5 Best Homemade Wine Recipes For Christmas

Christmas is a time to be jolly, make merry, and connect with your loved ones. What better way to bond than over a bottle of wine? The season becomes even more distinctive with homemade wine since they’re spirits prepared from the hands of those you love. And if you’re looking to establish deeper connections by bonding with your loved ones while making wine, here is a list of the best homemade wine recipes for Christmas.

5 Best Homemade Wine Recipes For Christmas

1. Grape Wine
2. Apple Wine
3. Cherry Wine
4. Pineapple Wine
5. Strawberry Wine

Grape Wine

It feels good to have a glass of grape wine after a day’s work of wrapping gifts and visiting relatives. The sweet-sour taste hitting your upper palate and the warmth it brings once you consume it can be fantastically rejuvenating! You can buy grape wine pretty easily, but there’s nothing to beat the fun of making it yourself. Here is how you make this delicious and most celebrated wine at home.

Ingredients

• 1 kg black grapes
• 650-800 gm of sugar
• 1 tsp of yeast
• 1.5 liters of water
• 1 tbsp of wheat kernels

How To Make Grape Wine

1. Remove grapes from the stem, wash them, and leave them to dry.
2. Take a 3-liter porcelain jar and clean it well.
3. Put the grapes in the jar and crush them with your hands.
4. Add the other ingredients to the jar with the crushed grapes and tightly close the lid.
5. Store the jar in a dark place for a week. Ensure that it gets no sunlight.
6. After a week, stir the mixture with a wooden spoon for 21 days. Make sure you do it consistently and don’t skip any days.
7. On the 24th day, drain the wine and leave the resulting residue behind.
8. Pour the wine into colored glass bottles, refrigerate, and serve.

Also Read: 7 Best Sparkling Wine Cocktails

Apple Wine

There are a few more steps to prepare an apple wine, but the effort is worth it. Its light, sweet, and bright flavor will be the talk of any Christmas party that you serve it at. Whether you’re pairing it with turkey or mashed potatoes, its fruity flavor flows through any dish that you relish. Here’s how you can prepare this flavorsome wine.

Ingredients

• 3 kgs of red apples
• 1.3 kg of granulated sugar
• 400 gm of raisins
• 14 gm of citric acid
• White wine yeast
• Yeast nutrient
• 3.7 liters of water
• A brewing bin
• A demijohn

How To Make Apple Wine

1. Finely chop raisins and put them in a large pot.
2. Add the boiling water to the mixture, and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Let the mixture cool and then add sugar. In the meantime, cut the apples and put them into the mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into a brewing bin, and let it rest for 8 hours.
5. Add the remaining ingredients, stir for a while, and leave it for 5 days.
6. Pour the liquid into a demijohn, and store it in a cool, dry place for 3 weeks.
7. Transfer the liquid into another demijohn. Leave it for another 3 weeks.
8. Pour the liquid into clear bottles. Allow it to mature for a month and enjoy.

Also Read: The Best Foods To Pair With Red Wine

Cherry Wine

If you’re fond of wines supporting the sweet and citric side of things, then you should prepare a cherry wine. The fruity flavor cuts through any pungent dish that you eat, leaving a smooth aftertaste in your mouth. Let’s see how we can make this appetizing wine, leaving your guests impressed.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of cherries
• 1.2 kg of sugar
• 4 liters of water
• ½ tsp of yeast

How To Make Cherry Wine

1. Remove the cherries from the stalks. Wash them and let them sit to dry.
2. After that, boil the water and allow it to be warm.
3. In a large glass jar, add the cherries, sugar, and lukewarm water. Stir thoroughly. Add the yeast on top of the mix and then stir for 5 minutes.
4. Let the mixture cool down for some more time and loosely close the lid of the jar.
5. Every day for 5 minutes, stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Do this for 20 days.
6. After 20 days are done, strain the liquid with a muslin cloth and pour it into a clean glass bottle.
7. Let the wine mature for 14 more days. After that, strain the wine again and then serve.

Also Read: Cabernet Sauvignon in India: The Best Indian Red Wines

Pineapple Wine

If you feel like experimenting on your Christmas get-together, why not surprise your guests with some pineapple wine? The tangy, citric taste and yellowish appeal will be the star and that’s why you need to try making this wine. Here is how you make this remarkable concoction.

Ingredients

• 1.3 kg of pineapple with the skin and core.
• 900 grams of granulated sugar
• 400 grams of raisins
• Yeast nutrient
• White wine yeast

How To Make Pineapple Wine

1. Cut the pineapple and raisins. Toss them into a brewing bin.
2. Boil water on the side and dissolve the sugar in it. After that, let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
3. Gently pour the solution into the brewing bin in which the pineapple pieces are. Leave the solution to mix with the pineapple pieces for about 12 hours.
4. Top the mixture with wine yeast, citric acid, and yeast nutrient. Stir well and leave it for 24 hours.
5. Stir the liquid well.
6. Pour the mixture into a glass jar and store it for about a month. Make sure that you store it in a cool, dark, and dry place.
7. Strain the wine into another glass jar and leave it to mature for 2 months. Do this at least 3 times.
8. Once the liquid is clear with a yellowish tinge, that means it’s fit for consumption. That’s when you bottle it up and serve.

Also Read: 5 Best Gifts For Wine Lovers

Strawberry Wine

Wine can not only be made from traditional fruits like apples or grapes, but also by unusual ones like strawberries. Strawberry wine leans more towards the sweeter side, so if you love a bit of sweetness in your life, this is the wine to prepare. Here are the steps to make it.

Ingredients

• 3 kgs of Strawberries
• 7 liters of water
• ½ tsp of lime juice
• 2 tsp of wine yeast
• 2 kgs of sugar

How To Make Strawberry Wine

1. Clean the strawberries. Make sure there are no stems attached.
2. In a jar, mash the strawberries.
3. Pour boiling water into the jar with the mashed strawberries and cover it.
4. Add lime juice and stir quickly for about 3 minutes.
5. Now add wine yeast and let it cool for some time.
6. Use a linen cloth to cover the jar and let it rest in a cool dark area.
7. Come to the jar and stir it every day for a week.
8. After the week is done, strain the pulp through a cheesecloth into a glass jar.
9. Now add sugar to the mix and let it sit for another week. Don’t forget to stir it every day.
10. When the second week is done, pour the liquid into glass bottles and let it mature for 3 months.
11. When you hear no bubbling and see that the mixture is clear, it’s fit for consumption. Serve it to your guests now!

Summing Up

Now you know some of the best homemade wine recipes for Christmas. These recipes will make sure that your wine is the life of the party, so much so that it gets discussed even after the season of joy and merriment gets over. Also, we know it can be tempting but please don’t go overboard with the wine. Happy holidays!

FAQs

How Do I Know If My Homemade Wine Is Bad?

When you notice your wine changing texture, smelling acidic, or tasting too vinegar-ish, that’s when you know your wine has turned bad.

Can Homemade Wine Last 10 Years?

Well, maybe not up to 10 years, but surely for a few years. Just ensure that your wine is stored in a cool place and doesn’t see any sunlight.

What Happens If You Put Too Much Yeast In Wine?

It won’t have much effect on your wine and it shouldn’t be a problem. The extra yeast present in the wine will only settle in the bottle.

Do You Shake Homemade Wine?

Although it may not affect the quality, you may get the sediments from the bottom coming into your mouth if you shake homemade wine before serving. So it’s better not to shake your homemade wine.

How Long Should I Let My Homemade Wine Ferment?

Initial fermentation takes about 5-7 days. But for your homemade wine to mature well, allow it to ferment for 2 to 3 weeks.

Can Homemade Wine Become Poisonous?

Wine can get fermented, but it’ll not be poisonous.

Can Homemade Wine Be Stored In Plastic Bottles?

Yes, you can! Just be sure that the bottle is properly sterilized.