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I plan to make strawberry wine.Any recipes,hints or tips!

Taken from Favourite country wines and cordials, Traditional homemade drinks by Carol Wilson.

Simple Strawberry Wine

Strawberries lose much of their elusive flavour when made into wine. This method retains the scented fragrance of the fruit.

2lb strawberries
8oz caster sugar
White wine or sherry to cover

Place alternate layers of strawberries and sugar in a sterile jar, filling it right to the top. Pour the wine or sherry slowly over the fruit to cover, ensuring there are no air bubbles between the layers. Seal tightly and store in a cool dry place for 4 - 6 weeks. When ready, strain the liquid into a sterilised bottle and seal tightly. The type of sherry used is according to preference or availability but medium sherry is generally suitable.

Haven't tried this myself but it sounds good! Bernie

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

Taken from the same recipe book as above. In the eighteenth century a ratafia was a liqueur flavoured with peach or apricot kernels, but by the victorian era it had come to mean a fruit steeped in a sweetend spirit. This liqueur is a lovely pink colour with a wonderful flavour.

5lb strawberries
1lb caster sugar
1 standard bottle of vodka

Put the fruit in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar. Mash the mixture to a pulp. Cover and leave to stand overnight. Next day pack the mashed strawberries into a sterilised jar. Cover with vodka and seal tightly. Store in a cool, dark place for 5 days, shaking the jar daily. When ready, strain the liquid through coffee filter papers or muslin into bottles and seal tightly. Leave for a few weeks before drinking.

Bernie

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

I have always had problems with the sediment of strawberry wine musts. It seems that there is a large suspension carried in the liqueur, even after straining and this can bubble up and block the airlock. Leave a big space in the top of your demijohn and loosen the drilled bung so that if the bubbler gets stuck, the top can blow off. Also place the whole thing on a tray. Slow-fermenting yeast is also a good idea, but opt for a quality white wine one because you can get a fantastic peppiness.

Many thanks,I will try all of the above.

Have just got a copy of Home Wine Making & Brewing by B C A Turner (sold by Boots the Chemist) and the following three strawberry wine recipes are from that:

This uses canned (!) strawberries!!

1 1kg can strawberries (?!???!!)
1/2pt white grape juice concentrate
800g white sugar
2 tsp citric acid
1/2 tsp tannin
pectic enzyme
campden tablets
nutrient
sauternes yeast

Empty contents of the can into a mashing bin and pour on 3pts boiling water. When cool add all the other ingredients except the sugar, stir well, then check the specific gravity. The difference between this figure and 1.090 indicates the amount of sugar to add later. The strawberries will be in a syrup for which it is impossible to make a precise allowance.

Ferment the pulp for 5 days, stirring twice daily, then strain and press. Stir in the required amount of sugar, pour into a fermentation jar, top up with cold boiled water, fit an air lock and ferment. Terminate fermentation by racking and adding 2 crushed campden tablets when SG 1.004 is reached.

This is a very delicate rose wine best served when not too dry. An alternative is to use red grape juice concentrate and produce a wine of a darker hue.

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

Another from the Boots book:

3lb strawberry jam (?!)
1/2pt white or red grape juice concentrate
1lb sugar
7pts water
2 tsp citric acid
1/2 tsp tannin
pectic enzyme (double dose)
campden tablets
nutrient
sauternes yeast

Dissolve the jam in 5 pts warm water and when cool add the acid, tannin, pectic enzyme and 1 campden tablet. Cover and leave for 2 days.
Stir in the grape juice concentrate, nutrient and yeast and ferment for 5 days, stirring twice daily.
Strain out the solids, stir in the sugar, pour into a fementation jar, top up, fit air lock and ferment to SG 1.004.
Rack into clean jar containing 2 crushed campden tablets.
This is a surprisingly attractive rose wine.

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

Last but not least:

12fl oz strawberry syrup
1/2 pt white or red grape juice concentrate
1 3/4lb sugar
6pts water
2 tsp citric acid
1/2 tsp tannin
campden tablets
nutrient
sauternes yeast

Mix all the ingredients together except the campden tablets, pour into a standard fermentation jar, top up, fit an air lock and ferment to SG 1.004.
Rack and add crushed 2 campden tablets to terminate fermentation. This wine is best not quite dry.



Obviously the above three recipes are for the more "advanced" wine makers than me. Please dont ask me what "nutrient" means in the ingredients - I havent got a clue! Bernie

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

Thanks for the above.Nutrient is something to nourish the yeast during fermentation.Iwas recommended a quarter of a teaspoon of Marmite(or any other yeast extract)

You can buy yeast nutrient from your local brew store or from Wilkinsons. I would also recommend you buy a proper wine yeast rather than using bread yeast - it gives a better ferment.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Thanks! I really must give some homebrew a go! Bernie

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

If you have a Wilkinson's handy by, they sell a brilliant wine kit to make either red or white, choice of 6 bottle or 30 bottle. Makes in a week and tastes pretty good -great for a party or brilliant for enjoying with the Sunday chat! Good introduction to home brewing!

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Gosh I wish I'd read that before I went shopping on Sunday! Must put it on my list for next time.
Bernie

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

I've made it with canned strawberries - 2 cans of the size Asda sell! I wanted to keep up the supply in winter. I eat my own strawberries and the canned ones are so mushy and awful that I thought it was a good use for them. Still got a bottle left if anyone wants to come and sample it!

2 tins strawbs
1.5 lb minced sultanas
1.5 lb sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp pectic enzyme - from Boots of Wilko's
Wine yeast (I use Young's - it contains nutrients and a bit of bentonite which aids clearing)

Put the strawbs crushed with the minced sultanas and lemon juice in your fermenting bucket and pour on about 4 pts boiling water. When cool add enzyme & cover. Next day make up a starter with the yeast - a cup of warm water, a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of yeast granules. Let it get going - about half an hour - then pour it into the bucket - DON'T STIR YET! Cover and leave for 24 hours. The yeast will work on the fruit sugars and really get going well. Then stir daily for about 5 days. Strain it into a sterilised demijohn. Pour hot water onto your sugar and stir to dissolve. You'll need a couple of pints. Add this to the jar and top up with cold. This method of adding the sugar later prevents stuck fermentations. It also helps to extract max flavour from the ingredients and the alcohol is dissolving the goodies from them, not getting drunk on the sugar. The stuff from the muslin straining bag makes the compost bin flies very happy!

It tastes a bit like one of those White Zinfandel wines - pink and happiness-inducing!

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vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Aug 20th 2008

Hi
I made a strawberry and apple wine which turned out delicious. I used 2lb strawberries and 3lb apples, 3lb sugar a lemon, yeast and nutrient. This was for 1 gallon and will be repeated on a larger scale this year.

I have used 18lb of strawberries for a 4 gallon container and 11lb of sugar but this one isn't finished yet. I will let you know if this ends up nice!

Jim