How to Make Country Wine

A country wine is wine made from fruits, herbs or vegetables other than grapes. Country wine can be made with any fleshy fruit, such as peaches, plums or apricots or wild fruits such as currants, blackberries and elderberries. Other possibilities include dandelions, rhubarbs, watermelons and cantaloupe. No matter the choice of main ingredient, country wines are simple to make and require very little equipment.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 6 pounds of fresh, ripe fruits, berries or flower heads Large, stainless steel stock pot Jelly bag or wire mesh colander Measuring cup Large bowl Water Sugar Wine yeast Cheesecloth String Food grade plastic tubing Bottles or jars with lids

1. Place the fruit, berries or flower heads in a large stockpot. Add approximately 1 inch of water and simmer until the fruit, berries or flowers can be mashed to a pulp.

2. Strain the pulp through a jelly bag suspended over a large bowl to collect the juice. If you don't have a jelly bag, use a fine, wire mesh colander suspended over a large bowl.

3. Measure the juice before you pour it back into the stockpot.

4. Add 1 cup of sugar for every 1 quart of liquid. You can add water to make up the difference for a full quart. For example, if your last measure is 3 cups, add 1 cup of water.

5. Bring the juice and sugar to a simmer over low heat to fully dissolve the sugar into the juice.

6. Remove the stockpot from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

7. Stir in 1 package of wine yeast.

8. Cover the stockpot with cheesecloth and secure the cloth to the top of the pot with string tied around the top of the pot.

9. Allow the wine to ferment for 30 days in a cool, dry place. A corner of the kitchen or pantry is the perfect place for this process to occur.

10. Siphon the wine into bottles or jars and cap. Take care not to siphon the must, or residue, at the bottom of the stockpot.

11. Store the wine in a cool area and allow it to age for 6 months to a year. Berry wines are usually ready to drink after 6 months, while fruit and flower wines may take a year to develop their full flavor.

Tips & Warnings

• The amount of wine the recipe will yield will depend on the type of fruit, berry, vegetable or flower used and how much juice is available after the straining. Wines from the leaves or roots of fruits are generally referred as a beer and if honey is used as the sweetener, the wine will be considered a mead. If you have a 3- to 5-gallon stone crock, that can be used instead of the stainless steel stockpot.

References

• The Foxfire Book of Wine Making, edited by Lori Gillespie, Kelly Shropshire and Allison Adams, E. P. Dutton, Copyright 1987 by the Foxfire Fund, Inc.
• Making Wild Wines & Meads: 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More, by Pattie Vargas, and Rich Gulling, Storey Publishing, LLC; Revised edition, 1999

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