Another Way to Make Raisin Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mixture
Pick out the strong stalks from the raisins and chop them very small.
Combine the chopped raisins, water, and crude tartar in a tub.
Cover the tub and let the mixture sit for fermentation.
Ferment
Stir the mixture twice a day for the first two weeks, then once a day until fermentation is strong.
After 3-4 weeks, strain the mixture through a hair sieve into a cask.
Fill the cask twice a day for a week, then once a day as fermentation declines.
Age
Once fermentation is complete, seal the cask and let it stand for four 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
- Malaga raisins
- Provide the main sugar and fruit flavour that yeast ferments into alcohol.
- Smyrna raisins
- Add additional sugar and fruit flavour for the fermenting base.
- Cold spring water
- Dilutes the raisin sugars to a liquid the yeast can ferment.
- Crude tartar
- Adds acidity that supports fermentation and gives the wine a crisp, tart balance.
The step that matters
Stir the mixture and keep the cask topped up during fermentation. Stirring and filling keep the raisin solids mixed and limit contact with air, which helps the yeast ferment cleanly and reduces the risk of spoilage from oxidation or mould.
“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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