How to make Pumpkin Wine
Pumpkin wine is usually made up of fresh pumpkin pulp, water, sugar and optional spices into a fermenter, later adding yeast. Generally, the process takes about a year in total with several filtrations and refermenting periods. It is indeed a legit wine due to the fermentation process but clearly not one we are used to seeing very much of.
Pumpkin wine has become somewhat of a trend nowadays and bottles can reach prices that are comparable to those of some pretty relevant grape-based wines. Pumpkin wines generally tend to run sweet and go best with dishes such as citrus-based pilaf dishes or blue cheese dishes.
Now as much as we love following wine trends and trying all the latest in wine varieties, pumpkin winemaking is not exactly a craft with a solid history to it. At least not as much as grape variety wines. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy a bottle or two.
Pumpkin Wine Recipe
Adapted from http://scorpius.spaceports.com/~goodwine/pumpkinwine.htm
Ingredients
- 8 cups pumpkin
- 1 pound raisins (I used golden)
- 1–4 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 inch fresh ginger root
- 1 whole nutmeg
- 1 gallon water, boiling
- 5 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
- 3 teaspoon acid blend (Pumpkins are low acid, so you need to add acid to promote proper fermentation. See below.)
- 1 package wine yeast
Directions — First Ferment
Wash, trim, peel and chop (or grind) the pumpkin. Place in primary fermentor. (I used my three gallon crock.) Add raisins, spices and boiling water. Let sit overnight.
I peeled and shredded my pumpkin and mixed it with the raisins before adding the spices.
pumpkin wine ingredients
Add all other ingredients except yeast.
Stir well to dissolve sugar. Specific gravity should be between 1.090 and 1.095. Sprinkle yeast over the mixture and stir. Stir daily for three to five days, until specific gravity is 1.040. (I bought a hydrometer but not a graduated cylinder, so I skipped this step. If you would like to see how to measure specific gravity using a hydrometer, check here.)
The mix will get nice and bubbly, and should have a pleasant, mildly yeasty smell.
At the end of this first ferment, the pumpkin will have turned to mush and the grapes will be plump.
Strain the must and squeeze out as much juice as you can.
Second Ferment
Siphon pumpkin wine into secondary fermentor, make up to volume with water and attach airlock. You can see at this point the wine is very cloudy — not terribly appealing. I used a glass gallon jug with a plug type airlock.
Final Aging
For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.
For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle.
Meanwhile, the wine is sitting, covered, in a corner of the kitchen, and the particulates have settled very nicely — no more cloudy wine.
The wine is best if you can refrain from drinking it for one full year from the date it was started, so it looks like this will be ready for next Christmas.
This is the coolest way we can think of to use the glorious orange squash, so roll up your sleeves, prepare to get messy, and whip up a batch of fragrant pumpkin wine. It’s easier than you think and only requires the above ingredients!
Pumpkin wine can be made dry or sweet depending on your palate and extra ingredients such as ginger, clove, and cinnamon sticks can be added to impart a warm spiciness. This is a great use for any extra pumpkins you have lying around and will be a treat to enjoy at Thanksgiving with family friends.
Credit: Commonsensehome
Originally published at thefinestitalianwine.com on November 1, 2018.