Rhubarb Wine

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We have had good rhubarb weather I guess. My grandparent's patch seems to be thriving this year. I will have to check with the FIL. He has a different variety (red stalks) that I mixed in with the bulk green stuff last time. That wine was well received. I hope I can find the time....
 
Hey -

My wife wants to take a stab at Rhubarb wine..... and this seemed like a great place to start. We would likely make something in the 3-4 gallon range. The recipe is for a gallon..... do we just simply multiply everything by 3 or 4? Campden, tanning, etc. What about yeast? Should we use multiple packs?

Thanks
 
Braufessor said:
Hey -

My wife wants to take a stab at Rhubarb wine..... and this seemed like a great place to start. We would likely make something in the 3-4 gallon range. The recipe is for a gallon..... do we just simply multiply everything by 3 or 4? Campden, tanning, etc. What about yeast? Should we use multiple packs?

Thanks
Click to expand...

everything except the yeast. one packet is enough
 
Great. Thanks.

Also - in regard to water..... My tap water is highly alkaline (270 Bicarbonate)... I usually use RO water to cut it brewing beer. Is there anything, in particular, that I should be shooting for in regard to water in wine??? I could go all RO, or whatever is best.
 
Braufessor said:
Great. Thanks.

Also - in regard to water..... My tap water is highly alkaline (270 Bicarbonate)... I usually use RO water to cut it brewing beer. Is there anything, in particular, that I should be shooting for in regard to water in wine??? I could go all RO, or whatever is best.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use the tap water, I'd use the RO like you do with brewing beer. I'd hate to ruin a batch because of the water.
 
Agree, Yoopers recipe seems to scale up really well. I usually make 6 to start and end up bottling a tad over 5.

My 2012 batch was with carbon filtered tap water (alkalinity over 200). My 2013 batch was with 100% RO from the grocery store. I really could not tell a difference in the wine outside of the 3 lbs of strawberry in 2012 and 3 lbs of peaches in 2013. If you have an RO system, I would use all RO or a large percentage.

Last night I just started soaking 14 lbs of rhubarb with 3.5 lbs of mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). Definitely a darker purple color, but not sure that will stay all the way through conditioning and aging. I pitch yeast on Thursday :)
 
I've yet to venture into any kind of wine, but my wife would like something done with all of our rhubarb. Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but would I top off the fermenter each time I would transfer? I'll prob do a 5 gallon batch and just xfer back and forth to my 5 gallon better bottles.


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Head space in a primary bucket is fine. Even some in secondary with active fermentation going on may be okay. After that it is all secondary glass or better bottles and should be filled to very close to the neck. I would not top off with water. I start a tad over 6, 6 gal glass, 5 gal glass + 1/2 gal jug, 5 gal so no topping up. You could probably top off with commercial rhubarb wine or possibly a light white wine.

Only downside to rhubarb wine that I see is that it takes a year to clear and bottle. Damn fine summer drink by the lake, around a campfire, or on the deck. Usually all but 4 or 5 bottles are gone by Labor Day :)
 
Yooper said:
3 lbs. rhubarb (stalk only)
1/4 pt. white grape concentrate or 1/2 lb. of light raisins (chopped)

1 tsp. yeast nutrient


Freeze fruit and then place in mesh bag and tie up. Place in primary and let thaw. Dissolve sugar in a little boiling water and dissolve campden and pour over fruit. Let sit 2-3 days, stirring daily, and keep pimary covered. Then, strain fruit out and discard. Add all other ingredients (using cold water) except yeast. Cover. 12 hours later, add yeast and stir well. Cover loosely with a towel. Stir daily, breaking up cap. When s.g reaches 1.020-1.040, rack into secondary, top up if needed, and attach airlock. Rack as needed, adding campden every other racking.
Click to expand...

Ok - Getting ready to do this on Saturday, and I am a total newb to wine making so I have a few (dumb) questions. I have made one batch of wine.....errrrrr...... vinegar about 12 years ago. I think we will make 3.5-4 gallons with the hopes of eventually getting 3 gallons into a 3 gallon better bottle for secondary/tertiary..... (assuming there will be loss at rackings, etc.)

1.)White grape concentrate/or raisins..... is this just the frozen juice concentrate that you would find by orange juice in the grocery store? Is there a preference between the concentrate and the raisins?

2.) Yeast Nutrient..... Do I triple the yeast nutrient for 3 gallons even though I am not tripling the yeast?

3.) When you put the initial fruit in primary it says to dissolve sugar in "a little" boiling water and pour over rhubarb and later it says: after a couple days "remove rhubarb and add rest of ingredients with cold water"...... So..... I am NOT adding the 7 pints of water/per gallon batch to this primary?
How much water do I put in with the rhubarb? Do i subtract that from the "7 pints" total per gallon batch?

4.) If I put sugar, rhubarb and water in a bucket (without yeast) for 2-3 days..... what keeps it from becoming a bacteria festival of infection?

5.)Adding "campden every other racking"..... So, does that mean add it for the first racking into secondary? Or does it mean I added it to primary and not at secondary and then again at tertiary.... etc. And, If I am doing 3 gallons - 3 tablets each time?

Thanks for the help - Want this one to turn out better than my initial attempt at wine making.
 
Here's my take. Others may differ.

1) I personally add both, but 1 box of light raisins (15 oz) and 1 can of white grape concentrate (11 oz, yes by the other juices) for 6 gallons that becomes 5
2) Triple, everything is scaled but the yeast
3) I personally add as much water as I can fit in primary during the 2-3 day soak. Theoretically you should get more sugar transfer the more dilute the solution you have. You will always lose quite a bit of volume when you pull the rhubarb out at the end of the soak. Then I top up to the recommended water levels and OG
4) The camden you added initially keeps bacteria and bugs from multiplying and should suffocate them
5) I only add camden when racking from secondary to tertiary. As the yeast is still fermenting the last sugars when you rack from loosley covered primary to secondary with an airlock.
 
Braufessor said:
Ok - Getting ready to do this on Saturday, and I am a total newb to wine making so I have a few (dumb) questions. I have made one batch of wine.....errrrrr...... vinegar about 12 years ago. I think we will make 3.5-4 gallons with the hopes of eventually getting 3 gallons into a 3 gallon better bottle for secondary/tertiary..... (assuming there will be loss at rackings, etc.)

1.)White grape concentrate/or raisins..... is this just the frozen juice concentrate that you would find by orange juice in the grocery store? Is there a preference between the concentrate and the raisins?

2.) Yeast Nutrient..... Do I triple the yeast nutrient for 3 gallons even though I am not tripling the yeast?

3.) When you put the initial fruit in primary it says to dissolve sugar in "a little" boiling water and pour over rhubarb and later it says: after a couple days "remove rhubarb and add rest of ingredients with cold water"...... So..... I am NOT adding the 7 pints of water/per gallon batch to this primary?
How much water do I put in with the rhubarb? Do i subtract that from the "7 pints" total per gallon batch?

4.) If I put sugar, rhubarb and water in a bucket (without yeast) for 2-3 days..... what keeps it from becoming a bacteria festival of infection?

5.)Adding "campden every other racking"..... So, does that mean add it for the first racking into secondary? Or does it mean I added it to primary and not at secondary and then again at tertiary.... etc. And, If I am doing 3 gallons - 3 tablets each time?

Thanks for the help - Want this one to turn out better than my initial attempt at wine making.
Click to expand...

1. Yep, the welch's "niagara" concentrate is fine- but if you get the "white wine concentrate" from the brew store, that's even better. I don't love the raisins in this, but they are definitely body builders if you don't use the grape concentrate.

2. Yes, but this wine seems to do just fine even without the nutrients (yeast do well with the sugar, rhubarb, and grape concentrate) so don't sweat it too much.

3. Just get to about your batch size, you don't have to really measure it that close. In my ale pail, I top up to my a bit taller than my batch size, realizing that when I remove the rhubarb, the level will drop.

4. The campden.

5. Without an S02 meter, I'm trying to guestimate the amount of S02 in the wine. Using 50 ppm is pretty standard, but still less than commercial wines, so using it at every other racking and at bottling is a pretty good guestimate in my opinion. Don't sweat it too much. If it's been a while since you've added it, and you're racking, then go ahead and use some. If you just racked last month and have a ton of lees so you're racking again, you're probably good.
 
Great - thanks for the help. Got everything I need I think - including the white wine concentrate from my LHBS. Hopefully, it all goes according to plan. I set a really low bar, 12+ years ago, with my "backyard concord grape/garbage can wine." Time to redeem myself:mug:
 
Mine is in my basement (and I'm north of you). However our basement is currently sitting at 68-70. I have a digital thermometer stuck to my primary that is reading between 70-72F. Wine can be fermented warmer than beer and seems to be more forgiving than beer. I would imagine wild fluctuations for temperature would be bad, so try and keep it consistent.

I will likely rack to secondary with an airlock tonight after confirming the drop in gravity.
 
Yooper said:
Sure, and it might be great without it. I like it for some of the "bite" to keep the wine from being bland but it's certainly not necessary.
Click to expand...

I agree with Yooper. Rhubarb wine is often pleasantly acidic, so unlikely to be bland but your local home brew store will have tannins (some come from wine and others come from chestnuts). You might also consider adding some oak.
 
.....Well, I though I was done with my questions. But then I walked by my fermenting bucket of wine and it smelled like a rotten egg. I actually thought my dogs were having ..... issues.... at first. I pitched yeast about 2 days ago or so. The strong sulfur smell has me a little worried. Is this normal? If it is not normal - will it ferment out like it does in beer? It was the montrachet yeast as called for. Fermenter is sitting in room with temp. between 68-70.
 
Montrachet has a tendency to create H2S in the presence of sulphur. Did you perhaps use a sulphur based anti-fungal dust/spray on or near your rhubarb? Could also be a lack of yeast nutrient.

I have used Montrachet 4 or 5 times and only had a problem with H2S once in an apfelwein batch. Turned out okay, though not as good as my first batch.
 
No sulphur that that I know of.... I did some more digging on line and saw several suggestions to aerate it - dumping back and forth between pails, etc. I did not do that..... but I stirred the hell out of it several times. The vigorous stirring brought a lot of CO2 out of solution and the off-gassing seemed to take the "rotten egg" smell with it. It smells more like bread and rhubarb/fruit now...... Hopefully I caught it quick and the aeration helped dissipate the odor from the wine.
 
thanks for this thread and recipe, Yooper! I just did my own version of this adding some tart cherries - both for taste and a bit for color (because I perceive the best rhubarb as being red or having hints of red)
 
Well I got 11 lbs from our rhubarb patch and my father in law pitched in the final 4 lbs. Got things started today for 5 gallon batch. I just re-read the whole thread and I'm very excited for this wine.
 
progmac said:
thanks for this thread and recipe, Yooper! I just did my own version of this adding some tart cherries - both for taste and a bit for color (because I perceive the best rhubarb as being red or having hints of red)
Click to expand...

Let me know how it turns out! My friend made "rhuberry" wine last year- using rhubarb, blueberry, and a few strawberries and it was unbelieveably good!

Helly said:
Well I got 11 lbs from our rhubarb patch and my father in law pitched in the final 4 lbs. Got things started today for 5 gallon batch. I just re-read the whole thread and I'm very excited for this wine.
Click to expand...

I hope you like it as much as we do.
 
Rhubarb is in the freezer and I'm pretty stoked to give this recipe a go. Just a question or two? I'm making 1 gallon. I cut the rhubarb into 1 to 2 inch pieces before freezing. Should I go smaller? I have bulk potassium metabisulphite instead of campden. Any suggestions on how many grams I should use in place of 1 tab? And finally, is it best 1 year after starting, or after 1 year in the bottle? Thanks!
 
Oh, and, what do you top up with? I'm sure these questions have all been answered in the previous 20ish pages. I did read them, but it has been a while. :sly:
 
progmac said:
thanks for this thread and recipe, Yooper! I just did my own version of this adding some tart cherries - both for taste and a bit for color (because I perceive the best rhubarb as being red or having hints of red)
Click to expand...

I did that last year and it turned out wonderfully! The cherries gave it an awesome color and just a hint of sour cherry. I have 2 batches of normal rhubarb wine going this year, one is taking a really really long time to clear but the other is looking just fine. I'm going to try a rhubarb apple here as well to empty the freezer out. Yummy stuff.
 
truvr said:
Rhubarb is in the freezer and I'm pretty stoked to give this recipe a go. Just a question or two? I'm making 1 gallon. I cut the rhubarb into 1 to 2 inch pieces before freezing. Should I go smaller? I have bulk potassium metabisulphite instead of campden. Any suggestions on how many grams I should use in place of 1 tab? And finally, is it best 1 year after starting, or after 1 year in the bottle? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Let's see. 1/4 teaspoon of k-meta powder is for 6 gallons, so 1/8 teaspoon would work for 3 gallons. It'd be tough to measure 1/16 teaspoon, though. You could mix up 1/8 teaspoon in 3 teaspooons water, stir it well and use 1 teaspoon of the solution in your must. By my quick and rough math, that would be about right.


truvr said:
Oh, and, what do you top up with? I'm sure these questions have all been answered in the previous 20ish pages. I did read them, but it has been a while. :sly:
Click to expand...

I think it's fruity and dry like a pinot grigio, but it really doesn't matter that much.
 
Have you ever had a problem with this clearing? I started a batch in July and have racked four times, adding sparkalloid the final time last week since I was getting very little sediment but has not clear any
 
My batch is starting to clear. I racked it today. Tastes great already.

I inherited 5 more pounds of rhubarb and I've got some strawberries frozen from last year. Anyone do a strawberry/rhubarb wine? Meaning throw it all together to ferment, not blending at the end when finished? I'm thinking of trying 5 lb rhubarb, 5 lb strawberries and make a 3 gallon batch. Has anyone tried something like this? Any guidance? Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Goofy,

Sounds like a lot of racking. The one unfortunate thing with fruit/country wines is they take a long time to clear and age properly. Usually 9-12 months. Not only will the yeast eventually give it up and fall out, but the taste will really start to pop around the 10-12 month mark. After mine ferments out in primary and secondary, I rack into tertiary and let it sit until early spring. Then I rack it one more time and wait for it to be completely clear, then bottle. Usually is about 10-11 months old at that point.

Helly,

My first rhubarb wine was 15 lbs rhubarb, 3 lbs straberries. It was quite delicious, so I'd say go for it! Could have used a little more strawberry, maybe 13 lbs rhubarb/5 lbs strawberry or even 12/6. Second year was rhubarb/peach (drinking this year, also good). Next years batch is in tertiary with a mix of blueberries/blackberries/raspberries/strawberry. I think about 5 lbs worth.
 
Thanks solbes. I will do some experimenting. I think I'm gonna do the rhubarb/strawberry first. I wasn't planning on making as much wine this year but I fell into a lot of rhubarb and just discovered grapes and crab apples on my parents property and I'm anxious to try a batch with each of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I just pitched the yeast this morning. My pre-pitch SG was 1.083. It occurred to me after that this was probably a little low. If it ferments out to 1.000 my ABV will be just under 11%. I think I ended up with a little too much volume. Anyway, my question is, should I add more sugar solution to up the SG so my final ABV is closer to 12% for the extended aging? And if so, how much would you add? :/ Thanks.
 
truvr said:
I just pitched the yeast this morning. My pre-pitch SG was 1.083. It occurred to me after that this was probably a little low. If it ferments out to 1.000 my ABV will be just under 11%. I think I ended up with a little too much volume. Anyway, my question is, should I add more sugar solution to up the SG so my final ABV is closer to 12% for the extended aging? And if so, how much would you add? :/ Thanks.
Click to expand...

I would plan on your wine getting to .988-.992, so that will boost it a tad more. Maybe just a tad more sugar to get it to 12-12.5%. Looking back at my records I have been in the 13-13.6% range. Maybe a tad strong, but not much detectable alcohol tastes after the 12 months it takes to get to bottling.
 
solbes said:
I would plan on your wine getting to .988-.992, so that will boost it a tad more. Maybe just a tad more sugar to get it to 12-12.5%. Looking back at my records I have been in the 13-13.6% range. Maybe a tad strong, but not much detectable alcohol tastes after the 12 months it takes to get to bottling.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I decided to let it ride, mostly because the yeast was already active and I had no idea how much extra sugar to add without overdoing it. As you stated though, if it gets down to 0.992 it will be just a hair under 12%. So it should be good.
 
I just started a 5gal batch. Let 10 lbs of frozen chopped rhubarb stems sit on 4lbs of sugar for 4 days, pressed the juice out and added 6 lbs sugar and 3gal of water for full volume of 5.5 gal O.G. 1.080 also added 5 tsp ea. yeast nutrient and energiser. Yeast lavlin EC-1118. Plan to rack into carboy from bucket off the lees in 1mo. Est. A.B.V. 10%


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I have a 1 gal. Batch of Peach Rhubarb that is 1 1/2 years old still a little hazy I am going to add some more pectin enzyme to see if it will clear
 
johngottshall said:
I have a 1 gal. Batch of Peach Rhubarb that is 1 1/2 years old still a little hazy I am going to add some more pectin enzyme to see if it will clear
Click to expand...

Have you tried bentonite? May be a little late for the clay because it benefits from the action of the yeast producing CO2 - so the particles are in constant motion picking up and collecting more and more of the particulates. (if I use benotonite, I generally add this to the primary or just after racking to the secondary)
 

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