Cherry Wine
Author: 
Recipe type: Beverage
Serves: 10 litres
 
yeast and sugar
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp wine yeast (can be purchased online)
  • 4 litres 100% cherry juice with no added sugar
  • 1150g white sugar
  • ¼ cup raisins (good for acid balance)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 10 litre plastic water bottle
  • 6 litres good water (can be tap water providing it is boiled and cooled to rid it of chlorine)
  • Wine making air lock (keeps air out of bottle while allowing gases to escape) can be purchased online
Instructions
  1. Place cherry juice in 10 litre bottle and add 4 litres water.
  2. Mix in a big bowl or jug 1150 grams white sugar in 1 litre of water and add to the bottle.
  3. Place teaspoonful of wine yeast in a small cup along with 1-2 teaspoons of white sugar and add about a tablespoon or two of warm water.
  4. Top the bottle up with good water until the liquid is about 10cm (4") from the top of the bottle
  5. Drop in the raisins and the strained lemon juice
  6. When yeast starts to foam, place into 10 litre bottle and close plastic bottle by putting the airlock on the bottle where the plastic bottle cap usually goes.
  7. Add small amount of water to the airlock so that pressure from the bottle must move the water aside to allow the pressure to escape. When buying water locks be sure to get the correct size to fit a 10 litre water bottle top.
  8. Every month the wine must be racked - which means it must be transferred to another clean 10 litre water bottle and the waterlock attached again to the new bottle. (this is best done by using a piece of clear plastic hose about a centimetre in diameter and syphoning it from one to the other).
  9. The wine should be racked every 30-45 days until there is no sludge at the bottom.
  10. The wine can be bottled once the racking is finished.
  11. Make sure to fill the bottles as high as possible, so there is little air below the cap / cork.
  12. Bottles should be kept out of direct sunlight.
  13. The wine is drinkable after about 3 months, but the longer it ages the better.
  14. A year produces a very good dry red wine.
  15. If you desire a wine with higher alcohol content, then buy a simple hydrometer to check the sugar levels and add more sugar to increase the alcohol content. Usually no more than about 500 additional grams.
Recipe by Pantry Fun at https://pantryfun.com/pomegranate-wine-cherry-wine/