Crabapple Wine

**Yooper** · 01-12-2008, 02:04 PM

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: EC1118
Yeast Starter: NO
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: no
Batch Size (Gallons): 1
Original Gravity: 1.080- 1.100
Final Gravity: .990
Boiling Time (Minutes): 1
Color: clear
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5 days
Additional Fermentation: Rack every 4 weeks
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 4 weeks

One gallon recipe

6 pounds crabapples
water
1 campden tablet
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
wine yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrients
About 3 pounds sugar
honey (if wanted)

Crush apples, but do not cut or crush seeds. Put in large mesh bag and add enough water to cover apples in primary. Add 1 crushed campden tablet. Stir well. Cover loosely with a towel. 12 hours later, add pectic enzyme and stir well. The next day, add sugar to desired sg (usually 1.085- 1.100) in enough water to bring to one gallon in the primary, then add nutrient and wine yeast. Stir daily for 5 days. Keep loosely covered.
On the 6th day, strain and discard apples. Rack into secondary and top up to one gallon with water. Rack about three weeks after fermentation has ceased. At this point, you could mix 1/2 cup of honey with one cup of of wine, and rack the wine into that. Fermentation should start up again, if it doesn't add 1/2 tsp nutrients. This can be done several times, if desired, for a sweeter wine.
(I'm doing one batch with honey, and one without)

Rack every 45 days- 3 months until no more lees drop. Bottle at 6-12 months.

This wine is very good dry- the crabapples give it a kind of spiciness lacking in most apple wines. It could be sweetened just a little for a nice table wine, or sweetened more for a dessert wine.

**david_42** · 01-12-2008, 02:06 PM

Do you let them freeze on the tree before picking?

**Yooper** · 01-12-2008, 02:28 PM

No, I picked them when there were fully beautifully ripe and then froze them in my chest freezer. When they thawed, they were very mushy and easy to work with.

(I had to fence the trees to keep the deer from eating them!)

**Melana** · 01-12-2008, 03:01 PM

I just might have to try this in the fall. Thanks Yooper!

dpt222 · 01-13-2008, 08:42 PM

Hey, thanks so much for posting this recipe. Can't wait to give it a try!

**Yooper** · 02-10-2008, 12:44 PM

This is bulk aging in the carboy right now- it's completely dry at .992 or so. We had a homebrew club meeting yesterday, and sampled some right out of the carboy. I had two "wino's" tell me that it is fantastic and should be entered in competition. So, it's not bottled yet but it's a great white wine. Slightly spicy from the crabapples, with a dry crisp finish.

Just make sure you use "real" crabapples, not those ornamental fruits.

KiRbY29869 · 04-28-2008, 05:07 PM

Yooper, you wouldn't happen to be able to get a picture of those crabapples, would ya? I think I have one but can't get a picture to find out for sure. I dont want to use some poisonous kind or something thats gonna taste bad.

**Yooper** · 05-05-2008, 12:04 PM

No, I don't have a picture. They are just edible crabapples. NOT the ornamental ones. They look like small apples, about the size of a lime.

We opened a small bottle last night- and it was really good!

**Yooper** · 05-05-2008, 12:06 PM

One more thing- the honey really smoothed it out. I ended up adding honey to the entire batch. It of course fermented out, but there is a real smoothness there. It's still a little "hot", but it'll be a great wine with a little age on it.

**Yooper** · 07-02-2008, 01:57 PM

I opened a bottle of this on club night for some fellow HBT'ers. Either they liked it, or they are good liars. I personally liked it, though, so that's what matters!