor again and let the mixture sit for 12 hours.

4. Add a teaspoon of pectic enzyme and stir well. Cover the fermentor and let the mixture sit for another 12 hours.

5. Add 1 packet of activated wine yeast. Stir the mixture every day for 7 days.

6. Strain the wine with a nylon strainer bag into a secondary fermentor, squeezing every bit of the juice out that you can and dispose of the bag and pulp. Fit the airlock onto the secondary fermentor.

7. Siphon (or rack) the mixture once every 30 days, refitting the airlock when finished, until the wine is clear and has no new sediments during that 30-day time frame.

8. Sweeten the wine to taste with granulated sugar when it becomes clear. Wait 10 days and rack the wine into clean, good-quality wine or champagne bottles and cork. Wait about a year before drinking.

Tips & Warnings

• Add a 4-inch cinnamon stick broken into 4 pieces if you would like a spiced wine.

Resources

• Purchase wine brewing supplies.