You might think this is going to be a really tart wine, but you'll be surprised. The sharp acids balance with the gentle sweetness and the 14% ABV to give a really refreshing white wine.
Drink this chilled on a hot summers day and it will be truly delicious!
Ingredients:
- 6 Lemons
- 1kg Granulated sugar
- 250g Brewing Sugar
- 1 Mangrove Jacks CL23 Yeast
- 1tsp Yeast Nutrient
- 1tsp Pectolase
- 1 Campden Tablet (crushed)
- 2 Pints boiling water
- 5 1/2 Pints Cold Tap Water
- 500ml White Wine Enhancer
- 1/2 teaspoon Fermentation Stopper
- Finings
Equipment: (We have a fruit wine starter kit if needed)
Brewing Bucket
Demi-John with Air-Lock
Siphon
Straining Bag
Steriliser
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Bottles & Corks & Corker
Grater
Jug
Method
Sterilise your fermenting bucket.
Using a grater, remove the rind from the lemons, being careful not to take any of the white pith as that will make your wine bitter.
Cut the lemons in half and juice the lemons. Add the juice and the bits (less any pips) to the fermenting bucket.
While juicing, put the kettle on to boil as we need 2 pints boiling water
Add the sugar to the fermentation bucket
Add the boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Once dissolved add the 500ml White Wine Enhancer and stir.
Add the 5 1/2 pints of cold tap water and stir.
Check the temperature, it should be near 20°C.
Take a Specific Gravity (SG) reading with your hydrometer and make a note of the reading for calculating the alcohol content.
Add the pectolase, yeast nutrient and stir.
Add the packet of CL23 yeast and stir.
Cover with the lid and place in a warm place (25°C) for 5-7 days until fermentation is complete.
Syphon the wine into a Demi-John being careful not to disturb the sediment at the bottom of the bucket.
Fit an airlock (1/5 filled with water) and put back in the warm place for another week or until no more bubbles pass through the airlock.
- To be sure fermentation is complete, check the lemon wine with a hydrometer to make sure the specific gravity is below 1.000 (ideally 0.996). If not leave for another week.
Syphon the wine off the sediment into a clean sterilised demijohn.
Add 1 crushed campden tablet and 1/2 teaspoon Fermentation Stopper, then put the airlock back in.
Swirl the wine for 1 minute. This will knock out any CO2 dissolved in the wine. You are not trying to mix air in, so make sure you do not create a vortex or splash the wine. The gas should escape through the airlock.
Swirl the wine around again for 3 more times leaving 5 mins in between each swirling.
Leave for 2 days giving 3 x 1 minute swirls each day.
After 2 days, add the finings as per the instructions and then put the demi-john somewhere cool to start the clearing process.
Leave to clear. It can take anywhere from 24 - 72 hours for the wine to clear.
Once clear rack the wine off the sediment into a clean sterilised demijohn.
We recommend filtering your wine before bottling using a Harris Mark III filter to remove any microscopic particles. This helps remove any yeasty homebrew flavours.
Bottle the wine.
Store for 3 - 6 months in the bottles to condition.
Chill and then pop open a bottle of lemon wine and enjoy.
If you find it is a little sharp, then decant the bottle of wine in to a carafe, add 1 -2 teaspoons of granulated sugar and swirl until dissolved, then serve. The sugar will balance the acidity.
If you want to make more than 4.5 litres (6 bottles) then adjust the quantities accordingly.
Cheers & Happy brewing.