I'm going to be following a 1 gallon beetroot wine recipe. This is my first try at wine-making, and my expectations aren't through the roof but I'm hoping it will come out drinkable.
The recipe I found calls for a 1.5 hour boil of the beets (3-4 lbs), followed by pouring out the liquid into a bowl and mixing in the sugar, Campden, raisins, and orange and lemon. Then it asks you to let it sit for 24 hours...dissolve pectic enzyme...let sit 12 more hours...pitch the yeast with nutrient...then cover with cheesecloth and let sit 15 days. Only then do you rack into ferment jug. It seems crazy to me, but I don't know. Would you really let it be exposed for that long with only a cheesecloth cover?
Another recipe I found asks for a 20 minute boil of the beets, followed by straining the liquid into the jug and letting cool, then immediately mixing in the sugar etc., and pitching yeast. After a few weeks you add another lb of brown sugar. Seems to make more sense. Also, for this second recipe you only add the juice of lemon. If I followed this method would I be able to throw in the solid fruit (and raisins) and rack from under it later on?
Thanks for replies!
The recipe I found calls for a 1.5 hour boil of the beets (3-4 lbs), followed by pouring out the liquid into a bowl and mixing in the sugar, Campden, raisins, and orange and lemon. Then it asks you to let it sit for 24 hours...dissolve pectic enzyme...let sit 12 more hours...pitch the yeast with nutrient...then cover with cheesecloth and let sit 15 days. Only then do you rack into ferment jug. It seems crazy to me, but I don't know. Would you really let it be exposed for that long with only a cheesecloth cover?
Another recipe I found asks for a 20 minute boil of the beets, followed by straining the liquid into the jug and letting cool, then immediately mixing in the sugar etc., and pitching yeast. After a few weeks you add another lb of brown sugar. Seems to make more sense. Also, for this second recipe you only add the juice of lemon. If I followed this method would I be able to throw in the solid fruit (and raisins) and rack from under it later on?
Thanks for replies!