Rhubarb Wine
It’s best to use young rhubarb pulled in May.
Ingredients
1.25 kilos fresh rhubarb
1.1 kilos of sugar 250gm tin of white grape concentrate
1 Gallon of water
1 tsp of pectolase
1 tsp of Wine Tannin
15gms Precipitated Chalk
All purpose white wine yeast
Yeast Nutrient
2 Campden tablets
General Note: The acidity of rhubarb is very high, but this can be adjusted during the process. It is important to clean all equipment/ bottles in sterilised solution and then rinse with clean water before use.
How to make Rhubarb Wine
- Wipe the stalks of rhubarb clean and cut up into pieces.
- Boil the water and pour it over the rhubarb in a clean plastic bin.
- Allow to cool and then add the pectolase and crushed campden tablet. Cover and leave standing for 24hrs.
- Add a little precipitated chalk to reduce the acidity of the wine (if you would like to be more precise this can be checked with litmus paper aiming for a pH of 3.0 to 3.4)
- Add half the quantity of the sugar and stir it until dissolved, then add the yeast, yeast nutrient, and wine tannin.
- Cover the bin and allow to ferment for 3 to 4 days stirring daily.
- Strain off the liquid through a fine mesh straining bag and add the other half of the sugar.
- Pour the liquid (the ‘must’) into a clean fermentation jar, add the wine concentrate, and fit an airlock containing sterilizing solution and leave to ferment in a warm place at 18 – 22 deg
- When the bubbling through the airlock stops and the wine starts to clear you can check that the process is complete with a hydrometer. The reading should give you a S.G. close to 1.000
- Gradually the wine will become perfectly clear and after about 6 weeks it should be ready to syphon into bottles.
- It is best to leave for about 9 to 12 months or longer before drinking.
- You will have a lovely white wine to be proud of. This wine is also excellent for blending as it takes up the flavour of other wines.
Hops and Vines Burford April 2008