Quince Wine

Third in the Series

This is a nice dry wine with hints of pear and apple in its flavor. For those who have never seen a quince tree, the fruit is yellow to yellow-green---it resembles a pear in color, though it doesn't have the classic pear shape. (The fruit looks something like a fat doughnut, with depressions where the whole should be on either end.)

Makes 1 Gallon

20 ripe quinces
2 1/4 pounds sugar
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 Campden tablet
1 package wine yeast
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 1/2 cups orange juice at room temperature


Grate the quinces as near the core as possible. Boil the grated peel and pulp in enough water to cover, for a maximum of 15 minutes. (Don't over cook the fruit or you may have trouble clearing the wine.)

Strain the mixture and pour the juice onto the sugar in fermenter. Add the juice and zest of the lemons. Let the mixture cool then add the pectic enzyme. Add a capmden tablet and let the mixture sit, well covered for 24 hours.

In a jar, make a yeast starter culture by combining the wine yeast, yeast nutrient, and orange juice. Cover, shake vigorously, and let stand 1 to 3 hours, until bubly; then add to must.

Add enough water to make 1 gallon and allow the mixture to ferment for 48 hours. Rack into an airlocked fermenter and let the wine ferment to completion (about nine months), racking at intervals as needed to clear the wine. When you are sure that fermentation is complete, bottle, cork and cellar the wine.

Age for at least six months before sampling.



Technorati Tags: Wine, Winemaking, Quince, Recipe