Making A Delicious Citrus Fruit Homemade Wine

If your previous attempts at wine making haven't been up to your expectations, then there is a reason for that. You haven't tried making citrus wines. Citrus wine is refreshing and unique and guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser during those warm summer months. It's also a bonus if you are able to buy fruits which are in season and able to cut costs in production.

Nothing is as refreshing as grapefruit wine, though it is quite sour because of the high acid content. To tone down the sour taste of the grapefruit, try adding raisins or dates in the fermentation step. The flavor will be less sour, yet still refreshing and more complex. However, because of the high sugar content of dried fruits, reduce your sugar to half the amount listed in the recipe.

If you decide to go with a tangerine homemade wine , you will need more than fifteen, but less than thirty will do. Clean and prepare all your tangerines ahead of time- this is the time consuming portion of tangerine wine making. Though you may be tempted to throw in a can of fruit to save some time, resist the urge. The taste of this all natural wine will reward your efforts.

Another great citrus wine is lemon wine. Lemon wine is a bit more unique because you rarely see lemon wine served independently but more often as an additive to punches or other drinks. One delicious use for lemon wine is as an additive to a pitcher of sangria. The sourness of the lemons cuts the sweetness of the sangria and gives it a refreshing aftertaste.

Before you get going with the prepping of the fruit, consider putting on some latex gloves. Not only is the fruit very juicy and sticky, but the acidic nature of citrus can dry out your skin. Enjoy the process of winemaking. This recipe is fairly simple and there's always room for creativity.

Recipe for Citrus Wine

1. Take 12 citrus fruits of your choice and peel and halve them. Boil a pot of water and submerge each half under the boiling water for a few seconds. Place all the boiled halves in a large clean bowl.

2. You are now ready to cut the halves into small pieces. Pour half a gallon of slightly cooled boiled water over all of the fruit pieces. Leave this mixture to soak for two days crushing the fruit every so often to remove the juice.

3. Add two pounds of sugar to a quart of water and boil for two minutes. When that has cooled add it to the juice bits. Lastly, add half an ounce of yeast and allow this to ferment this in a warm spot for five days.

4. The last step is to strain the mix through cheese cloth or another fine muslin cloth. Get rid of the remaining pulp and return the liquid to the fermenting vessel. Ferment for another ten more days. Pour the wine off the top leaving as much residue behind. Do this twice if necessary.