Home made wine recipes - Raspberry Wine

Raspberry wine... is there anything better? Well... maybe winning the lottery... or the perfect chocolate brownie with ice cream and hot fudge sauce and whipped cream... mmmm....

Alright... there are things that are better but this fabulously fruity wine sure is up there in my book.

I went to a wine tasting festival in Leelenau Michigan a couple of years ago and there was one of the best raspberry wines I have ever tasted. I wrote down the name of it and the maker... because I wanted to buy that delicious wine... but I lost it right after we left... I have never forgotten the taste of that wine but have never found it since. A very sad story to be sure!!

But... I am on a mission to make an equally wonderful tasting raspberry wine... If you have any ideas feel free to drop me a line... I love hearing your ideas!

Raspberry Wine Recipe - 1 Gallon

3 - 4 pounds of Raspberries ( you can use either fresh or frozen)

7 pints of Water

2 1/4 pounds of Sugar

1/2 tsp Acid Blend

1/2 tsp of Pectic Enzyme

1 tsp Nutrient

1 Crushed Campden Tablet

1 pkg Wine yeast

Starting Specific Gravity (S.G.) - 1.090 - 1.095

Wash and drain your berries. If you have picked your berries or are using fresh raspberries make sure that you have picked out the stems, leaves and anything else that isn't your berries. Make sure that you are using fully ripe berries that do not have any mold on them.

Place your blackberries into a nylon straining bag and mash your berries. Or use your fruit press if you have one. Strain your juice into your Primary Fermenter. Make sure that all of the pulp stays inside of your nylon straining bag. Tie the top and place it inside the fermenter.

Add all of the other ingredients except for the Wine Yeast. Stir it all together and put the lid on your Primary Fermenter.

After 24 hours add your yeast and stir. Put the cover back on the Primary Fermenter.

Stir your wine daily and squeeze the bag of raspberries to push the juice out.

Check the hydrometer reading daily until your S.G. reaches 1.030. This will take about 5 days or so.

Take your bag of raspberry pulp out of your fermenter and squeeze it until all of the juice is out... or at least as much as you can get.

Siphon your wine off of the sediment (the goop that has settled to the bottom of your fermenter) into your Secondary Fermenter which is going to be your glass carboy. this is called "racking your wine".

Attach your airlock.

Your fermenting is done when your S.G. reaches 1.000. This will take about 3 weeks. Rack your wine again (siphon your wine off of the sediment from your glass carboy into another glass carboy).

Reattach your airlock.

In about 2 months rack your wine again. You will do this 3 or 4 times... until your wine is clear. The professional wine makers will usually rack their wine 3 or 4 times... so I don't question their ways... I just follow...

Sweeten Your Wine - If You Want To...

If you want to sweeten your wine click here to read about it.

I like to have just a slightly sweet raspberry wine. so I will dissolve about 1/4 pound of sugar into a bit of the wine and add it to the carboy along with about 1/2 tsp of Stabilizer.

Give it a taste test. If that isn't sweet enough then keep adding a bit more dissolved sugar until you have something that suits your taste.

Now... go ahead and bottle and let it age for about a year.

Raspberry Wine Recipe #2

7 cups Sugar

1 tsp yeast nutrient

3 Tangerines or Oranges

1 Crushed Campden Tablet

1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme

1 package wine yeast

1 gallon water

Starting Specific Gravity (S.G.) - 1.090 - 1.095

Wash and drain your berries. If you have picked your berries or are using fresh blackberries make sure that you have picked out the stems, leaves and anything else that isn't your berries. Make sure that you are using fully ripe berries that do not have any mold on them.

Peel and cut up your tangerines or oranges, whichever you have decided to use. Place your blackberries and other fruit into a nylon straining bag and mash together. Or use your fruit press if you have one. Strain your juice into your Primary Fermenter. Make sure that all of the pulp stays inside of your nylon straining bag. Tie the top and place it inside the fermenter.

Add all of the other ingredients except for the Wine Yeast. Stir it all together and put the lid on your Primary Fermenter.

After 24 hours add your yeast and stir. Put the cover back on the Primary Fermenter.

Stir your wine daily and squeeze the bag of fruit to push the juice out.

Check the hydrometer reading daily until your S.G. reaches 1.030. This will take about 5 days or so.

Take your bag of fruit pulp out of your fermenter and squeeze it until all of the juice is out... or at least as much as you can get.

Siphon your wine off of the sediment (the goop that has settled to the bottom of your fermenter) into your Secondary Fermenter which is going to be your glass carboy. this is called "racking your wine".

Attach your airlock.

Your fermenting is done when your S.G. reaches 1.000. This will take about 3 weeks. Rack your wine again (siphon your wine off of the sediment from your glass carboy into another glass carboy).

Reattach your airlock.

In about 2 months rack your wine again. You will do this 3 or 4 times... until your wine is clear.

If you want to sweeten your wine now is the time to do that. Once you have your raspberry wine exactly the way you want it...

Go ahead and bottle your wine.

Let it age for about a year before drinking

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