If you have a lot of apples, making cider is the obvious option, but you can also make wine from apples, especially if you only have a carrier bag full. The process is a little different and you will get a very different finished product. Apple wine does not taste like cider.
Apple wine is very easy to make. Here's my recipe to make 6 bottles (4.5 litres) that is crisp, has a gentle dryness, has a slight sharpness and is very refreshing served cold. Expect flavours of citrus, apple skins, vanilla, in a dry white wine.
Ingredients
1.8kg (4lb) apples
1.4kg (3lb) sugar (possible 500g (1/2lb) less if the apples are very sweet)
6 pints of water
15 grams oak chips
1 lemon
Pectolase
Campden Tablets
White Wine yeast
Yeast Nutrient
Fermentation Stopper
Finings
Method
1 - Core the apples to remove the pips as these can make the wine bitter.
2 - Put the apples into a food processor and pulse until you have something similar to rough grated cheese. You may have to do several batches. You can grate them or if you have an apple shredder, even better.
3 - Put the apples into your fermenting bucket and add the 6 pints of water.
4 - Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
5 - Add the juice and grated rind of the lemon.
6 - Add 1 crushed campden tablet and 1 teaspoon of pectolase and stir.
7 - Loosely put on the lid and put in a warm place for 24 hours. The pectic enzyme will break down the cell walls of the apples and release their juice and flavour, while the campden tablet subdues the natural yeast.
8 - Take a sample of the juice and measure with a hydrometer and note down the reading so we can use this to work out the ABV of the finished wine.
9 - Add the oak chips, yeast nutrient and yeast. Stir and loosely cover with the lid.
10 - Put the bucket in a place that will be 18-22C for 7 days.
11 - Lift the lid on day 3 and if all the apple pulp has risen to the surface, use a sterilised spoon and gently stir to get the apple pulp back into the water. Replace the lid and leave to finish fermenting.
12 - After fermenting for 7 days, prepare another sterilised bucket and straining cloth.
13 - Strain off the pulp and keep the liquid. Squeeze the straining bag gently to release most of the liquid from the pulp.
14 - Transfer into a demi-john, fit an airlock and leave for the ferment to finish and clearing to begin.
15 - After 2 weeks in the demi-john. Check the specific gravity with a hydrometer and if it is 0.996, then it is ready for clearing.
16 - Add the fermentation stopper as per the instructions and 1 crushed campden tablet. Swirl the wine in the demi-john so as to knock out any dissolved CO2.
17 - Swirl the demi-john 3 times a day for 2 days so that all the yeast are killed and there is no more CO2 dissolved in the wine.
18 - Add your finings as per their instructions and leave to clear.
19 - Once clear, bottle and lay down for 4 months.
Then put one in the fridge, pop it open and enjoy.
Cheers. I hope you enjoy making my apple wine recipe.