Red Currant Wine Recipe
When I was younger, my grandfather had red and black currant bushes. He would get so many currants, that not only was there enough for preserves and jams to last until the following year, there were always quarts and quarts of berries that would go to the birds, or just rot.
If he was into home winemaking, he could have made wine from these currants. I found a bush of red currants the other and picked about 2 quarts, close to 4 lbs. worth. And tonight, I started making red currant wine based on a recipe from Jack Keller. Mine is pretty much the same except I add a couple of crushed campden tablets, and I don’t wait until the next day to start everything going. I’m also going to leave the pulp (in a nylon bag or stocking) in the primary fermenter as well.
I’ll certainly agree with Jack that red currants are more tart than black currants! Jack writes that it takes up to two years for a red currant wine to “mellow.”
What the heck, I can handle a gallon bottle hanging around in a cool place for two years. So here’s the recipe:
Red Currant Wine
- 2 Quarts Red Currants
- 2 3/4 lbs. Sugar
- 3 litres Water
- 1/2 tsp. Pectic Enzyme
- 1 tsp. Yeast Nutrient
- 2 Campden Tablets, crushed
- Yeast
Crush the red currants in the primary. Boil the water. Spoon the pulp of the currants into a nylon straining bag or stocking.
Tie off the nylon, and leave in the primary.
Add the sugar to the water, stirring well.
Pour the water into the primary, over top of the straining bag.
When the water and juice mixture has cooled, add pectic enzyme and crushed Campden tablets, stirring well.
Sprinkle yeast on top, cover the primary, and let it sit for a week.
After a week, I’ll rack into a secondary one gallon carboy, top up with water if necessary, and rack again in about three months, adding another crushed Campden tablet.
One more racking in another three months, and then I’ll let it age for as long as possible before bottling.
I have an abundance of red currants and often have a surplus of canned juice which has been extracted in a steam juicer. Can this juice be used to make wine? Would I need to add more pulp in a nylon straining bag and leave in the primary, or could I just start by adding the sugar to the juice without adding water?
I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks!
Judy Tessaro