Rhubarb Wine
Sylvia Kent shares one of her favourite county wines:
INGREDIENTS
- 2kg pink rhubarb stalks
- 250g sultanas, chopped
- 250g bananas, peeled
- 1kg granulated sugar
- 3.5 litres cooled boiled water
- 5g pectic enzyme
- Campden tablets
- 5g all-purpose wine yeast
- 5g yeast nutrient
METHOD
1 Make up a starter bottle to activate the yeast.
PRE-ACTIVATING THE YEAST
Activate the yeast starter by adding a 5g sachet of yeast and two teaspoons of sugar to a small bottle of warm water. Shake the bottle well to get it going.
2 Wash the rhubarb, then top and tail it. Chop the stalks finely and place them in a sterilised 2-gallon fermenting bucket.
3 Add the sultanas and bananas, then pour over the cooled boiled water and stir in the pectic enzyme.
4 Add 1 crushed Campden tablet, then cover and leave in a warm place for 24 hours.
5 Add the activated wine yeast and the yeast nutrient, then leave to ferment for 3 days, keeping the fruit submerged using a weighted plate (or gently press it down twice each day as you are passing).
6 Strain the contents of the bucket through either a sieve or muslin, squeezing lightly, then discard the pulp in a compost bin.
7 Add the sugar, stirring well until it has dissolved completely.
8 Pour the strained must through a funnel into a clean and sterilised demijohn, then fit an airlock, and put it in a warm place to ferment out.
9 Once sediment has settled, rack the must into a second sterilised demijohn, add 1 further Campden tablet, then refit the airlock and repeat the process until such time as the wine begins to clear.
10 Once the wine has cleared, fit a solid cork bung and transfer to a cool place to stand for at least 9 months.
11 Bottle the wine when clear, and sweeten to taste using saccharin (if necessary).