Damson Plum

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Damson plums have deep purple skins and yellow flesh, and they are perhaps the variety of plum most commonly grown by home gardeners. I acquired my plums from a friend who was growing them along the back fence of his yard. Plums of all kinds make very good wine with a flavor that is closer than other wines in this book to traditional grape wine. Plum wine is worth making anytime plums are available.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and chop the plums. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 4 to 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Dark Chocolate-Peach

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

The same year I started adding chocolate to wines, I had a huge peach crop, so I decided to try chocolate in a batch of peach wine. This wine has a nice chocolate flavor.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and chop the peaches. Combine the peaches with the cocoa in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 4 to 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Elderberry

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

This is a classic dark red wine with intense flavor. The easiest way to crush elderberries is to stomp them, but there is a caveat: When you strip the berries off their clusters, it’s difficult to separate out the little bits of stem. Then, when you crush the berries, you also crush those bits of stem, and they give off a gummy green substance that will stick to you and your equipment. That gumminess will not find its way into the finished wine, but it will make cleanup a chore. Rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone will help remove the gum.

Many fruit wines can be quite drinkable when they are only 3 to 6 months old, but elderberry takes longer to age into good drinkability. I recommend aging elderberry wines for at least a year, preferably with most of that in bulk storage, before drinking. This is a great sipping wine, but it also works well as a cooking wine, especially with duck.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Stomp or mash the elderberries. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 9 to 12 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 9 months and preferably a year or longer.

Elderberry-Apple

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

I developed this recipe in a year when I had a modest elderberry harvest and a surplus of apples. The elderberries add a nice pink color and berry flavor on top of the apple. This makes a nice drinking wine that resembles a rosé. Because apples contain so much natural sugar, you only need 2 pounds of sugar per gallon, unless you desire a sweet wine, in which case you could add an additional 1⁄2 pound.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Stomp or mash the elderberries. Chop the apples into small pieces. Combine the elderberries and apples in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Elderberry-Peach

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Adding a small amount of elderberries to a peach wine makes a nice rosé-type wine with a layer of berry over the peach flavor. You could add more elderberries to deepen the color and make the elderberry flavor more pronounced. Adding a small amount of stongly flavored berries to a light wine like apple, peach, or pear is a nice way to increase the variety of wines in your home cellar.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Stomp or mash the elderberries. Pit and chop the peaches. Combine the elderberries and peaches in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Pear-Black Currant, Bluebarb, Pomegranate, Chokecherry, and Elderberry-Peach

Elderberry-Rhubarb (Rhuderberry)

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Rhubarb blends well with other fruits, and in my estimation a blend makes a nicer wine than rhubarb alone. Adding a small quantity of elderberries darkens rhubarb wine to deep pink or red while adding berry flavors to the rhubarb wine. Conversely, you could make a wine with more elderberries than rhubarb (try a 3:2 ratio), which will yield a darker wine that is less intensely flavored and ready to drink sooner than a straight elderberry wine.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Stomp or mash the elderberries. Combine the elderberries with the chopped rhubarb in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 to 9 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 9 months and preferably a year.

Fig

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

I had been growing my own figs for a while, with an eye toward eventually making a fig wine, but my supply of fresh figs was growing very slowly. I had two 1-gallon bags stashed in the freezer when I decided that it was time. I knew I didn’t have enough fruit, but I didn’t want to add raisins, so I decided to add dried figs instead. The results were delicious.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Chop the figs into small pieces. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Ginger-Squash Sake

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

This “sake,” which is similar to Ozark Pumpkin Sake, contains winter squash in place of the traditional rice. I used butternut because it is my favorite squash. My mother used to tell me that the best pumpkin pies were made with butternut squash instead of pumpkin because the flesh is sweeter and not stringy. The ginger added a warming touch. This sake tastes very good cold or hot.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds (no need to peel). Cut the squash and ginger into small pieces and combine them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Golden Raspberry

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Raspberries are one of my favorite fruits, and when I had a chance to pick up 10 golden raspberry plants I jumped on it. Golden raspberries have a milder, more delicate flavor than red ones. They are also harder to harvest; the fruits are not as firm, so they crumble and fall apart easily. I did manage to harvest a couple of gallons of berries from my plants, so I decided to make some wine. They made a nice white wine with a golden tint and a mild raspberry flavor. It tends to surprise my tasters — they don’t expect a white wine to taste of raspberries.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Soak the raisins in enough water to cover overnight, then chop them, with the water, in a blender. Stomp or mash the raspberries. Combine the raisins and raspberries in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Grapefruit

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

I made this wine early in my winemaking experience. Friends from Florida had sent several cases of citrus to my home in Colorado, inspiring this recipe. People seem to either love or hate grapefruit. This wine carried a little of the grapefruit bitterness, but if you like grapefruit it is well worth making.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Soak the raisins in enough water to cover overnight, then chop them, with the water, in a blender. Cut the grapefruits, including peel, into small pieces. Combine the raisins and grapefruit in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 3 to 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Juniper-Plum

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Juniper berries are well known as a flavoring agent in gin and are sometimes used as a spice in cooking, especially with wild game. A friend who owns a brewery used them to flavor one of his beers, and I was inspired to use them to flavor a wine. I picked some wild juniper berries while elk hunting in the mountains near my home, but the berries seemed a little dry, so I soaked them overnight before blending them into a thick slurry. I added the slurry to some plums a friend had given me to make this delightful plum wine. Its pleasant overlay of juniper flavor has gained rave reviews from several of my wine-drinking friends, and I am very pleased with the results of the experiment.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Soak the juniper berries in enough water to cover overnight, then chop them, with the water, in a blender. Pit and chop the plums into small pieces. Combine the berries and plums in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Kiwifruit

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

While I prefer to grow or forage most of my ingredients, I always wanted to make a kiwifruit wine. This is a dry white wine with a light green tinge. While few people eat kiwifruit skins, they are quite edible and are extremely high in valuable nutrients. There is no need to peel your kiwifruit.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Chop the kiwifruit. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Mulberry

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

I grew up in Missouri, where the wild native mulberry trees grow prolifically. I love the berries; they are not as tart as blackberries and have great flavor. Mulberries make a very nice medium red wine. Serve it with dinner or as a dessert wine, paired with chocolate.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Mash or stomp the mulberries. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Nectarine

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

This wine came about when a friend who was operating a weekend produce stand gave me a 25-pound box of leftover nectarines. Benefits like this come from generously sharing your wines with friends. Nectarine wine has a similar flavor to Peach wine, though I prefer this wine because I prefer nectarines to peaches.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and chop the nectarines. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Orange

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Many years ago, after I’d been making wine for just a few years, friends living in Florida sent me several cases of citrus. I had never heard of citrus wine, but looking at all that fruit, I thought, “Why not?” I chopped up half a case of oranges to make 5 gallons of orange wine. It had a little bitterness in the aftertaste when young, but it has aged well.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Soak the raisins in enough water to cover overnight, then chop them, with the water, in a blender. Cut up the oranges, including the peel. Combine the raisins and oranges in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Orange-Cranberry

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

This wine was another product of the cases of citrus that my friends from Florida sent to me. The cranberries add a slight tart flavor and a pink tinge. For more flavor, use more cranberries.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Soak the raisins in enough water to cover overnight, then combine them with the cranberries in a blender and process. Cut up the oranges, including the peel. Combine the raisins, cranberries, and oranges in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Ozark Pumpkin Sake

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

One year we ended up with 15 huge pumpkins in our pumpkin patch, some of which were more than 3 feet in diameter. They were too big to lift, and we had to roll them up to the house. We carved several but still had more pumpkin than we could eat as pie. I decided to make a pumpkin wine. I had just made my first rice wine sake, and in a flash of inspiration I added pumpkin pie spice, thinking we could drink it warm. It was my first time adding spices to a wine, and I should have used more. In subsequent batches I added extra cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and/or nutmeg, depending on what I had on hand. Any of these spices can give a nice flavor; use what appeals to you. Pumpkin makes a very nice wine that is good whether consumed cold or heated up like sake.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Remove the seeds and pulp and cut up the pumpkin. Combine it with the spice mix in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days. Taste the must after a couple of days; if you would prefer a more robust spice flavor, add more of the spice mix.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Peach

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Peach wine is a favorite of many home winemakers and makes a very nice white wine. Use at least 3 pounds of fruit, and up to 5 pounds for a more intense peach flavor. If you use more than 3 pounds of fruit, you will need less sugar.

One issue with peach wine is that it is not likely to clear without resorting to special measures. I prefer my wines to be natural and am willing to drink peach wine that is a little cloudy. If you want your peach wine to be clear, you can use fining agents or store it in bulk at cold temperatures (see here and here).

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and chop the peaches. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Pear

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

If you like pears, they can make an extremely good wine. I’ve made pear wine five times, and my favorites were those made using dead-ripe pears from my mother’s yard. Pears don’t ripen well on the tree, so they should be picked and allowed to ripen inside before fermentation. Use at least 3 pounds and preferably up to 5 pounds of pears; they have a more delicate flavor than other fruits, so using more pears per gallon gives this wine a stronger pear taste. The amount of sugar you use will depend on the desired sweetness of the finished wine. Three pounds of sugar and perhaps a few raisins will yield a relatively sweet wine.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Cut up the pears. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Pear-Black Currant

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

I made this wine when I had a huge harvest of pears from a friend’s yard. My black currant bushes were young and not producing much fruit, so I used relatively little of them in comparison to the pears. The currants add only a slight amount of flavor, but they give a nice blush of color to the wine.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Cut up the pears. Mash or use a blender to process the black currants. Combine the currants and pears in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Pineapple

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

I’ve made pineapple wine several times. The first time, I cut off the ends and skin, cut the pineapple into pieces, and poured boiling sugar water over it before adding the yeast. This made a nice light wine, but the pineapple flavor was faint. The second time, I covered the pineapple with water, brought it to a boil, and simmered it for 30 minutes before adding the sugar and then the yeast. That wine had a better pineapple flavor, but I was still not satisfied. The third time, I cut off the ends but left the skin on. After cutting it up, I chopped it very fine in a blender and used that pulp to make wine. That wine had a very good pineapple flavor and I was pleased with the results, so that’s the method I employ now.

I’ve always made pineapple wine in January because that’s when the fruit goes on sale at my local grocer. This is a delightful semidry white wine, which is surprising to people who expect the sweetness of canned pineapple juice.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Roughly chop the pineapple, including the skin, and then place in a blender and process. Transfer the pineapple to the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 3 to 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Plum

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Plums make great wine. I’ve never grown any, but friends who like my wines and grow plums are eager to donate the fruits to me. They always get some of the wine in return. Plums have a lot of flavor and make a good wine with lots of character that ages well. They also contain plenty of sugar; if you use 5 pounds of plums, use no more than 21⁄4 pounds of sugar if you don’t want the wine to be very sweet.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and cut up the plums. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Plum Champagne

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

For this wine, I experimented with using champagne yeast in part because it tolerates higher alcohol levels than other wine yeasts do. The taste won’t be much different from that of wine made with regular wine yeast, unless you are successful in bottling it at the right time to allow a little fermentation in the bottle without blowing the cork. If you are successful, the carbonation will add a delightful tingle to the taste of the wine. This wine will taste good before it is safe to bottle, unless you use champagne corks and wire cages.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and cut up the plums. Place them in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 9 months to 1 year.

Plum-Rhubarb (Plumbarb)

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Rhubarb adds a nice complexity to any fruit wine, and plum is no exception. This wine ages well. When I make it, I store at least a case to age for 10 years or longer.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and cut up the plums. Combine the plums with the chopped rhubarb in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Plum Sake

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

Sushi restaurants serve a mixed drink made by blending sake and traditional Japanese sweet plum wine. When a friend asked if I had ever considered making a sake with plum flavor, I decided to make a true plum sake by fermenting rice and plums together. While not the same as the mixed drink served at restaurants, this wine is quite good and can be served either hot or cold.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Pit and cut up the plums. Combine the plums and rice in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.

Pomegranate

Recipe yield: Makes 1 Gallon. Decorative watercolor paint swash.

My roommate showed up one day with a crate of pomegranates and suggested I should make some wine. I had always wanted to make a pomegranate wine but was resistant to the cost of buying that many pomegranates. With that problem solved, I was more than willing. This wine has a mild pomegranate flavor. For a more pronounced pomegranate flavor, use 10 pomegranates and reduce or eliminate the raisins.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Soak the raisins in enough water to cover overnight, then chop them, with the water, in a blender. Combine the raisins with the seeds and pulp of the pomegranates in the fermentation vessel.
  2. 2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiling sugar water to the mixture in the fermentation vessel. Cover and let cool.
  3. 3. Stir in the yeast and cover. Stir twice a day until fermentation slows, 7 to 10 days.
  4. 4. Press out the pulp, pour the wine into your secondary fermentation jug, and secure the fermentation lock. Check it the next day; if there is a deep layer of lees, rack and filter the wine. Rack again every 2 to 3 months.
  5. 5. The wine should be ready to drink in 6 months. Let it age in the jug for as long as possible before bottling, at least 6 months to 1 year.