Foods of the World Forum Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > Food Groups > Beverages
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Rhubarb Wine
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

This site is completely supported by donations; there are no corporate sponsors. We would be honoured if you would consider a small donation, to be used exclusively for forum expenses.



Thank you, from the Foods of the World Forums!

Rhubarb Wine

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Rhubarb Wine
    Posted: 05 June 2016 at 08:04
It's that time of year, and I've got a bunch of rhubarb coming up in various corners of the yard. The other day, my youngest son picked seven pounds of it, so I plan on making at least one 1-gallon batch. 

I got this recipe from Yooper over at the HomeBrew Forums. She knows her beer and wine, and I'm grateful for her guidance!-

Quote Rhubarb Wine
Yooper’s Recipe

3 pounds rhubarb (stalk only)
1/4 pint white grape concentrate or 1/2 pound of light raisins (chopped)
7 pints water
2 1/4 pounds sugar
1/4 teaspoon tannin
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 campden tablet (crushed)
1 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 package of wine yeast (such as champagne or Montrachet)        

Use stalk only. Freeze fruit and then place in mesh bag and tie up. Place in primary and let thaw. Dissolve sugar in a little boiling water, dissolve campden tablet and pour over fruit. 

Let sit 2-3 days, stirring daily, and keep primary covered. Then, strain fruit out and discard. Add all other ingredients (using cold water) except yeast. Cover. 12 hours later, add yeast and stir well. Cover loosely with a towel. Stir daily, breaking up cap. 

When SG reaches 1.020-1.040, rack into secondary, top up if needed, and attach airlock. Rack as needed, adding campden every other racking. This throws a lot of lees, so you may need to rack as early as two weeks. 

When there are no lees for at least 60 days, and the wine is clear and done fermenting, it is ready to bottle. Tastes best after at least one year.

Dry, this tastes a bit like pinot grigio. You may prefer it sweetened, but I don't sweeten.

I went ahead and got started with this last night, June 4th; My goal is for a wine that is drinkable (not too sour), but also tastes of rhubarb.

When I got started, I realised too late that I was a little unclear about the amount of "sugar water" in the first step, and a couple of other things; however, I did my best to follow a (hopefully) good interpretation of the instructions in Yooper's original post. 

First, I cleaned and sanitized everything, then put the fruit in a strainer bag (it was still frozen but thawed pretty quickly). My dad keeps insisting that more rhubarb is necessary (he is making a batch now too, and is using 4.75 pounds), so I decided to throw caution to the wind, and used 3.5 pounds of rhubarb for this first attempt. I brought the sugar up a little, to 3 pounds, to compensate for the extra rhubarb. It looked to me as though the rhubarb was taking up a lot of room in the primary bucket, so I went ahead and heated the full 7 pints of water hot enough to fully dissolve the sugar - close to, but not quite, boiling.

Once the sugar was dissolved, I let it cool a bit, then poured it onto the strainer bag and a crushed campden tablet. If I would have been thinking, I would have dissolved the campden tablet in a little water, but that slipped my mind. The rhubarb was still partially frozen, so the water cooled very quickly to something close to room temperature.

I stirred the water and rhubarb around in order to dissolve the campden tablet and get everything together. Even with the full 7 pints of water, it seemed like part of the rhubarb was floating on top in the bag, but maybe it just needs to absorb the water.

If I read the instructions correctly, I'll now stir the rhubarb and water for a couple-three days in order to extract the juice, then squeeze, strain and discard the fruit solids from the bag. After that, I will add the pectic enzyme and the rest of the ingredients, except the yeast, which will come 12 hours after that. After adding the yeast, the procedure looks like it will pretty much follow in similar fashion to the wine I've made before.

All in all, it looks like I went off the rails a little bit, but not in any significant way that will affect the final outcome.

Speaking of tart rhubarb on a warm summer day, I've got a recipe for a rhubarb-strawberry strong ale that I will be trying for the first time in a couple of weeks. If anyone is interested, let me know - it's in .pdf format, so shoot me a PM with your email and I'd be more than glad to send it over.

Ron
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
Sponsored Links


Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 June 2016 at 23:39
Tonight, 5 June, I stirred and squeezed the rhubarb that is juicing in my primary bucket. This is a pretty routine operation, and went without incident for the most part; however, one thing that I noticed right away is that my rhubarb produced a LOT of liquid. By the looks of it, I might have as much as a quart over a gallon of juice now in the primary bucket.

This goes back to my original confusion above over the amount of sugar water to use in the first step; the rhubarb appeared to take up a lot of room in the fermenting bucket (more that half-filling it, by appearances), so in my ignorance, I used the full 7 pints of water for the sugar water. Well, the rhubarb evidently had a lot of liquid of its own so I am over a gallon total by a little bit, but we'll see how things shake out. I'm not too worried about it, since I have extra rhubarb and sugar in there anyway, and I'm guessing that I will lose some juice in the process. What I might do is keep any extra in the refrigerator and use it to top off as I rack over; or perhaps I'll simply have a little rhubarb juice on hand for a refreshing drink after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day - it's all good. 

One thing is for sure - next time I'll remember that it is NOT necessary to use the whole 7 pints for sugar water.
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 June 2016 at 23:19
Tonight, 6 June, I stirred my rhubarb "juice" and squeezed the mesh bag again. All went as expected, and I am guessing that we're on schedule here. 

There isn't much else to report, except that I'll repeat this procedure tomorrow night; then, I will strain/discard the rhubarb and add the other ingredients to the rendered juice (chopped golden raisins,  tannin, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme). 12 hours after that, I'll proceed with the addition of the yeast, and will begin this project in earnest.

More as it happens, etc. &c....
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 June 2016 at 22:24
Tonight, 7 June - I drained and strained the solids and added the other wine ingredients, including the tannin, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme. 

I am 250 miles away from any white grape concentrate, but no big deal - chopped golden raisins will do the job very well, as I have found. Unfortunately, my supply of golden raisins has "disappeared" (thanks, kids!), so I'll have to add them tomorrow, when I add the yeast. I "assume" (?) this will be alright.

Per the instructions, I already added a campden tablet at the beginning, when I started the rhubarb in the sugar water, so I "assume" (?) that I do not add another one until I am racking the wine.

Observations were much the same as before; the first night, the "juice" was a pinkish yellow, but last night and this evening, it became more yellow in colour. When I added the tannin, the colour darkened just a bit. There is still more than a gallon in play here, but I have a feeling that by the time I transfer it off the fermentation lees and into secondary, it's going to be right where it needs to be. There might be enough for a wee sample, and that will be about it.

That's all for now - more as it happens ~
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 June 2016 at 21:59
Tonight, 8 June, I threw in the half-pound of chopped golden raisins and pitched my yeast (Montrachet).

Not much else to report, but the next few days will determine whether or not I was successful!
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 June 2016 at 20:55
Last evening, 9 June, and this morning, 10 June, I stirred my must and took a look at it. 

Fermentation is beginning a little slowly, compared to what I am used to seeing with beer, but it is definitely going on, and I hope that it is about to hit it's stride. Last evening, there was a bit of a smell I wasn't familiar with, almost but not quite sulfurous. The must seemed fine, however, so I stirred it and put it away.

This morning, it was making a fizzy sound as I stirred it, even though there wasn't much in the way of visual cues except a bit of foam as I stirred. I am hoping that by the time I get home this evening, I'll have a nice cap to stir down.

One thing that might be affecting things is my fermentation temperature. We're looking at about 77 degrees right now, give or take a couple of degrees. To me, that seems a little high, but I am used to beer, so it might be fine. Also, I usually cover the fermenter with a tea towel, but that wasn't an option this time, so I put the lid on with an airlock.
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 June 2016 at 10:25
Last night, 10 June, and this morning, 11 June, I stirred the must again, and there is certainly some good fermentation happening now. The "sulfur smell" seems to be gone, replaced by an aroma that is a little yeasty and a little rhubarb-y. 

I am starting to wonder if the slight sulfur smell that I originally encountered might be due to the golden raisins in there. Per the recipe, I added a half-pound of them, chopped as best as I could chop them. I checked the package, which does indicate that there is a trace amount of sulfates added, presumably as a preservative. Perhaps this might be a factor?

As I stirred the must, there was a lot of good fizzing and foam. The must is quite opaque, as beer looks when it is fermenting, and the airlock is going like crazy (I wasn't able to get tea towels yesterday, as I had planned - hopefully tomorrow). I think that even if this project did have a rocky beginning, it is certainly on track now.

Time will tell - more as it happens!
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 June 2016 at 22:50
I stirred again this morning, and things continue to look good. We're starting to smell like wine, here! Another two or three days of this, then I'll rack the must over to my fermenter to begin finishing up.
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 June 2016 at 01:27
I checked on my must and stirred it again this morning, 13 June; the temps were right around 68-is. The only thing that seems "different" now (compared to the wine I've made before) is the lack of a cap when I check on it to stir, but then again, it could be because of the chopped golden raisins floating around. I did notice that it foams up when I stir, and I get the fizzy sound that I remember from last time. The colour is a light off-white with some yellow/gold, most likely from the golden raisins and the bit of tannin in there. The must is still quite opaque and looking close to what I would expect. I did sample a tiny sip, and I've definitely got wine forming here; it seems a bit sweeter than I would expect, but since we're still fermenting I'll wait it out.

In a couple of days - maybe three or four - I'll rack the must over to secondary fermentation in my glass fermenter, and hopefully the fun will begin.
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 September 2016 at 16:07
Well, bad news - I was about a week outside of my final racking before bottling, when my 20-something-year-old son got into it while I was on a mini-vacation. He drank a fair portion of it (maybe a third?) and replaced what he drank with....water.

So now I have some wonderful-tasting-yet-watered-down-rhubarb wine.

I'll get it bottled and put up and use it for topping off, I guess, when I start my next batch. I actually have enough rhubarb in the freezer to make a new batch; however, there are several that I want to make before trying this again - including Flathead cherry, another chokecherry and crabapple.

Perhaps, after that, another rhubarb.....

Ron
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.156 seconds.