Things You'll Need:
- Strawberries
- Fermenter pail
- Sodium bisulfite
- Acid blend
- Wine tannin
- Pectic enzyme
- Water
- Sugar
- Yeast nutrient
- Champagne yeast
- 2 five-gallon glass containers with airtight lids
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Step 1
Buy 15 lbs. of wild, fresh or frozen strawberries, or pick them if you grow them yourself. Cut off the stems and leaves, then wash them in a separate bowl. If you use frozen strawberries, thaw them before starting. Chop or mash the strawberries into smaller pieces.
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Step 2
Clean a 5- or 6-gallon fermenter pail, then add the strawberries to the pail. Fill the fermenter with enough water so that it just covers the berries.
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Step 3
Prepare the ingredients. Add 1/4 tsp. sodium bisulfite to remove bacteria and mold, 8 tsp. of acid blend and 1 tsp. of wine tannin into the fermenter to give it flavor. Drop 1/4 tsp. pectic enzyme into the mixture to reduce the milky appearance of the wine. These ingredients will also give the strawberry wine a thinner yet syrupy look.
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Step 4
Cover the fermenter with a towel for 24 hours. Dilute the wine with up to 5 gallons of water. Stir approximately 14 cups of sugar into the mixture until it dissolves. Use one package of yeast and 5 tsp. yeast nutrient to speed the fermentation process.
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Step 5
Wait for the strawberry wine to ferment in the pail for 7 days. Afterwards, use the siphon of the fermenter to transfer the wine into a 5-gallon glass container. This will separate pulp and other sediments. Place an airtight cap over the container, and continue fermenting the wine for 6 weeks.
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Step 6
Siphon the wine again into another 5-gallon glass container, close it with an airtight lid, then let it stand for an extra 2 weeks before transferring it to bottles. At this point, your strawberry wine should be clear rather than cloudy.
