Strawberry Wine

Last time I made wine, my husband threatened to throw me and the wine out of the house.  "It smells like a darn brewery," he kept saying.  Apparently, it did not deter me because here I go again--savoring the last of the strawberries and celebrating the beginning of the summer:  I am making fermented strawberry wine..

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs strawberries, washed, hulled, and somewhat squashed
1 lemon, zest and juice
2 1/2 lbs granulated sugar
1 gal of boiling water

Sprigs of Rosemary and Mint , optional
Handful of raisins, also optional


I mixed the ingredients together in a food grade bucket (from Lowe's), poured the boiling water over the strawberry concoction, and covered the bucket with a kitchen towel. For the next week, I stirred the mix once a day for a few minutes.

When the week was up, I separated the pulp from the liquid by covering a large pot with husband's clean undershirt (cheesecloth will also do) and poured, discarded the pulp and the shirt, poured the liquid back into the bucket, and covered the bucket with the kitchen towel.  Again, for the following week, I stirred once a day for a few minutes.

After the second week was up, I again separated the pulp/sediments.  After returning the liquid to the bucket, I put an airlock on the lid covering the bucket and put the bucket in the bathtub where it will remain for the next three (3) months, undisturbed.

When this time comes to an end, it is time to pour the strawberry wine into bottles after again separate the sediments to get a clear liquid.  Depending on how clear the wine will be at this time, I may have to wait another few days or a week for the sediments to settle and then pour into bottles and let the wine rest for a year.  Yes, that is one (1) year according to Peggy Filippone's recipe in homecooking.about.com.

Airlock:  I drilled a small hole into the lid that is bought separately from Lowe's for the food grade bucket.  The hole is small enough to accommodate a fish tank tube.  I wrapped a rubber band around the tube on either side of the lid to make it air tight.  One end of the tubing is supposed to let the fermenting air/fumes out of the bucket.  The other end of the tubing is inserted in a bowl filled with water to prevent air from going back into the bucket.

It's going to be a long wait.

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