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Minimalist recipe for Red Currant wine

The Red Currants are ripe here in upstate Ny & I still have some in the freezer from last year. So I decide that, after 30 yrs since my last wine, I'd make some currant wine. [Probably from fresh Currants-- but I might throw some frozen in if I need the juice.]

So I googled for recipes-- read the r.c.w FAQ & started lurking here. Looks like, as with so much of Usenet, there is a wealth of info and some real helpful folks passing it out here. Thanks in advance.

The first recipe I googled was

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In a nutshell- Using proportions of;

1 litre juice, 1 kilo sugar, 2 litres of water Place in a carboy. Stir regularly; Bottle at the end of December or January. Let age for 2 yrs.

The next recipe I found was one of Jack Keller's

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In addition to the juice, sugar and water, Jack adds pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient, and wine yeast.

He goes from a primary fermenter to a secondary-- then racks it at 6 months, then 3 months later.

A third recipe was similar to Jacks, but used Campden tablets at racking- and said "let it age for as long as possible before bottling."

OK-- I'm essentially a newbie, but I've been reading the FAQ and this group for a week or so. I like keeping things simple, so the first recipe sounds like my cup of tea. Should I avoid it, or will it give my a drinkable wine? I'm far from a wine connoisseur, but I can appreciate a decent wine on occasion.

And the comment in the 3d recipe- "let it age for as long as possible before bottling."- How long is that? Until your patience wears thin? You need the carboy for a new batch? Or it reaches some stage that can be objectively tested?

Thanks, Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht
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Reply to
Steve Peek

Thanks. I gather that from reading here--- but I'm curious about the absolute simplicity of the other recipe. 3 ingredients, one container, stir, wait, bottle, wait.

Is it just slower, or is it vastly inferior, or is it likely to fail?

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

Reply to
Steve Peek

Jim, I made a red current wine out in the Pacific NW a few years ago. It wa very acidic. I recommend finding another complimentary fruit with less acid, to help balance the acidity. You may want to add a pinch of tannin to the gal, again, for balance. Perhaps a grape, golden raisins, apricots. or try a combo of blueberry and current - eat a couple of each to see if they appeal to you. Mine are getting ripe again, and I plan to try a couple of these. Most yeasts need nutrient (especially the Lalvin) and when you wine any fruit with pectin, I recommend using pectase to help the clarity of the wine - it Good Luck.

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

Reply to
winewizard

Jim - The simpler recipe relies on wild yeasts, and assumes that there will be enough nutrients in your juice to support the required yeast growth, and not too much pectin to interfere with clearing. It's possible that this will work out just fine. However, it's also very possible that you will run into problems this way - the wild yeasts may not get established soon enough to prevent other spoilage, or they may produce unpleasant flavors, or you might be low on nutrients, or you might have enough pectin to produce a very persistent haze. Some of those problems are fixable, some really not. The few additional ingredients in Jack Keller's recipe are available for at most a few dollars at any decent homebrew supply store, and eliminate most of those risks. Personally, I think it makes sense to invest a few dollars to avoid those issues. On the other hand, if it won't bother you much to pour the stuff down the drain, or if the "simplicity" of the process interests you more than the quality of the end result, use the simpler recipe.

Doug

Reply to
Doug

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