Tinned-Fruit Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads
- 2 16-oz cans of pie cherries (NOT cherry pie filling)
- 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar if in water; 2 lbs granulated sugar if in light syrup; 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar if in heavy syrup
- 3-1/2 qts water
- 1 tsp acid blend
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
- Montrachet wine yeast
Heat water, but do not boil. Drain syrup from cherries and set syrup aside. Put cherries in nylon straining bag, tie end closed, set in primary. Add sugar to hot water and stir well to dissolve sugar. Add syrup (or water) from cherries. Pour the water/syrup over cherries 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 cherries. Discard cherries. 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 bottles or into clean secondary to be sweetened to taste before bottling. This wine may be tasted in 6 months, but ages well.
[Author’s own recipe]
- 2 16-oz cans blueberries or blackberries in light syrup
- 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
- 3-1/2 qts water
- 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 fruit and set syrup aside. Put fruit in nylon straining bag, tie end closed, set in primary. Add sugar to hot water and stir well to dissolve sugar. Add syrup from fruit. Pour the water/syrup over fruit 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. Let 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 fruit. Discard fruit or save it for jam. Allow wine to settle overnight and rack into secondary. Top up and fit airlock. Rack after 2 months and again after additional 2 months. If certain fermentation has ceased, bottle. If not certain, either wait another 2 months and rack into bottles or stabilize, wait 10 days, and rack into bottles. This wine may be tasted young, but will be much better after 9 months. [Author’s own recipe]
- 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]