Apple wine is something that a lot of people always do a double-take when I mention it - usually quickly followed by the question ‘don’t you mean cider?’ Which of course I don’t - apple wine is a very different drink - usually sweeter, stronger, and yet a subtler flavour - not as sharp or refreshing as cider, but a pleasant drink to be sipped instead of quaffed.
My recipe for apple wine is nice and simple in that it needs no fruit press or juice extraction - the natural action of the yeast and enzymes gets all the flavour out of the fruit with minimal effort, as well as out-competing any other bugs that might be trying to get a foothold on the fruit.
Of course, apples are one of those free foods that are easy to come by - either scrumped from unsuspecting gardens, or donated by those with a glut of fruit that aren’t quite nice enough for eating. Crab apples can work well in wine too, though its good to balance up these with some regular apples to avoid too much sharpness in the finished drink.
Ingredients
- A big bag of apples - the more the better - maybe 6-10lbs as a minimum. They don’t need to be quality eating ones, as long as they’re not going mouldy.
- Yeast
- Pectolase/Pectin Enzyme
- Water
- Sugar
Method
- Wash the apples to clean off any dirt and insects.
- Roughly chop them (quarters or smaller are best) and place in a fermenting bucket.
- Pour on cold water, a gallon at a time, until the apples are almost covered.
- For each gallon of water you added, add 1.5tsp of pectolase and yeast according to the instructions.
- Cover the bucket and place in a warm place for 7 days to allow the apples to break down and the yeast to start extracting the flavours.
- Strain of the liquid through muslin and discard the apple mush.
- For each gallon of liquid, add 2.5lbs of sugar and rack into demijohns, fitted with airlocks.
- Continue as for any other fruit wine, racking after 4-5 weeks.
Apple wine is often cloudy when first racked off, clearing to a beautiful golden colour after a month or two. Of course, there’s always a small risk that the wine might be contaminated from the start and turn vinegary, but then the resulting wine makes a great base for casseroles and soups (especially ham and lentil soup!)
