Celery Wine (1)

• 4 lbs green and white celery
• 2 lbs sugar
• 7-1/2 pts water
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• wine yeast

Wash celery, trim away leaves, and chop into one-inch lengths. Put in pot with water and bring to boil for 30 minutes. Strain without pressing and use pulp for soup or other dishes. Pour water into primary and add sugar. Use Demerara sugar for a golden color, light brown sugar for darker amber color, and white granulated sugar for more neutral colored wine. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then stir in yeast nutrient. Cover and set aside until cool, then sprinkle yeast in top without stirring. Recover and allow yeast to propagate. When fermentation is strong, stir and let ferment four days. Transfer into secondary and fit airlock. When wine clears, rack into clean secondary, top up and refit airlock. Set aside until completely dry, then rack into bottles or make into an aperitif. For the latter, stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait 10 days, then rack into bottles. [Adapted from C.J.J. Berry’s First Steps in Winemaking ]