HOMEMADE APPLE WINE

    Let's welcome this New Year with a toast 'HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022', with my home-made Apple Wine.  Also, my blog 'ESSENCE OF LIFE - FOOD' is nearing its Sixth Anniversary in another 16 days on 17th January.  

    Just a few words from my Last New Year's Post - Making a new wine each year and toasting it for Christmas & New Year had been a routine at home for years & this year I skipped it. One reason is laziness and the other one was that a whole lot of Homemade Wines right from Raisin Wine, Grape Wine, Banana Wine, Ginger Wine are lying in my pantry. Some bottled and matured over the years, new bottles lined up with fresh brew as & when each wine gets over. As I am writing this post( just as the year 2020 is nearing to its last day), I had started to brew a batch of Apple Wine & sure it is going to be ready for next year. I love well-matured Wines, so I can wait with patience even for a couple of years.

    Yes, and that batch of Apple Wine is ready for this year with all due pep and taste.  And this year's Wine is with Pineapple Peels and would be ready for next Christmas & New Year.

    At home Christmas calls for a family tradition of homemade Wines.  Every Year a new batch of Wine is made for Christmas.  I have changed the tradition into brewing up a New Wine from the previous Christmas and opening it up just before the current year's Christmas.  And I am coming up with a variety of Wines every year, with a few old wines still in the pantry waiting to be used in my Christmas Fruit Cakes.  I soak the dry fruits for Christmas Fruit Cake in my homemade Wines. 

    I am going to the extent of getting ready for the tradition as early as the previous Christmas.  It's an ongoing process throughout the year.  I start brewing up a New batch of homemade wine(sometimes a new variation and mostly the traditional and family favourite Raisin Wine to top up the batches. I make sure to do in the Christmas week and I have been doing this for the past 5 years.  So that, the previous years wine would be ready for next Christmas.  I am even planning to get ready with some instant quick-fix wine recipes too.  I am in the process of research in this area and would be soon adding the recipes in the blog for people who do not have much time and patience for a year-long brewing.  But I belong to the school where the thumb rule sticks to the norm - "Wines get better with Age". 

    Wine making has become a routine in my kitchen with a few varieties of well brewed homemade wines always ready to be catered.  The fact is I do not drink or even like to taste the Wines, I make.  I have professional wine tasters at my disposal... ha… ha… ha… just joking.  My Wine tasters are my beloved hubby & kids.

HOMEMADE APPLE WINE

       Here's a very simple recipe for an old-fashioned wine made out of Apples & Raisins.  In the making of fruit wines, raisins are often used to add body to the wine & also gives the needed colour to the wine.  This is a simple Apple Wine recipe with simple home-made wine making technique, but the results are really awesome.

SM

    

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Recipe Type - Wine
Difficulty - Medium
Yields - 3-4 Bottles
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 30 -45 Minutes
Brewing Time for Wine - 3 Months - 1 Year.

HOMEMADE APPLE WINE 

HOMEMADE APPLE WINE

INGREDIENTS:

For Apple Wine:

Apples - 1 Kg
Raisins  -  1/2 kg
Sugar  -  1/2 kg
Lemon  -  1 No.
Boiling Water  -  5 Litres
Cinnamon Sticks - 8-10 big pieces (Optional)

 

To Activate the Yeast:

Yeast  - 1 Packet(11gms)
Sugar - 5 Teaspoons.
Warm Water -1/3 Cup

METHOD:

For Apple Wine:

• Wash, Peel, core and remove the seeds from the Apples.
• Chop it into small Pieces.
• Chop the Raisins into small pieces.
• Put the chopped Apples, Raisins, Sugar, and the Lemon in a large glass or ceramic jar.
• Pour 5 litres of boiling water into it and leave it aside for 12 hours.
• Activate the Yeast by putting it in warm water and 5 teaspoons of Sugar.
• Add activated yeast to the mix after 12 hours
• Can add some extra Sugar and few sticks of Cinnamon to add more sweetness and flavour to the Apple Wine.
• Stir it every day for a week.
• After a week strain and press the juice out of the mixture and bottle it. 
• Keep the bottles tightly closed.
• Store them in a dark and dry place for about 3 months.
• Re-bottle the clear wine leaving the sediments behind for another one month. 
• The Apple Wine should be filtered properly at this stage.
• Taste the Apple Wine after two months, add sweetness and flavour if needed.
• Do the above process until there are no sediments left.
• Good quality Apples yields the best Apple Wine. 
• Raisin helps to add body & colour to the Wine.
• Like most of the wines, it will improve with age.

 

HOMEMADE APPLE WINE

NOTES:

• Cutting the apples & raisins into small pieces will yield more flavour and body to the wine.
• Apples & Raisins are naturally sweeter, so adjust the amount of sugar accordingly.
• I just used normal yeast, as it is very difficult to get wine yeast in my area.
• If you can get hold of Wine Yeast, go ahead with it and also can add Campden Tablets.
  
• Stirring the wine is very important for the fermenting process.
• Store them in clean and dry bottles in a moist free place.
• As I am staying in a tropical area, my wine brewed up sooner. But I strictly followed the regime.
• I did not use any artificial colours, food preservatives or enhancers in this Apple Wine.
• The colour and flavour, which I got naturally out of it, were more satisfying.