Sake Wine and Chokecherry Wine Great Ideas

Don't Shy away from trying these to make as gifts. Weather for the holidays or as wines to take to a diner invite. Personalized gifts and effort is rewarded.

Sake Wine

• 1 lb. raisins
• 2 lbs rice
• 3 lbs sugar
• Juice of 3 lemons
• 4 L (1 gal.) hot water
• 1 tsp. yeast nutrient
• 2 campden tablets
• Wine yeast

First off I want you to chop raisins. Dissolve sugar in hot water. Pour syrup (the water and sugar) over raisins and rice. Add nutrient and lemon juice. Crush and dissolve campden tablets in small amount of hot water and stir into mixture. Cover and let stand 5 to 8 hrs or until cool. Add wine yeast and cover. Stir daily for 8 to 10 days. Then strain and press raisins and rice. Place strained wine into gallon jugs. Rack the wine in about 4 to 6 weeks and again in 1 to 2 months. Rack into bottles. This wine should be quite good in 3 to 4 months, but will improve if kept a year. For a sweeter wine add another 1/2 pound of sugar per gallon.

Chokecherry Wine

• 2 1/2 to 3 lbs Chokecherries
• 4 L (1 gal.) water
• 1 tsp. yeast nutrient
• 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. sugar
• 1 tsp. acid blend
• 2 campden tablets
• wine yeast, reading directions.
• sterilizer to solution for when you go to bottle

Line container with cotton bag to hold the fruit. This is to help in removing fruit. Wash berries in colander. Mash, but don't break pits. Add all ingredients except yeast. Let stand 6 to 12 hours then ADD Yeast. Ferment in pulp 5 to 6 days, then remove bag and wring out juice and continue fermenting juice 4 to 5 more days. We want to Siphon to gallon jug(s) and attach fermentation locks. Leave 3 to 4 weeks. When finished we will siphon yet again into the jug or wine bottles and add a 1/2 tsp. sterilizer to solution.