raspberery Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 2 16-oz cans red or black raspberries in light syrup
• 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
• 3-1/2 qts water
• 1-1/2 tsp acid blend
• 1/8 tsp grape tannin
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
• Montrachet wine yeast

Heat water, but do not boil. Drain syrup from raspberries and set syrup aside. Put raspberries in nylon straining bag, tie end closed, set in primary. Add sugar to hot water and stir well to dissolve sugar. Add syrup from raspberries. Pour the water/syrup over raspberries in primary, cover with clean cloth and allow to cool to room temperature (about 4 hours). Add remaining ingredients except yeast and recover primary. Wait 12 hours, add yeast and recover. Ferment 5 days, punching bag down twice a day. Measure specific gravity. When S.G. reaches 1.020, drip drain (but don’t squeeze) the bag of raspberries. Discard raspberries or save it for jam. Allow wine to settle overnight and rack into secondary. Top up and fit airlock. Rack every 2 months for total of 3 times. Stabilize wine, wait 10 days, rack into clean secondary, dissolve 1/3 cup sugar into wine, and bottle it. This wine may be tasted young, but ages well.
[Author’s own recipe]