Maple wine is yummy!

Back in mid April, maple syrup season started here in upstate NY. I visited an open house at a local sugaring farm and picked up a 1/2 gallon of extra dark maple syrup. I used it to make up a batch of maple wine.
I transferred it to secondary today (4/22) and tasted the gravity sample. Wow! Very good stuff. Tastes just like maple candy with only a hint of an alcohol bite to it. 14.7% abv and finished slightly dry at 0.998. The color is a nice amber, but still a little cloudy. Hoping it clears up with some aging. I think I will be making a larger batch when I can afford enough syrup.


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Care to share the recipe?

Ya, no problem.

This is for a 1.5 gallon batch.

5.5# (1/2 gal) extra dark maple syrup
1 gallon water
1/2 Tbsp yeast nutrient
1/2 Tbsp yeast energizer
2 pkg US-05 yeast

Heat water to 160F
Add nutrient, energizer, and 3.5# of syrup.
Cool to under 80F and transfer to fermenter
Pitch both pkg of yeast
De-gas daily for a week
Add remaining 2# of syrup, swirl fermenter to mix
Allow to ferment out(mine took 3 1/2 weeks)

Heating the water is not required, but I did it to aid dissolving the syrup and nutrients as well as ensuring any organisms in my well water were killed off.

This can be scaled up by using one part maple syrup to 2 parts water. Add extra nutrients and yeast as you see fit.