Simple Wine Making (Huckleberries)

Intro: Simple Wine Making (Huckleberries)

This simplified recipe for making wine yielded some of the best tasting wine ever.

STEP 1: Collect Your Materials.

You will need something to drain the berries with.

STEP 2: Get Some Edible Fruit. These Are Huckleberries.

I think the huckleberry is the "secret" to how smooth this wine ended up tasting.

STEP 3: One Balloon Will Be Needed.

Short and fat balloons work good.

STEP 4: The Cheesecloth Helps With the Draining.

You could use a substitute, I have boiled a plain white T-Shirt and used that before.

STEP 5: A Funnel and Two Packets of Yeast Are Needed.

Some recipes call for champagne yeast. Normal yeast has made good tasting wine for me.

STEP 6: An Empty Distilled Water Jug Works Perfect.

You will need the lid too.

STEP 7: Clean the Berries.

Get rid of the stems, leaves, and berries that are not ripe. Also throw out berries that look dried up.

STEP 8: You Will Need Four Cups of Cleaned Berries.

This does not have to be exact. Close enough is good enough for all the measurements in this recipe.

STEP 9: Measure Out 2 and a Half Cups of Sugar.

Set the sugar aside for a few.

STEP 10: Smash the Berries.

The plastic piece I use for this works good and does not hurt my glass measuring bowl.

STEP 11: The Berries Should Be Smashed Until They Look Like This.

If you stop here, you have created a good dye. Do not get it on anything unless you want it purple.

STEP 12: I Had to Pour the Berries Into a Bigger Bowl.

The bigger bowl makes it harder to "chase" the berries around to squish them. The smaller bowl makes it harder to stir the ingredients up later. So two bowls are used.

STEP 13: Pour the Sugar Onto the Berries.

The ratio I am using is 4 cups of fruit to 2 1/2 cups of sugar.

STEP 14: Pour Six Cups of Boiling Water Onto the Sugar and Fruit Pile. Stir.

Whatever you stir this with may be stained. This may be true of your other vessels used with the berries.

STEP 15: Cover the Mixture With the Cheesecloth. Allow to Cool to Room Temperature.

Save the cheesecloth. Rinse it when done.

STEP 16: Pour the Cooled Mixture Into the Jug.

Pour it slowly and poke the berries if needed so they do not clog your funnel. It overflows the funnel kind of easy and you can lessen it by lifting the funnel a little to let the air escape from the jug.

STEP 17: Now Pour the Yeast Packets (2) Into the Jug.

Add the yeast. You should have more in your jug because this batch spilled some.

STEP 18: Use the Jug's Lid, and Shake Up the Berry, Sugar, Water, and Yeast Mixture

The balloon you "install" in the next step will fill up with gas. When it sags, you can drink the wine. Or, you can put the lid back on for another round of shaking. If you do, reinstall the balloon and wait until it sags again. Note: If the balloon only fills a small amount it may not sag. You can look in the side of the jug and see bubbles moving. If there is no movement and it is not refilling the balloon, it is probably done. The batch that tasted best so far was shook after 2 days and 4 days.

STEP 19: Install the Balloon.

It helps to stretch the balloon a little at first. The lid is not on the jug.

STEP 20: Use the Cheesecloth and Strainer to Catch the Seeds, Skins, and Parts You Do Not Want to Drink.

You can strain the wine a couple of times and get it pretty clear. Only one time around yields cloudy wine. It still tastes good though. More sediment reveals itself later by settling in the bottle. My guess is that the sediment is either yeast or sugar or some of both. Shaking the bottle up will alter the taste of the wine.

STEP 21: Here Is What the Wine Looks Like When the Sediment Settles.

The sediment does not mix much with the wine if you pour slowly.

Comments

[morganj1126]

Does this wine have to be refrigerated

[rolltiderusty]

Hi Morgan,

None of the batches I've made lasted long enough to consider the need. I don't think it would require it, but maybe if you store some you could let me know?

[morganj1126]

I made this and was very Leary because I don’t like the taste of wine unless it’s sweet. Surprisingly this is sweeet. I let it ferment for 5 days.

[ben.howat.77]

to any one out there after draining the fruit into a bottle for the second fermentaion process , do i just wait for it stop producing bubbles to drink? (im making plum wine)

[kithso]

Quick question, I have some blueberries that have already started to ferment a bit. Can I use those or should i just toss em?

[russ5]

How long does it take for the sediment to sink. I made my batch 5 days ago and my fruit (white grape) is still floating. Also, my balloon is not filling up much although it is bubbling like crazy. It seems to be well sealed (I used a couple of bread ties to secure it. HELP!!!

[mikeasaurus]

Hey Russ5, I read your comment and thought I'd reply:

How long does it take sediment to sink?
This varies widely depending on what you made your wine from. Some fruite have more particulates than others, and sometimes the sediment has minimal density and remains suspended, this can last for days, weeks...dare I say months?! Your best bet is to use a bentonite clay mixture (available at your local u-brew store!) which will bind to the particles and sink them. From here you should rack your wine (possible twice) and you've got yourself clear wine.

Balloon:
Your method of attaching your balloon using twist ties is troublesome. The idea behind the balloon (read: airlock) is to allow gasses to escape while keeping foreign air out, it should be a one way system. By using twist ties you are not ensuring a good seal and run the risk of bacteria infecting your batch (I've seen it happen, and it's gross).
If you want the balloon route try attaching it using rubber bands, then use a pin to poke one very tiny hole at the top. this should work for you.

Hope this helps. How did the batch turn out?

[russ5]

Thanks Mikeasaurus! I understand exactly now. Funny you should mention the bentonite clay. Tried it a few weeks ago but it really didn't clear very much. I have since done some reading on the subject of winemaking and have stocked up on the appropriate equipment and chemicals. The batch I made here was awful (I'm sure due to my inexperience), and I have since moved on to apple cider using a REAL airlock. Big difference. It is surprisingly potent and potable. Thanks again for your comment!

[littlewinemaker]

where do you get bentonite?

[mikeasaurus]

no probs.

One last word of encouragement:
I have yet to meet a brewmaster that has gotten it right from the first batch. I'm a seasoned brewer and I still make the odd batch that turns out wonky (though usually an experimental batch).
We learn from making mistakes, and I would take 10 bunk batches to make 1 unique batch of something I am really proud of.

Another though it to keep a log book detailing the date and process you took for each batch, that way you can avoid mistakes the next time.

Good luck russ!

[russ5]

I appreciate the encouragement and your excellent advice. The log book is most definitely the way to go. Nothing like repeating the same mistakes over and over again! Persistence is truly a virtue in this process.

[littlewinemaker]

try using aquarium tubing and a cork with a hole for the tubing. After sealing the cork and tubing on the brew end with melted paraffin insert the other end of the tubing into a container of water, fix it so that the tube stays in the water. That will do the same thing as a balloon and it won't run the possibility of exploding. You can find paraffin where jelly/jam making and canning jars are in any grocery store.

[Gamernotnerd]

Think my mom would notice if I did this (I'm 12)

[littlewinemaker]

they make it in jails and in prisons. if you learn now you can take your experience with you.

[deth2all]

ya, im telling on you

[Gamernotnerd]

I'm now 13, and my Mom is actually helping, we're using strawberries.

[lil jon168]

lucky that will probly taste good

[isildur0804]

i'm only 11 and my mom didn't care...

[brewhaha1]

hey everyone, just a quick question. my fried and i decided to make this on a whim and used a large container of hawiian punch bread yeast and sugar( the measurements of which, we cant be totally sure of) . We understand that this is not the ideal way to make it, but i was just wondering if it will still work. also, one of the ballons was fermenting like crazy, so much that i had to replace the balloon. any thoughts or tips would be appfreciated.

[littlewinemaker]

Try using an unlubricated condom, it has a lot of stretch and will fit around bigger bottle tops.