"Cheating" isn't necessarily a bad thing in this hobby! Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
I'd been threatening to try a 5 gallon batch of pumpkin wine but I'm positive that hubby would be more inclined to trying the hard cider recipe!
kuntrygirl
Can you post the watermelon wine recipe?
Thanks
Here ya go:
Watermelon-Grape Concentrate Wine (makes 1 gallon)
6-8 lb watermelon
12 oz white grape concentrate
water to make up 1 gallon
juice and zest of 2 lemons
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 crushed Campden tablet
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Champagne or Sauterne wine yeast
Cut the rind off of melon, cut melon into one-inch cubes, remove loose seeds, and put melon and any free juice in primary. Thinly grate the yellow off two lemons, juice the lemons, and add the juice and zest (gratings) to primary. Add grape concentrate and crushed Campden tablet to primary. Add water to make up 3-3/4 quarts total liquid. Add sugar and stir well to dissolve. Cover primary with cloth, wait 24 hours and add yeast and yeast nutrient. Cover and ferment 5-7 days, stirring daily. Siphon off sediments into secondary, fit airlock and ferment 30 days. Rack, top up, refit airlock, and repeat 30 days later. After additional 60 days, rack, top up, and stabilize (add 1/4 tsp potassium sorbate and another crushed Campden tablet). Wait 10 days, rack, sweeten to taste and bottle. Allow to age in bottles 3 months to one year. [Author's recipe]
It's from
Jack Keller's winemaking site.
Things we did differently:
Cut watermelon into slices, well away from the rind and put the slices into a strainer to juice it. The strainer contained most of the seeds...only had to pick out a few escapees by hand.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a78/TnWren/Watermelon Wine/WatermelonWine11006.jpg
Added a yeast starter to jump start fermentation so the juice wouldn't spoil, which seems to be a big problem for most people who try this wine. We'd also read to refrigerate the juice for 24 hours before pitching the yeast but living in a camper with a dorm-sized fridge, this wasn't an option so we opted to "jump-start" fermentation.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a78/TnWren/Watermelon Wine/WatermelonWine11001.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a78/TnWren/Watermelon Wine/WatermelonWine11004.jpg
We had a small sip when we siphoned off into the secondary and think it's gonna be good with a lot of time and patience, meaning it probably won't be deemed drinkable for atleast a year.
Edited cuz I caint speelz!
This is the recipe I'm using Hard Cider This is from our local beer and wine supply store.
