Chokecherry wine is an excellent choice for those looking to make their own home-made fruit wine. It is easy to make and only needs a few ingredients to get started. This makes it a great gift for friends and family members who love to cook or have an interest in homemade winemaking.
Choosing The Right Fruit
For winemaking, it is best to choose ripe chokecherries, which are available from the middle of August through early September. This gives them time to overripen, a process that will help to reduce their astringency and enhance the flavor of the wine.
The berries are also a good source of antioxidants and vitamin C. They contain a wide range of phytonutrients, including anthocyanins and phenolic compounds, which provide significant health benefits such as protection against free radical damage.
When making chokecherry wine, it is important to ferment the berries with a pectic enzyme. This helps to break down the sugars and prevents oxidation of the wine. It is a simple process that takes just a few days to complete.
To prepare the berries for fermentation, wash them and remove any leaves or twigs that are contaminated with toxic plant matter. It is also important to deston the berries, as this will ensure that they don’t contain any potentially poisonous seeds or pits.
After cleaning the berries, they should be placed in a large pot and covered with water. Allow the berries to simmer for about an hour or so, until they are soft and have released their juice. Once the berries are done, strain out their juice and discard the stems and twigs.
Adding Sweetener
If you want to sweeten your wine, add a small amount of syrup or fruit juice. It is important to use sugar that has been filtered or sterilized, so that the sweetener does not affect the taste of the wine.
Amount of Sugar
The amount of sugar you need depends on the type of chokecherry juice you have. Many recipes suggest using between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of berry juice, but you may want to adjust the amount depending on how much juice you have extracted from the berries.
Recipes also often recommend the addition of a small amount of lemon juice, which will help to balance the sweetness and bring out their unique flavor.
Getting Started With Winemaking
If you are new to winemaking, start with small projects. This will help you get a feel for the process and teach you about the different stages of winemaking. Once you have mastered the basics, you can move on to larger projects and enjoy making your own homemade wine.
When you are ready to begin making your own wine, you need the following supplies: a one gallon carboy or jug; a primary fermentor bucket; a sanitizer solution and an airlock. You can purchase these items at your local home improvement store or craft store.
1. Rack the Wine into a Clean Carboy
After the wine has fermented for about 3 weeks, you will need to rack it into a clean carboy. Alternatively, you can place it in a mesh bag or container to help with the clearing and racking process. Regardless of which method you choose, you will need to check the SG (specific gravity) of the wine on a daily basis. Once you have achieved a SG of 1.030, it is ready to bottle.