Wine Number 4 Dessert Wine.

[Duffbeer]

Dessert wines are often referred to as after dinner wines due to the fact that they are sweet, high in alcohol, very rich and full bodied.
The following recipe derived by Vera Durkin has taken prizes and best in show at the National in previous years and is posted in the recipe section here under "Christmas Pudding Wine". The recipe includes the addition of citrus fruit which I have reduced as I found the citrus a little dominating.

This wine has also taken a highly commended for me at the National 2008 at a mere 4 week old, I have high hopes for this in the future.
It has also taken a 1st and a Highly Commended as part of the 3 wine class at the recent Lincoln show.
Edit; It has also taken a second in the food with wine class and a very highly commended at the recent Yorkshire fed show.
Edit: It also took first and second at the Lincolnshire Federation show and first at the recent Pontefract show as part of the 3 wines for a dinner.

Christmas Pudding Wine.

First off with all wine making we need to ensure everything is clean, so rather than me rambling on follow the link below.

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1561

You will need all the equipment as with wine number 3 as we are fermenting on the pulp, Whether you use a straining bag or just open ferment is optional.

So here we go:

Ingredients.

1 x 900 g 2lb Christmas pudding
1 x 411 g tinned peaches
3 x small oranges (juice only)
2 x 1 litre cartons of white grape juice
500 g bag of mixed dried fruit
1000 g 2 lb sugar ( not fixed) to SG 1.130 approx (after 24hrs)

2 tsp of pectolase
1 tsp pf Bentonite
1 Vitamin B1 tablet (crushed)
1 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
1 camden tablet (crushed) or 5ml sulphite solution
1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate (stabaliser/ yeast stopper)
1 pkt of Gervin GV4 high alcohol yeast (purple label)
The style of yeast used is imperative to the recipe, this yeast is capable of fermenting up to 21% provided sufficient nutrients are available, we are aiming for about 18%.

Method.

Empty the contents of the Christmas pudding into your bucket / fermenter.


Chop and break it down into small chunks, then pour on 3 litres of boiling water and stir to break down the pulp.

Now is a good time to prepare your yeast starter. Find a suitable jug, bottle or jar and 3/4 fill it with warm water 23c, add 1 tsp of sugar, a small piece of the pudding, 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient and a pinch of citric acid, mix well and add the yeast sachet.


Empty the mixed dried fruit into a sieve and rinse under hot water to remove the coating oil, add these to the bucket.

Next add the white grape juice and the tin of peaches including juice, squeeze the juice from the oranges and add to the bucket. Stir well and add cold water until you have reached the 1 1/4 gal mark, sg should be about 1.090, if not add sugar untill 1.090 . Allow to cool to around 21c before proceeding any further.

The yeast starter should now be well underway. Add the pectolase, Vitamin B1 tablet, Bentonite and 1tsp of yeast nutrient to the must and stir well.

Provided the must temperature is below 23c it's now OK to pitch the yeast starter.
Cover your bucket with a loose lid or towel and leave for 24hrs.

[Duffbeer]

Day Two.

Fermentation should now be quite vigorous and a cap on the must formed with the pulp.


Boil some water and dissolve in the sugar until liquid and allow to cool. Add the sugar in small increments stirring and checking specific gravity with your hydrometer, you will need to strain the must through a sieve into your trial jar to get a reasonable reading (fruit pulp in the trial jar will give false readings).

When you have reached a reading of 1.130 cease adding more sugar, this with the 24 hr ferment already done should achieve 18% alcohol. The reason for not adding the sugar at the start is to allow the yeast time to multiply (too much sugar at the start can prevent the yeast from starting correctly).
Now re cover the bucket and leave to ferment until SG reaches 1.010, stirring the must twice daily. This can take anything up to seven days, so periodically checking the SG after 4 days is a good way of monitoring the progress.

[Duffbeer]

Transferring to secondary.

Once the specific gravity has dropped to 1.010, which mine had after six days, it's time to transfer to secondary fermenter and protect from oxidisation.

Strain the must using a sieve and large jug into your demijohn adding 1/4 of a tsp of nutrient, discard the leftovers, or for the adventurous amongst us maybe use it for a second run for maybe a standard sweet wine.

Ensure you keep a little aside in another vessel for top up as this gives off a lot of lees.

Fit airlocks, and leave to ferment dry, once that is achieved we will stabilize, de gas and sweeten.

[Duffbeer]

Once your satisfied fermentation is complete (below 1.000 and no change over a couple of days) rack to another clean demi john. Pour a little of the wine into a jug and add 1 crushed campden tablet (or 5ml sulphite solution) and 1/2 tea spoon of potssium sorbate ( may be called wine stopper on some tubs) stir until dissolved and add back to the wine, give it a good stir and set aside for 24 hrs.

The next part is optional, you can leave your wine to clear in it's own time or you can use fining's. Once cleared rack to another clean demi john and filter if that's your preferred method.


Now we need to sweeten the wine, some may prefer sorbitol or artificial sweetener, but I prefer real sugar.
Fill a 1ltr jug 1/4 full with sugar adding a small amount of boiling water until the sugar dissolves, stirring all the time until clear.
Empty the wine into a slightly larger vessel or tub and add the liquid sugar until your desired sweetness is reached, bear in mind this is a desert wine and will need to be quite sweet to balance the high alcohol.
Finally return to demi john and store or bottle as you wish, oh and drink the excess yum.



This in my opinion is a great wine, I had some worries with the layer of fat/ grease left behind, but the racking and fitering has rid it of that, this is soooooo drinkable upon completion, but I'm sure time will benefit it greatly.