Raspberry Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads
- 3/4 lb. chopped dried apricots
- 6 oz. raspberries
- 3 oz. dried elderberries
- 1-1/4 lb. granulated sugar
- 1/2 pt. white grape concentrate
- 1 cup mixed red and yellow rose petals
- 1 tsp. pectic enzyme
- 1 gallon water
- crushed Campden tablets
- Burgundy wine yeast and nutrient
Before you start, dissolve sugar in 6 pts. warm water, then chill the water overnight in refrigerator. Chop or mince dried apricots and elderberries, crush raspberries, and mix together in primary fermentation vessel with chilled sugar-water, nutrient, pectic enzyme, and two crushed Campden tablets. Stir well, cover and set aside 24 hours. Add activated Burgundy yeast, cover and ferment on pulp three days, stirring daily. Strain pulp in fine nylon sieve and press lightly to extract juice without pulp particles. Add grape concentrate, cover and ferment additional four days. Add rose petals and ferment additional three days before straining and add sufficient water to bring volume to 1 gallon. When S.G. drops to 1.000 or lower, add another crushed Campden tablet and rack, without splashing, to secondary fermentation vessel as soon as fermentation restarts or a heavy deposit of yeast forms, whichever is sooner. Fit airlock and store bottle in cool place (65-70 degrees F.) without disturbing for three months. However, check after two weeks and, if pulp debris is detected in sediment, carefully rack again without splashing and add another crushed Campden tablet. After total three months in secondary fermentation vessel, rack again, being careful to avoid splashing, add one crushed Campden tablet, and top up with water before refitting airlock. After additional three months, rack again as before, add another crushed Campden tablet, top up with water, and bottle. May taste after six months but matures at 18 months. [Adapted from Bryan Acton and Peter Duncan’s Making Wines Like Those You Buy]
- 2 quarts dandelions blossoms
- 1 cup fresh or frozen black raspberries
- 5 cups honey
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- 4-inch cinnamon stick
- 5-1/2 pts water
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- 1/4 tsp tannin
- wine yeast
Pick the dandelion flowers and then remove and save only the petals, discarding the remainder. Put water on to boil. While water is heating, thinly peel the lemon and orange. Remove and discard pith from the lemon and orange and slice their fruit thinly. Put lemon and orange slices, peeling, flower petals, cinnamon stick, and raspberries in nylon straining bag, tie closed and put in primary. Add honey to primary and pour boiling water over straining bag. Stir to mix honey and water and continue until honey is disolved. Cover primary and as water cools stir in tannin and yeast nutrient. When room temperature, sprinkle yeast over liquid and recover. Fermentation should start within hours. Squeeze bag daily to liberate flavors and then stir liquid. After 5th day, drip drain bag over primary, squeezing gently, and discard petals and fruit pulp. Dissolve crushed Campden tablet in 1/2 cup warm water and stir into primary. Recover and ferment to specific gravity of 1.010 (14-21 days). Rack into secondary and fit airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock every 30 days for 90 days. After racking, stabilize, allow to settle 2 weeks, and rack into bottles. Allow to age at least one year. [Author’s own recipe]
- 2 lb 10 oz raspberry (or any other) honey
- 1 lb 4 oz red raspberries
- Water to 1 gallon (about 3 liters)
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1/4 tsp yeast energizer
- 1 Campden tablet
- 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate
- yeast
Bring one quart water to boil and slowly stir in honey. Add lemon juice and slowly stir periodically until water returns to boil. Adjust to low boil and hold about 40 minutes, stirring periodically and skimming off scum as it rises. Meanwhile, place defrosted raspberries in nylon bag, tie closed and mash with flat-bottomed wine bottle in bottom of primary. Separately, begin a yeast starter solution with mead or Champagne yeast. Pour honey water onto berries. Wait 15 minutes and add remaining water and yeast nutrient. Cover primary and wait until must is room temperature. Stir in yeast energizer and activated yeast starter solution. Stir twice daily for 4 days, remove nylon bag and discard pulp. Ferment two more days and transfer to secondary. Attach airlock and ferment to dryness. Rack into sanitized secondary in which a finely crushed Campden tablet and potassium sorbate have been dumped. Top up and reattach airlock. Set aside two months and rack again. Stir in 1/3 cup of honey until absolutely dissolved and bottle. Age at least one year. [Author’s own recipe]
- 2 lbs fresh (or frozen) red raspberries
- 6-8 dried chipotles, chopped coarsely
- 1-3/4 lb granulated sugar
- 1-1/4 tsp acid blend
- 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp tannin
- 7 pts water
- 1-1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1 pkt Champagne wine yeast
Use only sound ripe berries. Wash and destem berries. Put chopped chipotles in jelly-bag, tie, and place in primary, Put berries in nylon straining bag, tie, and over primary crush berries by hand and place bag in primary. Add all remaining ingredients except yeast in primary. Pour boiling water over ingredients and stir well to dissolve sugar. Cover with plastic wrap until cooled to 70-75 degrees F. Add yeast, recover, and stir daily until S.G. drops to 1.020 or below. Remove nylon straining bag and let drip-drain (do not press) 30-45 minutes to extract juice. Siphon off sediments into secondary, transfer jelly-bag with chipotles to secondary, top up if required, fit airlock, and set in dark, cooler (60-65 degrees F.) place. In 3 weeks, remove jelly-bag, squeeze to extract additional flavor, and discard contents. Rack, top up and refit airlock. Rack again in 3 months, adding another crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Rack again 3 months later and bottle when clear and stable. Store in dark place to preserve color. Age at least six months. [Author’s own recipe]
- 2 cans (11.5 oz) Welch’s White Grape and Raspberry frozen concentrate
- 1-1/4 lbs granulated sugar
- 2 tsp acid blend
- 1 tsp pectic enzyme
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- water to make 1 gallon
- Sauterne wine yeast
Bring 1 quart water to boil and dissolve the sugar in the water. Remove from heat and add frozen concentrate. Add additional water to make one gallon and pour into secondary. Add remaining ingredients except yeast. Cover with napkin fastened with rubber band and set aside 12 hours. Add activated wine yeast and recover with napkin. When active fermentation slows down (about 5 days), fit airlock. When clear, rack, top up and refit airlock. Wait 30 days and rack, top up and refit airlock. After additional 30 days, stabilize, sweeten if desired and rack into bottles. [Author’s own recipe]
- 4-1/2 to 5 lbs. gold or yellow raspberries
- 3/4 to 1-1/4 lb. finely granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp. malic acid
- 1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
- water to make 1 gallon
- 1 tsp. yeast nutrient
- 1 sachet Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne) yeast
Thaw raspberries and discard any that are unsound or unripe. Dissolve sugar in water and, if heated to assist disolving, allow to cool to room temperature. Put berries in nylon straining bag and lightly crush in primary. Add remaining ingredients except yeast. Cover primary and wait 10-12 hours, then add activated yeast. Ferment about 7-8 days (until specific gravity drops to 1.030), remove bag and drain squeezing lightly. Recover primary and let liquid settle overnight, then rack to secondary and attach airlock. Rack, top up and reattach airlock after 30 days and again after another 30 days. Thereafter, rack every 60 days until wine clears and no new sediments appear in 60 days — not even a thin dusting. Stabilize, sweeten if desired, wait 3-4 weeks to ensure no refermentation, and bottle wine. Age at least one year. [Author’s own recipe]
- 1 12-oz can frozen “cranraspberry” concentrate
- 1 lb granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
- 1/8 tsp tannin
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- water to one gallon
- Champagne or Montrachet wine yeast
Thaw the cranraspberry concentrate and pour in gallon jug. Add sugar, crushed Campden, tannin, and yeast nutrient. Add water, leaving 3-4 inches of air above liquid. Stir thoroughly with wooden dowel until all sugar is dissolved (or just screw cap on jug, pick it up and shake it until sugar dissolves, being sure you remove the cap afterwards). Cover mouth of jug with paper towel held by rubber band and set aside 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir, recover, and set aside another 12 hours. Add activated wine yeast, recover, and set in warm place. Stir daily until specific gravity drops to 1.020 (about 2 weeks), then top up, fit airlock and set in warm place again. Rack when s.g. reaches 1.000 (30-45 days), top up, refit airlock, and set in cooler place. Rack again in 60 days and again 60 days after that, topping up and refitting airlock each time. Wine should now be dry, clear and ready to bottle. This wine tends to be tart so taste first. If too dry, dissolve one crushed Campden tablet and 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate in one cup of the wine and add to main body of wine. Sweeten to taste, refit airlock and set aside 10 days. Rack into bottles and age 6 months before tasting. [Adapted from Terry Garey’s The Joy of Home Winemaking ]
- 7 pts 100% Cranberry Juice from Concentrate
- 1 cup Southern or Savannah (brand) Raspberry Mix (syrup)
- Sugar to 1.078 (I used about 14 oz on one batch, 1 lb 1 oz on the other using different cranberry juice)
- 1/2 tsp tartaric acid (or 3/4 tsp acid blend)
- 1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- wine yeast
Read the label before selecting the cranberry juice and avoid any containing preservatives other than ascorbic
acid. Combine juice, syrup and finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet in primary and measure specific gravity.
You can use more syrup, but reduce the cranberry by that amount and calculate the sugar as required. Use a
hydrometer table to calculate the amount of sugar to add to obtain an original specific gravity (usually
abbreviated incorrectly as o.g.) of 1.078. The amount of sugar required will depend on the cranberry juice you use,
so calculate, measure the sugar, dissolve it thoroughly into a simple syrup (or a sample of the must), add, stir,
and measure the s.g. again. Do not exceed 1.078; indeed, if one is to err, do so on the low side (but not below
1.073, or 10% a.b.v.). Stir in acid and nutrient and cover primary. Wait 10-12 hours and add activated yeast in a
starter solution. On fifth day transfer to a 4-liter secondary and affix airlock, leaving at least 1 inch of ullage
(airspace). Ferment to dryness and rack into a 1-gallon secondary. Top up if required and wait for wine to clear.
Wait additional 2 weeks and rack again, adding another finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet and 1/2 tsp
dissolved potassium sorbate. Wait 45 days, rack again, sweeten to taste, and bottle. [Author’s own recipe]