Are strawberrys good for Fermentation? And will the brew taste good as well?!

Are strawberrys good for Fermentation? And will the brew taste good as well?

i have pounds of strawberry's and i would like to make my own wine.

Yes. I love strawberry wine.

THE STRAWBERRY WINE MAKING RECIPE

The following two wine making recipes represent the extremes that can be reasonably achieved in terms of body with a strawberry wine. The first home wine making recipe being a light dinner wine that would be consumed as a White or Rosé would. The later being a full and assertive country style wine making recipe that would be consumed the same way as a dessert wine.

TABLE WINE
STRAWBERRY WINE 5 Gallons
12.5 lbs. Strawberries
1/8 Tsp. Sodium Bisulfite
Pectic Enzymes (as directed on package)
5 Tsps. Yeast Nutrient
1 Tsp. Wine Tannin
8 Tsps. Acid Blend (.60% tartaric)
8 lbs. Sugar (1.078)
1 Pkg. Champaign Yeast


DESSERT WINE
COUNTRY STRAWBERRY WINE 5 Gallons
25 lbs. Strawberries
? Tsp. Sodium Bisulfite
Pectic Enzymes (as directed on package)
5 Tsps. Yeast Nutrient
12 lbs. Sugar (1.100)
1 Pkg. Champaign Yeast

(No Acid Blend or Wine Tannin required)

In reality most strawberry wine recipes will fall somewhere in between these two home wine making recipes. You can concoct your own wine making recipe by making a few logical adjustments. 1) Choose an amount of strawberries between 12.5 lbs. and 25 lbs. 2) Adjust the sugar level with the aid of a wine making hydrometer to produce the desired potential alcohol level (11% or S.G. of 1.086 recommended) and 3) Use a wine making titration kit to adjust your acid level to .60% tartaric.

The Pectic Enzymes, Yeast, and Yeast Nutrient do not change and the Wine Tannin is not critical just somewhere between 0 - 1 Tsp. based on the amount of strawberries being used; the more strawberries used the less Tannin required. The Sodium Bisulfite should be dosed somewhere close to 1/16 Tsp. per each 8 pounds of Strawberries.

PREPARING THE STRAWBERRIES FOR WINE MAKING

If the strawberries are fresh, lightly rinse with water and allow to drain. Then, remove all the stems and leaves. Discard any questionable ones and chop off any unripened areas you may find. Then coarsely chop them up. If the strawberries have been frozen, thaw completely then mash them.

STARTING WITH A WINE MAKING LIQUEUR

To make a wine making liqueur take the chopped strawberries and put them into a primary fermenter such as a food grade pail or stone crock. Then add just enough water to barely cover the strawberries. Add to this the Sodium Bisulfite, Acid Blend and Wine Tannin as called for in the above home wine making recipes.

Do NOT add the Yeast Nutrient, Sugar or Yeast at this time.

And here is the important part: add the Pectic Enzyme as directed on the package it came in, based on the total batch size. In other words if 1/4 tsp. per gallon of Pectic Enzyme is called for and you are making five gallons, add 1-1/4 tsp. even though your wine making liqueur may currently only be around 2 gallons. This will allow the fruit’s pectin to be broken down faster than normal.

Let the mixture stand covered with a light towel for 24 hours. You can give it a stir from time to time. What you will notice during this period is that the wine making liqueur will change from a thick, pasty mixture to a thinner, “syrupy” mixture and will have a more candied appearance. Also during this period, the Sodium Bisulfite that was added is sterilizing the wine making liqueur.

THE HOME WINE MAKING FERMENTATION

After waiting 24 hours, it’s time to dilute the wine making liqueur with water to 5 gallons. Stir in the sugar called for until completely dissolved, then add the Yeast Nutrient and Yeast as called for in the above home wine making recipes.

Keep covered with a towel and allow to ferment. On or around the 7th day of a normal wine making fermentation you will notice the activity starting to decrease. The Specific Gravity reading will usually be between 1.025 and 1.035 on a wine making hydrometer. It is at this point in the wine making process that you are ready to rack (siphon) your must into a secondary container leaving as much of the pulp and other sediment behind.

At this point attach an air-lock and allow the must to ferment until it has completely stopped which will be about 4 to 6 weeks. At this point rack one more time into a clean secondary container re-attach the air lock and allow to stand until the wine is completely clear. This will usually take an additional 1 to 2 weeks.

Now you have wine. If everything has gone as planned, it should be fairly dry at this point. If you prefer you wines a little sweeter, now is the time to sweeten to taste. You can use anything from table sugar to honey, but remember that anytime you add sugar to a finished wine you must then either add a stabilizer such as Potassium Sorbate or filter with a pressur-ized type filter system using “sterile” filter pads.

If you have never made a fruit wine, this is the fruit to start with. Home- made strawberry wine is very forgiving to blunders and mishaps that come along with new wine making territory. And most assuredly it will be a wine that will bring a smiles of pleasure to the faces of friends, guests.