Loquat Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 4 lbs fresh loquats
• 2 lbs granulated sugar
• 1 tsp acid blend
• 1 gallon water
• 1 crushed Campden tablet
• 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
• 1/2 tsp grape tannin
• wine yeast and nutrient

Wash fruit and remove seeds. Chop the fruit finely or roughly in a blender. Pour fruit over half the sugar, crushed Campden tablet, tannin, yeast nutrient, and enough water to total one gallon in primary, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Cover with cloth. After 12 hours, add pectic enzyme and recover. After another 12 hours, add wine yeast and recover. Stir daily, adding half the remaining sugar after three days. Ferment on pulp another four days, stirring daily. Strain through nylon jelly bag and squeeze well to extract juice. Pour remaining sugar into juice, juice into secondary, and fit airlock. Siphon liquor off sediments into clean secondary after 30 days, topping up as needed. Repeat racking every 30 days until wine clears (3-4 additional rackings). Rack once more and taste. If satisfied with sweetness, bottle the wine. If too dry, add stabilizer and sweeten to taste, adding up to 1/4 cup sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup water. This wine can be drank young, but improves considerably if left in bottles one year. [ Author’s recipe ]