Make Peach Wine
Peach wine is definitely a winner with those who love the taste of peaches. It's an excellent way to use up a glut of peaches, the riper the fruit, the better.
Ingredients
- 3 to 3-1/2 pounds peaches, very ripe (greener/less ripe peaches have too much pectin in them, so make sure to use very ripe peaches)
- 4 pints water, boiled and cooled
- 3 pounds granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon acid blend
- 1/2 teaspoon tannin or {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} very strong tea
- 1 Campden tablet (optional)
- 1 package (5-7 grams) wine yeast
- 1-1/2 cups orange juice, tepid
- 1 to 2 teaspoons pectic enzyme
Steps
- Prepare the Select and Work with Peaches. Wash the peaches to remove any debris and dirt from them.
- Slice the peaches. There is no need to worry about removing the skin. Place the Make Peach Slice into the plastic container.
- Dissolve 1-1/2 pounds of the sugar into the cooled water. Add the acid blend, tannin and the Campden tablet (if using) and mix through.
- Pour the cooled water mixture over the peaches. Leave to stand for 24 hours. This now turns into the "must".
- Prepare the yeast starter culture. Mix the wine yeast and yeast nutrient with the tepid orange juice. Cover and shake well. Put it aside for one to three hours, until it becomes bubbly. Add the bubbly yeast mixture to the must.
- Add the pectic Learn and Understand the Chemistry and Physiology of Enzymes in Humans to the must. Leave to ferment for three days.
- Strain the wine to remove the solids. Pour the wine through a strainer into another clean container. Use the strainer to remove the solids (peach flesh, skin, etc.).
- In a large pot, boil the remaining sugar in enough water to cover it. Remove once boiled and leave to cool. Pour the cooled sugar water to the strained wine liquid. Add enough to make up one gallon.
- Ferment this wine for ten days. If the bubbling calms down sooner, then the wine may be ready sooner than ten days.
- Rack the wine into a one gallon fermentation container with an airlock. Allow the wine to ferment to completion.
- Once it has completed fermentation, the peach wine is ready for bottling. Cellar it for a minimum of three months before trying it.
Tips
- You need to be familiar with the wine-making terminology: racking, fermenting, must,... If not, start with the basics of the wine-making process.
Things You'll Need
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} plastic (food grade) container or similar wine making container
- Strainer
- Large pot
- Airlock fermentation container, {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} in size
Sources and Citations
- Carleen Madigan, The Essential Guide to Back Garden Self-Sufficiency, p. 133, (2010), ISBN 978-1-60469-103-0 – research source
