4th of July Strawberry Wine

Nothing is as true to summer quite like strawberries are: strawberry pie, strawberry smoothies, strawberry festivals, strawberry jam, U-Pick strawberry patches. My mom used to make sun tea on the porch with halved strawberries in the pitcher to sweeten it – something I still love to do. Our kids will pluck them right out of the garden and devour them whole, red juice staining their faces and clothes until bath time. As a wine, strawberries are unique. Their juice produces a wine that is bright red and beautiful. It is both delicious as a dry wine and sweet wine, whichever way you prefer, and can be easily modified to suit either taste. The aroma is divine – both fruity and floral at the same time. Strawberry wine is often considered one of the more complex fruit wines as well – possibly due to the bittersweet quality of the fruit. In the summer you can chill the wine, or even add crushed ice to make a deliciously refreshing strawberry wine slush – a definite hit at your next cookout. One of the upsides to making your own strawberry wine is the availability. Most grocery stores carry strawberries year round - and at a very affordable price. Strawberry wine tends to be delicious and balanced, regardless of whether your strawberries were frozen, fresh picked, or store bought. Give our one gallon recipe a try – we promise this is one that will delight. 4th of July Strawberry Wine Makes 1 Gallon 3.5 lbs. strawberries (fresh or frozen) or try our strawberry wine base  7 pints (14 cups) spring water 2 lbs. sugar 1 tsp. acid blend ¼ tsp. wine tannin ½ tsp. pectic enzyme 1 tsp. yeast nutrient 1 campden tablet, crushed ½ tsp. potassium sorbate Yeast (Red Star Premier Cuve or Lalvin EC-1118) 1. Choose your strawberries. Try to choose strawberries that are ripe, but not over ripe. Inspect for mold. Remove any stems or leaves. They can be fresh or frozen. 2. Crush the strawberries. Wash and drain the berries. Using a nylon bag, with a press or manually, mash and strain juice into primary fermentation vessel. Keeping all the pulp in the bag, tie off the end of the bag and place in the primary fermentation vessel as well. 3. Make your sugar solution. Mix 2 lbs. of sugar into 7 pints of warm water. 4. Take a hydrometer reading. Ideal starting gravity should be around 1.090. If your gravity is lower, you can add more sugar to reach 1.090. 5. Add your other ingredients. Add acid blend, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrient. Make sure to stir well. Do not add yeast yet. 6. Cover primary. Wait 24 hours. 7. After 24 hours: add yeast. Cover primary again and attach airlock. 8. Check daily: Maintain a constant fermentation temperature range between 70–75 °F (21–24 °C). Stir the wine daily. Take a hydrometer reading to ensure fermentation is healthy. 9. When gravity reaches 1.030 (about 5-8 days), strain juice from pulp bag. Siphon wine off sediment layer into glass secondary fermentation vessel. Attach your airlock again. 10. Continue checking gravity. When gravity reaches 1.000 (2-4 weeks) fermentation is complete. Siphon wine off of sediment into a clean glass secondary fermentation vessel again to aid in the clearing of this wine. 11. Stabilize. Crush your campden tablet in about ½ cup of warm water with ½ tsp. of potassium sorbate. Add to wine. Stir well. 13. OPTIONAL: This recipe will make a dry wine. If you would like to sweeten it, you may after stabilizing. Wine conditioner is recommended, but sugar is acceptable. Add to taste. 14. Bottling: Siphon into clean, sanitized bottles. Or, keep inside gallon jug to age. Just remember to keep air tight! 15. Age. Strawberry wine is generally quite delicious after only a couple weeks of aging, but kept in a dry, temperature controlled area, the wine will only get better with age. 16. Enjoy! Strawberry wine is lovely without any frills. However, you can always dress is up by chilling and adding ice and fresh fruit, or by crushing ice to make strawberry wine slushies! Our one gallon kits have everything you need to try out your first batch! If you have any questions, or are new to the wine making process, you can always call our wine making experts in customer service at 574-295-9975. Cheers! [caption id="attachment_1379" align="alignleft" width="246"] Complete 1 Gallon Wine Kit[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1370" align="alignright" width="289"] Fruit Crusher[/caption]