What is the alcohol content of rhubarb wine?

In this recipe, we will give you all the information you need to turn rhubarb stalks into a delicious wine that can be enjoyed in summer as well as on cold winter evenings. If you follow the instructions and quantities carefully, you will obtain a dry, slightly sparkling wine with an alcohol content of about 10% .

How to make perfect wine?

Thoroughly mash fruit, add four crushed Campden tablets, cover with cheesecloth and allow container to stand four hours at room temperature. Add 10 cups sugar syrup, lemon juice, tea and yeast and allow seven days to ferment at a temperature between 60-70º F, stirring thoroughly twice daily.

How long do you leave wine to ferment?

The first, and most important, step is the fermentation process, which happens when the yeast eats sugar, either in the fermentables or that you've added, and converts it into alcohol. Fermentation takes roughly two to three weeks to complete fully, but the initial ferment will finish within seven to ten days.

What sugar is best for wine making?

Most commonly, granulated sugar is used when wines need added sugar since it doesn't need to be broken down first like complex sugars. Virtually any type of sugar can be used by winemakers who want to experiment with different textures and sweetness levels. This includes brown sugar, molasses, honey, syrups, and more!

What makes wine delicious?

The wine's aroma and its balance are key. Great wines not only taste good but also smell good. The balance between acid, tannins, and the aroma have been carefully considered to create the wine's unique character, texture, and rich signatures.

How do I know if fermentation is complete?

The surest way to establish whether or not a fermentation is complete is by measuring the specific gravity . You can do this using either a hydrometer or a refractometer.

What happens if you let wine ferment too long?

Another thing that can happen is that the fermentation completes, and the yeast cake falls to the bottom of the fermenter and is left there too long and begins to decay . This “autolysis” can leave off flavors.

How do I know when fermentation is complete wine?

A lot of beginning winemakers will use the airlock to make a determination. They see that the airlock is not longer bubbling and figure this is when the fermentation is done.

What happens if you put too much sugar in homemade wine?

However, overloading the must with sugar can overwhelm the yeast and make it difficult for fermentation to begin .

Does adding sugar to wine make it sweeter?

Yes, you can use sugar to sweeten your wine in a pinch . We don't recommend it because even with the use of metabisulphite it is possible that there are still some active yeast cells left. Sugar is easy for the yeast to ferment, so it might lead to a carbonation issue in your wine.

Should rhubarb wine be refrigerated?

Fruit wines should be served cool, similar to a white grape wine. The ideal serving temperature would be between 7ºC and 9ºC. This helps to bring out the fresh fruit qualities of the wine. Keep them refrigerated .

What wine has a high alcohol content?

If you're looking for a wine that has a very high alcohol content, here are a few that are more than 14.5%. White wines include fortified French Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Portuguese Madeira, and Spanish sherry. As for reds, these include California Sirah and Zinfandel, Italian Amarone, and fortified Portuguese port.

Rhubarb Wine Recipe - How to Make A Delicious Rhubarb Wine (2024)

Rhubarb Wine Recipe - How to Make A Delicious Rhubarb Wine (1)

Rhubarb wine is actually a vegetable wine, although, rhubarb is a vegetable that is almost always used like you would a fruit.

The sharp tartness is a great quality that really shines through in a country wine so this rhubarb wine recipe is a definite winner.

Most people will be familiar with rhubarb in the form of rhubarb Crumble.

Table of Contents

Balance Acidity In Rhubarb Wine

Plenty of sugar helps to restrain the acidity and tartness of the rhubarb. If you like the taste of rhubarb then you’ll be pleased to know the flavour comes through in the finished wine.

The reason why rhubarb is so tart is that the stems contain an excess amount of oxalic acid.

This is also the reason why some people have an aversion to rhubarb. Too much oxalic acid is bad for wine yeast and may result in poor fermentation so we will take this into account when preparing the recipe.

Reducing the amount of acid is a fairly simple process of making a small addition of chalk which causes a reaction and reduces the acidity in the wine. Apart from this one small step, the process is the same as almost any country wine recipe.

It should be noted that rhubarb leaves should not be used in wine or eaten. The levels of oxalic acid are far too high and can in fact be poisonous (you would have to eat a lot for it to be problematic).

The stems are perfectly edible and can be used in the wine. Rhubarb is always sold without leaves so it’s only really an issue if you are picking your own rhubarb..

Rhubarb Wine Recipe - How to Make A Delicious Rhubarb Wine (2)

Using Rhubarb In A Wine

Rhubarb has two crops in a year, the first crop is forced rhubarb and is grown earlier in the year, around January to February.

The stems and leaves are grown under pots and the result is a pale pink stem that is more delicately flavoured and tender.

The second crop of rhubarb is grown outside and arrives from late March until June, the resulting crop is slightly hardier and darker in colour and contains more oxalic acid than the forced rhubarb.

This stronger flavour may be less desirable to cook with but is still great to make wine with.

Later in the season, some rhubarb stems can become a bit tough and stringy which makes these stems less desirable to eat but still fantastic to make wine with. If you grow rhubarb yourself then consider using the larger and tougher stems to make wine.

Making Rubarb Wine

What You’ll Need To Make Rhubarb Wine – Makes 1 gallon / 4.5 litres

The equipment you’ll need to make this rhubarb wine is fairly straightforward if you’ve made wine before you may have everything you need below:

Fermenting Bucket
Demijohns
Large Pan
Syphon
Fine Straining Bag
Airlock & Bung

Rhubarb Wine Recipe Ingredients

1.5kg – 2kg of Rhubarb Stalks
1.2kg Sugar
250g Chopped Raisins
1/4 tsp Wine Tannin
1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
1 Campden Tablet
1 tsp Calcium Carbonate (Precipitated Chalk)

Rhubarb Wine Method

In a clean and sanitised fermentation bucket add the rhubarb stalks cut up into inch pieces and chopped raisins to a straining bag. Break up the rhubarb slightly with the end of a rolling pin, just enough to split the stalks, you don’t need to completely mash them.
In a pan combine the sugar with 1.9 litres of water and bring to the boil. Once boiling turn off the heat and pour over the ingredients in the straining bag. Top up the fermenter with cold water to 4.5 litres in total. When the mixture is cool add the Campden tablet, stir thoroughly and let stand for 48 hours.
After 48 hours lift out the straining bag and squeeze out the juice. Into the remaining liquid add 1/4 tsp of Calcium Carbonate (Precipitated Chalk) every 30 minutes stirring thoroughly. The mixture will fizz as the chalk reacts with the oxalic acid.
After this step add the pectic enzyme, stir and leave for 24 hours.
After 24 hours add the tannin along with the yeast nutrient, mix thoroughly and then sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the must.
Allow to ferment for two weeks before racking to a demijohn to allow the wine to condition and clear. Leave in the demijohn for a few months until completely clear racking to a new demijohn when necessary. Check these steps for more information on racking and maturing wine.
Rhubarb wine is best left for the best part of a year before enjoying, maybe open a bottle once every few months to see what I mean.