How to Make Mulberry Wine

The black mulberry and red mulberry bear fruit that may be used to make wine. Pure strains of these varieties are becoming threatened because they are becoming increasingly hybridized, especially with the white mulberry. This can be a problem for growers because these hybrids may not bear fruit. The following steps will show how to make mulberry wine.

Things You'll Need

• 6 lbs ripe mulberries
• 5 pts water
• 1 3/4 lb granulated sugar
• 1 11-oz can Welch's frozen concentrated grape juice
• 3/4 tsp pectic enzyme
• 1/2 tsp acid blend
• Bordeaux wine yeast and nutrient

Instructions

1. Boil the water and stir in sugar until it dissolves. Sort and remove the stems from the mulberries. Wash and pour them into the primary fermentation container. After the can of grape concentrate is thawed, add it. Mulberries make a poor wine by themselves and need to be fortified with grape juice or raisins to increase the body.

2. Pour the boiling water over the fruit and allow the mixture to cool to 75 to 80 degrees. Stir in the remaining ingredients thoroughly except for the yeast. Cover the container and allow it to sit undisturbed for 12 hours.

3. Stir in the yeast, replace the cover and allow the mixture to ferment for four days. Press down on the fruit pulp to extract more juice while wearing sterilized gloves and stir twice each day.

4. Strain the liquid through a nylon sieve and press gently to extract more juice. The secondary fermentation container should be dark or wrapped with dark paper. Top off if needed and place the airlock.

5. Rack the wine in 60 days and again 60 days after that. Stabilize and set aside for two to three weeks to ensure the fermentation has stopped. Bottle and store in an area with little for at least six months. This will make a full-bodied wine that will be substantially better at two years.

Resources

• Learn more about making mulberry wine.