Jun 17 2009
Chokecherry Wine Recipe (Dessert Wine)
Don’t let the name fool you—you definitely won’t be choking on this wine!
Ingredients:
8 lb Choke Cherry
7 pts Water
2 3/4 lb Sugar
1 tsp Pectic Enzyme
½ tsp Energizer
1 Campden, crush
1 pkg Sherry yeast
Starting S.G. 1.090-95
Just FYI, all the above ingredients can be bought in one easy package at letsmakefoodandwine.com!
Method:
Pick fruit when they are fully ripe black-purple if you can fight off the birds and other people.
- Wash and remove stems, leaves, and badly bruised fruit.
- The pits are too large to remove, so mash cherries without breaking the bitter pits. Using nylon staining bag, mash and squeeze out juice into primary fermentor. Keeping all pulp in straining bag, tie top and place in primary.
- Stir in all other ingredients except yeast. Cover primary.
- After 24 hrs., add yeast. Cover primary.
- Stir daily, check S.G. and press pulp lightly to aid extraction.
- When ferment reaches S.G. 1.030 (about 5 days) strain juice from bag. Syphon wine off sediment into glass jug secondary. Attach airlock.
- When ferment is complete (S.G. has dropped to 1.000—about 3 weeks) syphon off sediment into clean secondary. Reattach lock.
- To aid clearing syphon again in 2 months and again if necessary before bottling.
Varieties:
Chokecherries (Aronia L.) are 3’-8’ shrubs with small white flowers and ¼” round, red to black fruit ripening Aug-Nov. Chokecherries are found wild and in nurseries.
