Today you will learn to make gooseberry wine. Gooseberries are small fruits color green or red of 3-6 grams per unit, with several health benefits. In contrast, the most common types are the American and European varieties.
These are some properties of gooseberries that you must take into account when making a gooseberry wine:
Low in calories and fat (66 cal per 1 gram); additionally the presence of Vitamin C (antioxidant), B5, B6, Copper, Manganese, and Potassium.
Gooseberries are rich in antioxidants, and vitamin E, which may help protect your brain and fight aging, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. On the other hand, gooseberries contain polyphenols, which help keep your heart working properly and may reduce your risk of heart disease.
These compounds are released into the wine during fermentation. In that way, you can produce a nutritional and delicious beverage to share at home.
Ingredients
- 13 lbs gooseberries
- 11 lbs granulated sugar
- Cheesecloth or nylon bag (optional: a potato smasher)
- ½ tsp pectic enzyme
- ½ tsp of tannin
- Water
- 1 tbsp yeast nutrients
- A packet of champagne yeast
- Standard winemaking equipment
Procedure to make the gooseberry wine
- Wash the gooseberries thoroughly. You can do this using a colander, and adding abundant water.
- Use your hands to crush berries in a bowl. Place them in a nylon bag or
cheesecloth. Pour juice created by crushing the berries into the fermenter. Alternatively, you can use a potato masher to crush berries. - Transfer the berry bag to your fermentation bucket.
- Pour a gallon of boiling water over the fruit bag. Allow sitting for 48 hours.
- Gently squeeze the bag and remove it. Add the sugar and stir well to make sure it is completely dissolved. Later, add the pectic enzyme, cover well, and allow it to sit for 24 hours.
- Add the yeast, the yeast nutrient, and the tannin.
- Cover, and set aside five to six days, stirring daily.
- Pour into a carboy and attach an airlock.
- Allow the wine to sit for three months in a cool, dark place.
- Rack the wine and allow it to sit for another two months.
- Rack it again and bottle.
- Give it one year to mature.
