Black Cherry Juice Wine
You can buy 100% pure black cherry juice in two ways. First, you can buy the pure black cherry juice itself. You need a gallon. Second, you can buy a concentrate and reconstitute the juice. You need a gallon of the reconstituted juice. From there, the directions are easy. Please note that the amount of sugar specified below is an approximation only. You must measure the specific gravity with a hydrometer to determine the exact amount. If you do not have a hydrometer, use the figure below.
- 1 gallon black cherry juice, pure or reconstituted
- 1-1/2 lbs granulated sugar
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1/8 tsp tannin
- 1 tsp pectic enzyme.
- 1/2 tsp citric acid
- Lalvin RC212 (Bourgovin) wine yeast
Start with a gallon of juice or juice reconstituted from concentrate. Float your hydrometer in it and record the reading. Compare that to the table at my hydrometer page and calculate how much sugar you will need to attain an initial specific gravity between 1.085 and 1.090. Put that amount of sugar in a primary, along with pectic enzyme, citric acid , yeast nutrient, and tannin. Add black cherry juice and stir very, very well to dissolve sugar. Cover and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast and recover primary. Stir daily until s.g. drops to 1.010. Transfer to secondary and fit airlock. Rack after 30 days, top up and refit airlock. Wait 60 days and rack again. When s.g. indicates dryness (0.990), stabilize wine, sweeten to taste, allow to sit for 2 weeks to ensure fermentation does not restart, and rack into bottles. Store in cool, dark place at least 6 months before tasting. Improves with age. [Author’s own recipe]