Rhubarb wine help

[Spanderholic]

Hello :) I have a rather large rhubarb plant in the garden, it doesn't go particularly red but it is tasty and impossible to kill (not that I've tried, I just lack the green thumb :P) So I thought I would try to make rhubarb wine with it. I need a foolproof recipe, or at least one with a decent chance of working, without all the chemicals and such preferably. Something basic and easy, perfect for a beginner. I have nothing against using the chemicals, I just can't afford to buy any at the moment (poor student :P). So if anyone could help, I would be mighty grateful! There are simply too many on the net and I would prefer one that someone has recommended. Thanks!

[okra]

Here is a simple basic rhubarb wine

2.5kg Rhubarb

2kg Sugar

Juice of 2 lemons

500g Raisins

4.5 litres of water.

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces, place in a pan and add the water. Let it stand week to soften, alternatively freeze the rhubarb then defrost it, then freezes again repeat this a couple of times as this will break the rhubarb down and soften it. Strain the rhubarb and add the sugar and lemon juice and raisins at this point add the wine yeast and cover. When fermentation has stopped you can decipher the wine into the bottles.

The wine should be left for six months

[Zech]

Just curious - I'd have thought the obvious way to soften rhubarb would be to stew it, which is fairly quick. Is there a reason you're not doing that for this recipe?

[okra]

Allowing it to stand allows more of the natural enzymes to be released

[MKG]

Okra's recipe is sound. But it would be a little on the acidic side (OK if you like very crisp wines, but it would be too much for me). You can make it even more simple by reducing the lemon to the juice of one half and, if you increased the rhubarb to 3kg, you could safely lose the raisins.

As for juice extraction, you can use Okra's cold method. Or you can heat the rhubarb - don't boil it and don't cook it unless you want to change the flavour - until it softens and then leave it to seep. Or you can cover it with the sugar and leave it for a day, then add the water and leave it for another day. Then add the yeast and ferment the whole lot for four days before straining the solids off.

The argument around which method to use is based upon the extraction of oxalic acid, which is poisonous. Believe me, you couldn't possibly extract enough oxalic acid from that amount of rhubarb to kill a flea. My favourite phrase - no-one's ever died of rhubarb crumble poisoning.

Okra's recipe is for a sweet wine - if all of that sugar fermented out, it would give you an alcohol content of around 24% (before your eyes light up too much, that's not achievable with normal yeast fermentation). If you wanted a drier wine, you could halve the amount of sugar (and therefore get around 12% alcohol).

Mike

[Spanderholic]

Thanks for the quick responses! The recipe sounds great, but how much wine yeast do I put in? Is generic wine yeast ok or should I get a certain type? I much prefer a sweet wine so I think I'll use that amount of sugar :) Nom.

[Spanderholic]

Also, how much do you think this recipe would make? Sorry for all the questions, complete newbie here :P

[MKG]

A level teaspoon of yeast is plenty.

The recipe will make a little over a gallon (better known as a demijohnful). If you're using a demijohn, keep any excess in another container because at some point, you're going to need to top up. You'll end up, when the entire process is over, with one gallon.

Mike

[phil55494]

Rhubarb wine was the first country wine we made last year. We got the juices out by covering it with sugar (1.5Kg to 2 or 3Kg Rhubarb). Drain off the liquid, top up to 1 gallon, add lemon juice, add yeast and let it do it's stuff.
The wine was quite acidic when first bottled but had mellowed out a lot over a few months. It even drew praise from a friend who has been making country wine for years, which is not bad for our first attempt.

Right where is that one bottle of 2010 rhubarb wine that's left gone...

[roger ramjet]

I agree with the advice above about not boiling the rhubarb; I did that once years ago and I could never get the wine to clear.
My prefered method is to freeze the fruit then place in a plastic bucket, thaw and crush with a potato masher or wooden mallet. After that I add sugar and pour boiling water over the mix. The boiling water helps to kill off any wild yeasts; but does not heat the fruit up too much. When cool I add the yeast.

for my latest batch I have added stem ginger that I got cheaply from Julien Greaves Shop. It has potential but I wont be able to sample for a while yet.

Roger

[skiesabove]

Rhubarb "kräm" (eh, not jelly, not jam, you eat it in a bowl with milk) is the best and easiest way to eat rhubarb (short of just plucking one, dipping in sugar and eating).

Boil peeled, sliced rhubarb with sugar (or honey) for some time. It will become thick and goey and lovely! Eat with milk or even better, whole cream. Yum yum yum.

Or rhubarb pie! Mmmmm rhubarb <3.