Dried Fruit Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

Mixed Dry Fruit Wine

June 13, 2022

Some time back I stopped by a health food supermarket and bought several pounds of mixed dry fruit. This is sold in bulk along with dozens of other goodies and I put a dent in my pocketbook at the check-out counter. The particular mix I bought had dried apples, peaches, plums, rhubarb, mangoes (2 varieties), strawberries, and blueberries. I bought some dried cherries, bananas, dates and apricots separately and added some to the mix. I later lamented that I had not also purchased some dried papaya, cranberries and pineapple. When it comes to mixed dried fruit, the more the merrier.

The key consideration when purchasing each of these was that the only preservatives used on the fruit were sulfur dioxide and ascorbic acid, neither of which will impede fermentation.

I weighed out 2 pounds of fruit and diced them on a chopping block to increase the surface area. This took longer than I anticipated and quite a bit of elbow grease. Had I thought it out beforehand, I would have used a large shredding blade and run them through my food processor.

  • 2 pounds mixed dry fruit, diced or minced
  • 1 lb 12 ounces sugar
  • 1 tsp powdered pectic enzyme
  • 1/8 tsp powdered grape tannin
  • 6 pints water
  • 1/8 tsp yeast energizer
  • 1 tsp yeast nutrient
  • Champaign yeast in starter solution
Put water on to boil. Dice or mince the dried fruit and place in primary. Add sugar, grape tannin, yeast energizer and yeast nutrient.. When water boils, pour over contents of primary and stir with wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Cover primary and set aside to cool. When approximately 100 degrees F., add pectic enzyme. Recover primary and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast in starter solution but do not stir. Wait 6-8 hours and stir must. Make a note of when active fermentation begins and set aside, covered, for 5 days. Strain fruit but do not discard. Transfer liquid to secondary and affix airlock without topping up. After additional 5 days, crush and dissolve 1 Campden tablet in 1/2 cup water and use this to top up secondary. Set aside for 3 weeks. Rack, top up and reaffix airlock. Repeat after 30 days and top up with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate dissolved in 1/4 cup water. Wait 45 days, rack and add 1 crushed and dissolved Campden tablet in 1/4 cup water. Let sit overnight and rack into bottles. Drinkable after 3 months but improves to 1 year. Do not allow it to age too long beyond it’s bottling anniversary. [Jack Keller’s own recipe]

Bonus! Re-use the mixed fruit!

Mixed Dried Fruit (from the wine) Jam

The strained fruit from the winemaking can be used in various ways. You can make a second wine, but it will not be as robust as the first. You can make small tarts using prepared crescent roll dough, or you can make jam. If you use the jam recipe below you will have some fruit left over. Try the tarts. Just lay out the individual pieces of crescent roll dough . Place a tablespoon of fruit in the center of each, sprinkle the fruit with 1 teaspoon of sugar and fold the crescent roll dough over the fruit. Crimp the edges sealed and bake at 350 degrees F. on a non-stick cookie sheet until lightly browned on top. Remove, carefully turn them over and return to oven for 4 more minutes.
  • 4 cups mixed fruit from wine must
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 cup water
Combine fruit, zest, lemon juice and water in stainless steel saucepan. Heat rapidly to a boil and reduce heat to just maintain the boil. Slowly stir in sugar and continue stirring until completely dissolved. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture forms a gel — about 25-30 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and ginger. Ladle onto hot jars, seal with new rings and lids and process in boiling bath for 10 minutes. [Author’s own recipe]

Mixed Dried Fruit Pie

The strained fruit from the winemaking can be used in various ways. You can make a second wine, but it will not be as robust as the first. You can make small tarts using prepared crescent roll dough, or you can make jam. If you use the jam recipe below you will have some fruit left over. Try the tarts. Just lay out the individual pieces of crescent roll dough . Place a tablespoon of fruit in the center of each, sprinkle the fruit with 1 teaspoon of sugar and fold the crescent roll dough over the fruit. Crimp the edges sealed and bake at 350 degrees F. on a non-stick cookie sheet until lightly browned on top. Remove, carefully turn them over and return to oven for 4 more minutes.
  • 4 cups mixed fruit from wine must
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 cup water
Combine fruit, zest, lemon juice and water in stainless steel saucepan. Heat rapidly to a boil and reduce heat to just maintain the boil. Slowly stir in sugar and continue stirring until completely dissolved. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture forms a gel — about 25-30 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and ginger. Ladle onto hot jars, seal with new rings and lids and process in boiling bath for 10 minutes. [Author’s own recipe]

Dried Apricot Wine

February 24, 2012

I received a request a year ago for a fruit wine you can make in the winter, other than apple, that you would be proud to serve year-round. I almost didn’t reply because the answer is so obvious — dried fruit wine. I looked in my pantry and there were two pounds of dried Turkish apricots I picked up from Whole Foods. The wine just sort of made itself. I tasted it last night and drank half a bottle before I realized what I was doing. Need I say it? Fabulous!

You don’t need dried Turkish apricots for this recipe, but you do need dried apricots. Mine were sulfited to preserve the color and discourage bacterial attachment. Do not worry about the sulfites, please. Their amount is very slight, far less than you would get by adding a Campden tablet.

I used Demerara sugar, but you can use any light brown sugar you can find. Turbinado sugar would be a good substitute and is easy to find. If push comes to shove, use Light Brown Sugar, which is white sugar with molasses added.

  • 2 lbs chopped dry apricots
  • 1 can Welch’s or Old Orchard 100% White Grape Juice Frozen Concentrate
  • 1 3/4 lb Demerara sugar
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • water to 1 gallon
  • 1/4 tsp powdered grape tannin
  • 1 tsp yeast nutrient
  • sachet of Kitzinger’s Madeira, Red Star Premier Curvee or Lalvin EC1118 wine yeast

Bring apricots to boil in 3 1/2 quarts of water, reduce to simmer for 30 minutes, then strain into primary without pressing. Discard pulp or save to make jam or preserves. Add remaining ingredients, except yeast and nutrient, and stir well to dissolve sugar. When warm, add nutrient, and stir. When cool, add activated yeast as starter solution, cover and ferment in warm place for three weeks, stirring daily. Strain into secondary, top up to one gallon, and fit airlock. Rack after one month. Rack every 30 days until clear, rack again adding 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and one crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Set aside two months, then rack again. Sweeten to taste and wait 30 days to see if refermentation occurs. If not, bottle. Taste after six months, but allow one year for best quality and flavor. [Jack Keller’s own recipe]

This wine can be made using Flor Sherry yeast, but requires very careful measurement of sugar in the must — from the apricots, white grape concentrate and sugar added — so the potential alcohol falls between 14.5% and 16%% alcohol. This window is crucial to grow a flor. Ferment normally (anaerobically) to dryness, then move to a larger secondary to allow air in over the wine. Either seal mouth of secondary with cotton or cover with a double layer of muslin secured with a rubber band.

A flor does not develop under all conditions. A cooler temperature (60° is ideal) and high humidity are desired, but there is not much you can do about the latter. If floret’s do not develop within one month stabilize the wine and await yeast die-off — about 3 months. Rack and then rack again in 30 days. Sweeten to taste and wait a final 30 days to see if refermentation occurs. If not, bottle. Since the wine has been exposed to air, drink within one year.

If floret’s do develop, wait and they will form a complete flor over the wine, protecting it from further air exposure until the flor collapses. When that occurs, stabilize the wine. Sweeten if desired and wait a final 30 days to see if refermentation occurs. If not, bottle.