Sour Cherry Wine

Robust fruit wine made from sour cherries - deep ruby red, 14% ABV, and a real treat after 6 months of aging. Bottled to my own recipe.

Ingredients

• 5 kgsour cherries (fresh or frozen, pitted)
• 1.5 kgsugar
• 5 Lwater
• 1Campden tablet (potassium metabisulfite)
• 1 packwine yeast (e.g. Lalvin EC-1118)
• 1 tspyeast nutrient

Instructions

1. Wash, stem, and pit the cherries (use frozen cherries directly) (60 min)
2. Crush the Campden tablet, mix with the cherries and 4 L water - let stand covered for 24 hours (kills wild yeast) (24 h)
3. Dissolve the sugar in 1 L warm water and stir in the yeast nutrient (10 min)
4. Rehydrate the yeast in a little lukewarm water for 20 minutes, then add to the must (20 min)
5. Ferment open for 7 days at 18-22°C / 64-72°F - stir and skim daily (7 days)
6. Rack through a fine sieve into a demijohn and fit the airlock (30 min)
7. Let secondary ferment for 4-6 weeks, then rack twice and age at least 6 months in a cool place (42 days)
8. Bottle the clear wine, label it, and store for another 3 months (30 min)