Cooking Pear Wine (Dry)

• 5 lb. cooking pears
• 1-3/4 lb. granulated sugar
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 orange, juiced
• 3/4 tsp. pectic enzyme
• 7 pts. water
• 1 tsp. yeast nutrient
• Red Star Pasteur White wine yeast

Wash and chop the pears into 1/2 inch pieces with peeling intact, bring to a boil in 7 pints water, then lower heat to a simmer and hold for not more than 20 minutes (or the wine may not clear later). Allow to cool to lukewarm and pour into nylon straining bag, saving all liquids. Hand mash and squeeze the pulp lightly to extract as much juice as possible without forcing pulp through the mesh. Pour the combined liquid onto the sugar in a primary, stirring well to dissolve. Add the lemon and orange juice, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrients. When cooled to 75 degrees F., add an activated wine yeast starter and cover primary. Transfer to secondary after vigorous fermentation subsides (5-7 days), top up with water and attach an airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock after 3 weeks and then every 2 months for 6 months. Bottle if clear. If wine does not clarify on its own, fine with Bentonite according to its instructions, rack again when clear (7-10 days), and bottle. Taste it after 6 months, but allow a year for best body and flavor. This wine may be spiced during cooking with two 3-inch cinnamon sticks and a few cloves (to your taste) in a spice bag. These are removed before extracting the juices from the pears. The spiced wine is a very nice treat during the Christmas holidays the following year. [Author’s own recipe]