Pomegranate wine is produced in very few places in the world, one of which is Sicily. Its exotic and delicious flavor makes it a great alternative to traditional wine. Pomegranate wine also offers several health benefits and studies have shown that it contains a higher amount of antioxidants than red wine made from grapes. If you fancy a taste of pomegranate wine, get the tools you need and get started right away.
Ingrediants
- 6 pomegranates
- 4 liters of boiling water
- 450 g of raisins, chopped
- 900 g of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of acid (e.g. lactic acid) or a mixture of acids
- 1 teaspoon of pectic enzyme (pectinase)
- 1 Campden tablet (sodium or potassium metabisulfite tablets)
- 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrients (nitrogen nutrients for fermentation)
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare Tools and Ingredients
Step 1. Get and wash your wine making tools
You can buy them online or at a store that sells wine and beer making equipment. Before starting, clean all tools and bottles, but do not use soap, as it may leave residues. The ideal is to use hot water and scrub the equipment with a sturdy brush. If you want, you can use a solution prepared with 50 ml of bleach and 1 liter of water as a disinfectant. To prepare pomegranate wine you need:
- An 8 l glass or earthenware container.
- A long wooden spoon.
- A 4 liter demijohn.
- A fermenter (or bubbler) cap.
- A wine rack.
- Clean wine bottles with cork or screw cap.
Step 2. Wash and cut the pomegranates
Choose them heavy and with an intense red skin. If they are small, you can increase the number. Wash them, cut them in half and extract all the seeds (called arils).
Discard the peel, the fibrous part and the inner membranes, as they have a bitter taste
Step 3. Blend and sterilize the seeds
Place them in the food processor or blender and chop them, then transfer them to a crock or glass container for fermentation. The seeds should be sterilized using a Campden tablet, which is a sodium or potassium metabisulphite tablet. Dissolve it in part of the blended seeds (500 g) before placing them in the container.
At this point you have to wait 4 hours to give the tablet time to act
Step 4. Add the other ingredients
Pour 4 liters of boiling water into the container with the blended seeds. Also add 450 g of chopped raisins (choose organic, to avoid sulphites), 900 g of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of acid and a teaspoon of pectic enzyme (pectinase). Mix the ingredients and let the mixture sit until it reaches room temperature.
The mixture obtained is called must. The next steps are that of fermentation and filtering
Part 2 of 3: Fermenting the Pomegranate Wine
Step 1. Activate the yeasts and add them to the wort
Dissolve one teaspoon of yeast nutrients (nitrogen nutrients for fermentation) in 250ml of filtered wort. When the nutrients are completely dissolved, pour the wort portion into the container.
The purpose of the nutrients is to keep the yeasts healthy during fermentation
Step 2. Let the wort rest
Cover the container and store it in a place where the temperature remains stably between 16 and 21 ° C. At this point the must must rest for about 5 days. Mix it 2-3 times a day to incorporate the solid parts that float to the surface with the rest of the mixture. At this stage the liquid will begin to turn reddish.
You can cover the container with a wooden lid or muslin cloth secured with a rubber band. In this way you will protect the wort from insects without obstructing the passage of air
Step 3. Filter the wort
When bubbles form sporadically, you can remove the solid parts from the wort and transfer it to a glass demijohn. You can now plug the container with a fermenter (or bubbler) cap. More than a cork, it is a valve that allows carbon dioxide to escape and prevents oxygen from entering (which could ruin the wine). Let the pomegranate wine rest like this for a month.
In the absence of this type of cap you can attach a balloon or a latex glove to the neck of the demijohn. Pierce it 4 or 5 times with a pin and attach it to the neck of the demijohn with adhesive tape. In this way the gases will escape, but the oxygen will not be able to enter the container
Step 4. Filter the wine
You need to transfer it to a clean container to deprive it of sediment. This step must be carried out repeatedly during the fermentation phase to obtain a limpid and not cloudy wine. Place the pourer over the mouth of the demijohn and attach it to the second container to transfer the wine. You will need to decant the wine:
- The first time after 1 month.
- Then after 4 months.
- Finally after 7 months.
Part 3 of 3: Bottle and Serve Pomegranate Wine
Step 1. Prepare the bottle
Bottle the pomegranate wine to serve it comfortably on the table. You can use empty wine bottles by collecting them during the fermentation and maturation period. Alternatively, you can buy them in the same shop where you bought the wine making equipment.
The classic bottle of wine is 750ml, so you will need about 5 for every 4 liters of homemade pomegranate wine
Step 2. Bottle the wine
When the fermentation process is complete and you have racked the wine several times to make it clear, it is time to bottle it. Normally this step takes place one year after you started making wine. Use the pourer to transfer the wine into the bottles and remember to leave about 5cm of space for the cork.
During racking, be careful not to mix or move the wine too much, to avoid moving the sediments, otherwise it will become cloudy
Step 3. Cap the bottles
Immerse the caps in the water in which you dissolved a Campden tablet to sterilize them and insert them more easily into the bottles. You can cap the bottles by hand or by using a capping machine. If you intend to insert the caps by hand, leave them to soak for 15 minutes. If the machine does the job, it will take a few minutes. Place the cap on the opening of the bottle and press it down firmly by pushing with the shoulder muscles.
You may find the capping machine for hire at one of the shops that sell wine and beer making tools. This is especially useful if this is your first time making pomegranate wine at home. You may decide to buy one in the future if you intend to prepare it regularly
Step 4. Let the wine rest for a year
Generally, pomegranate wine can be drunk 12-18 months after the bottling date. Try tasting it one year after you bottled it. If you have prepared many bottles, consider tasting it after about 6 months: you may find that it is already drinkable.
Pomegranate wine has a limited shelf life. Like most wines made from fruit, it should be drunk within 3-5 years from the bottling date
Advice
- Try mixing pomegranate wine with vodka to create a fruity and delicious cocktail.
- It is often possible to find earthenware or glass containers for wine in antique shops or second-hand flea markets. Keep in mind that they may have used them to make sauerkraut or to ferment other vegetables and if so they could contaminate the wine.
