Cherry Wine

Whether you use morello, sweet, or wild cherries, cherry wine is a delight — fruity, perfumed, and beautifully coloured.

Cherry Wine (4.5L / 1 Gallon)

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg cherries (stoned — morello or mixed varieties)
• 1.1 kg white sugar
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1 tsp pectolase
• 1 tsp acid blend (reduce to ½ tsp for morello)
• 1 Campden tablet
• 1 sachet red wine yeast
• Water to 4.5 litres

Instructions

Day 1: Stone the cherries thoroughly — the stones add bitterness and are mildly toxic in large quantities. Place in a bucket with 2 litres of boiling water and mash. Dissolve sugar and add. Top up. Add Campden tablet. Cover for 24 hours.

Day 2: Add pectolase, yeast nutrient, acid blend. Check SG (aim 1.085). Add yeast.

Days 2–5: Stir daily.

Day 5: Strain into demijohn.

Maturation: Cherry wine at 9 months is lovely — light, fruity, perfumed. At 18 months it's deeper and more complex.

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