Blackberry Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Crush the blackberries thoroughly.
Add ½ gallon of rainwater to each gallon of berries and let it stand undisturbed for 24 hours.
Strain off the mixture.
Add 2 pounds of white sugar to each gallon of juice.
Ferment and age
Put the mixture into a keg and let it stand until it ceases to hiss.
Cork the keg tightly.
Let it stand for 4 to 6 months, then draw off the wine.
Wash the keg and return the wine.
Let it stand for an additional 6 to 12 months.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Blackberries
- Provide the fruit flavour, colour and the natural sugars and yeasts that start fermentation.
- White sugar
- Feeds the yeast to produce alcohol and adds sweetness that balances the wine's acidity.
- Rainwater
- Dilutes the crushed berries into a juice that is easier to ferment and extract flavour from.
The step that matters
Cork the keg tightly. Fermentation gives off carbon dioxide and the wine must be sealed from air. A tight cork lets gas escape slowly while keeping oxygen out, which prevents the wine from turning sour or vinegary.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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