How to Make Wine From Muscadine Grapes

The Muscadine (Vitis Rotundifolia) is a species of grape that grows wild in the southeastern United States. It's extremely acidic and requires considerable help in order to make a decent wine. However, muscadine wine is well worth the effort when the grapes are freely available. This recipe makes 1 gallon of wine and will benefit greatly from aging, especially for a white wine.

Things You'll Need

• 3 qts. water
• 2-1/4 lbs. granulated sugar
• 6 lbs. ripe muscadine grapes
• Rubber gloves
• Nylon straining bag
• 2 carboys
• 1 crushed Campden tablet
• 1 tsp. yeast nutrient
• 1 tsp. pectic enzyme
• Saccharometer
• 1 packet Montrachet wine yeast

Instructions

1. Boil the water in a steel pot and stir in the sugar until it's completely dissolved. Allow the sugar water to cool completely. Wash the grapes and remove the stems. Put on rubber gloves and crush the grapes. Pour them into a nylon straining bag and tie the top. Place the bag in your primary fermentation vessel (carboy).

2. Pour the sugar water over the bag of grapes. Add the crushed Campden tablet and yeast nutrient. Cover this mixture (called the must) and allow it to sit for 12 hours before adding the pectic enzyme. Let the must sit for an additional 12 hours and measure the specific gravity (S.G.) with a saccharometer. If needed, add additional sugar to raise the S.G. to 1.09.

3. Add the yeast and gently press the nylon bag to release some of the juice. Stir the must twice each day until the S.G. drops to 1.03, which should require 5 to 7 days.

4. Press the straining bag to extract most of the remaining juice and pour the must into your secondary fermentation vessel (another carboy). Attach the airlock and allow the must to stand for 3 weeks. Siphon off the top of the wine into a clean carboy (rack the wine), add distilled water to bring the volume to 1 gallon (top up) and reattach the airlock. Rack the wine and top it up every two months until the wine clears, which should require at least four months.

5. Rack the wine and bottle it when clear. This wine should be drinkable after a year in the bottle, but it will be much better after 2 to 4 years.

References

• Winemaking Home Page