Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Alcoholic beverages which are not classified as spirits.

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EricTheRed
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Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by EricTheRed »

We have a large strawberry patch and just too many to eat. Also, we don't use any chemicals at all, and all fertilizer is organic. Thus, there are a lot of strawberries which are not pretty enough for the plate, so they go to wine and jam!

Part of the output of the product is going to be used to make a Strawberry brandy. It will go through the 5L alembic pot. WIll post the results of that next couple of weeks when it has finished clearing.

This recipe is for a 50 L fermenting barrel

Ingredients
• 12 kg frozen strawberries
• 3 g Pectolase (about 2/3 teaspoon) - to break down the pectin in the fruit
• 4 Tbsp Calcium Carbonate (our water is very soft)
• 5 Kg granulated sugar
• 5 Kg Dextrose
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 black tea bags (to get the tannins)
• 1 Tbsp Yeast (Lalvin DC10)
• 2 Tbsp Yeast Nutrient

Procedure
• Boil 2 – 3 cups of water and put the tea in to steep leave it steeping as long as possible (overnight if you remember)
• Defrost the strawberries (we find we get more liquid out of them by freezing rather than boiling)
• Blitz the living hell of the strawberries with a stick blender – you should not have to add any water as the freezing will have released a lot of juice
• Slowly (to avoid scorching) heat them up to around 48°C (pectolase works between 40 & 50°C)
• Sprinkle the pectolase over the must and stir in really well
• Cover with a blanket for 2 – 3 hours
• Bring 10 L water to warm enough to dissolve sugar
• Add the Calcium Carbonate – dissolve it fully
• Add the sugar, dissolve it fully
• Let it cool while the pectolase is doing its thing
• Pour the now somewhat cooled sugar water into the fermentor (if still quite warm, chuck in ice to avoid damaging the barrel)
• Add the now runny strawberry must to the barrel
• Fill the barrel with water to 30 litre level
• Take an SG reading – target is 1.09 - if not there do the next steps
• Take another 10 L water, hot tap is good enough and dissolve the dextrose into it
• Target level in the barrel is around 40 – 42 litre mark
• Put on lid
• Stir daily to break up the raft and to get more flavour
NB - Strawberry wine can really get aggressive - so make sure you have enough head space

Info
• Starting SG = 1.092
• Took 6 days to be finished

Clearing the wine
• SG = 0.990
• Raft has dropped and the liquid is very loose
• Rack into 2 x 25 litre pails with bentonite to clear – let stand for 2 days
• Rack into another 2 x 25 litre pails – let stand for 3 – 5 days
• Rack one more time into bottling pails
• Bottle

Starting the clearing today - will post pics of the results when clearing done. Should be a nice dry, crisp flavour at around 13% ABV, suitable for mixing with ice and soda water. if you don't like it that dry, add some glycerine to it, but be careful - you can't take it out.
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by Corn Cracker »

Bookmarked, this will be my first shot at wine
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by The Baker »

Saw on TV, a train show, Michael Patullo in Canada.
At one of the stops of the train (in the Saint Lawrence area of Canada)
he visited a tomato farm.
And they were making wine from them.

I have seen tomatoes mentioned on forums and members did not seem enthusiastic about them.

There is a massive under-glass tomato farm near us with sixteen or thirty or something ACRES in glasshouses.
Might be a possibility for reject tomatoes but I had not followed up the idea because of the
poor reviews...

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EricTheRed
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by EricTheRed »

hmmm - wonder how they dealt with all the acid in the tomatoes?
Be interesting to make a alcoholic ketchup! :) :D
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by jonnys_spirit »

I've heard of tomato wine being good to add into a marinara sauce or similar? I haven't made any yet but think I'd definitely use it for cooking more than drinking... But then I also prefer good wines for cooking - why would you want to use bad wine for something you want to make better?
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EricTheRed
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by EricTheRed »

Just an update on this wine, it is now on it's second racking and slowly clearing. Will be racked again before the weekend for the final clearing which should take about a week.
Has a nice pastel strawberry colour to it!
:)
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EricTheRed
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by EricTheRed »

It's bottled!
39 x 750ml wine which will now be left alone for at least a month
4.9 Litres which will be used to make a strawberry liqueur
150ml into SWAMBO's glass :)
Total yield = 34.3L
ABV = 13.3% (using OG - FG * 131.25)
picture after fermentation complete
image.png
At bottling time
image.png
Once in bottles for a month or more, it comes out crystal clear with very firm sediment in the bottom. Decant and enjoy (in a few months)

I'll post the Strawberry liqueur process in a separate thread once i run it.
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EricTheRed
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by EricTheRed »

SWAMBO has tried the 1st bottle and has declared it drinkable! :)
It is a bit potent, around 13+ % ABV, and very dry - but that is how she likes her wine.
I saved 5L to create a strawberry liqueur
Process for that in --> https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 05&t=85489
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BENCO
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by BENCO »

Hello,
I have question about soft water.
Where do you get soft water? Do you mean soft water or filtered water?
You have RO systems for water softener?
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EricTheRed
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Re: Strawberry Wine - our version (Recipe)

Post by EricTheRed »

Well water.
Ph6.5
No calcium or related stuff

We never have to clean our kettle and don't need a filter on the tank
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