Rhubarb Wine Recipe

Rhubarb Wine Recipe

Follow our recipe on how to make Rhubarb Wine to create a fantastic, delicate, refreshing wine, that is almost clear, with a beautiful pink hue.

This is using a "no cook" method, we also have another rhubarb wine recipe where you stew the rhubarb to extract the flavours and it creates a similar wine, but it has a different mouthfeel, a little more acidity and makes a different wine.

If you have enough rhubarb, why not make both recipes.

Serve chilled, it's great on its own or with a zesty salad, Cajun chicken or something spicy.

It's easy to make and gets rid off all that rhubarb.

Ingredients:-

To Make 6 bottles (4.5 litres) of white wine from rhubarb, you will need:

1.4kg (3lb) Rhubarb Stalks. The omore rhubarb you use, the better the flavour
750g Supermarket (granulated) sugar
750g Brewing Sugar
8 Pints Boiling Water
Campden Tablets
1tsp Pectolase x 2
1/4tsp Acid Blend
Fermentation Stopper
Wine Finings
Yeast Nutrient
Mangrove Jacks MA33 Yeast

Scroll down to see what equipment we'll need.

Equipment:-

Some essential equipment is needed to be sure of a good fermentation and a drinkable finished wine.

If you are new to wine making and need the equipment to make this recipe, then we have a wine making starter package which will be perfect for making this wine recipe.

To Make 6 bottles of Rhubarb Wine, you will need:

Scroll down to see how to make this recipe.

Method:-

WARNING - DO NOT USE THE LEAVES - THEY ARE POISONOUS!

Remember to sterilise all equipment before use.

1 - Chop the stalks into 1 inch sticks and with a rolling pin, hit them to break them up a little.

2 - Place the bruised rhubarb in the bucket.

3 - Mix the Acid Blend, Pectolase and sugars then cover the rhubarb with the sugar mix.

4 - Put the lid on the bucket and put somewhere warm (approx 20°C) for 24 hours. This will allow the sugar to draw out the juices from the rhubarb.

5 - After 24 hours pour on the 8 pints of boiling water and stir until any remaining sugar is dissolved.

6 - Cover and leave to cool to 20°C.

7 - Once cool, take a hydrometer reading and save this for later.

8 - Stir in the 2nd teaspoon of pectolase and the yeast and yeast nutrient.

9 - Put the lid on loosely and transfer to somewhere warm (approx 20°C) for 7 days, stirring daily.

10 - After 7 days, strain into another bucket through the muslin bag, to remove most of the rhubarb.

11 - Transfer the liquid into a demi-john to the top of the shoulder. Fit a bung and airlock (half filled with steriliser water) and put back into your warm place (18-22°C) to allow for the the fermentation to complete. This can take up to 4 weeks.

12 - Once the fermentation has completed take another hydrometer reading. This should be below 1.000 (ideally around 0.996), rack the wine off the sediment into a clean, sterilised demi-john, being careful not to disturb the sediment a the bottom. If it not quite at the required SG, then put the airlock back in and leave for another week or two.

13 - Add the fermentation stopper (as per the instructions on the packet) and 1 crushed campden tablet to the wine, then replace the airlock.

14 - Swirl the wine around in the demi-john.

15 - You will notice lots of bubbles and gas being released. This is trapped CO2. This needs to be removed to aid the clearing process.

16 - Swirl the wine around in the demi-john 3 more times, swirling for 30 seconds and then leaving to settle for 5 minutes.

17 - Put the demi-john somewhere cool and where it won’t be disturbed for 2 days (preferably below 18°C) to allow the Fermentation Stopper to kill any remaining yeast.

18 - After 2 days, add the Finings (as per the instructions on the packet), then put the demi-john somewhere cool and where it won’t be disturbed for 2 weeks (preferably below 18°C) to allow the wine to clear.

19 - Bottle and cork.

20 - Ideally leave for 6 months for its full flavour potential to be reached, but this wine is good to drink after just a month in the bottle.