(The base recipe I recommend, if you’re using generic store-bought juice, is somewhere right in the middle.) You’ll need to evaluate based on your starting juice.įor each additive, I’m providing a good range, to allow you to adjust the recipe. Some backyard apple varieties are also sweet/tart, and contain plenty of acids. If you’ve pressed the juice from wild apples, you may already have a bit of tannin present. In all honesty, this is a bit subjective based on both your tastes and the starting juice. Since the main difference between hard cider and apple wine lies in the additives, what is added to apple wine? Then siphon the mixture over to a clean fermentation vessel (leaving sediment behind) and allow the mixture to ferment more slowly, in a cool dark place for another 6 weeks to 6 months.Īt that point, bottle the wine, allow it to bottle age for at least a few weeks (preferably a few months) before drinking. Start with a juice of some sort, add in a bit of sugar for sweetness, along with other winemaking additives, and then a strain of winemaking yeast.Īllow the mixture to ferment for about 7 to 10 days, until most of the very active fermentation is complete. The basic process for making apple wine is the same for any small-batch country wine. Apple wine, on the other hand, can be made with any apple juice (including preservative-free store-bought juice). Hard cider is similar to apple wine, but all the balancing happens in selecting the right specialty cider apples. Pasteurized juice and juice with added ascorbic acid are fine for winemaking.) If preservatives such as “Sodium Benzoate” and “Potassium Sorbate” are in the juice, it will not ferment into apple wine. (Important: Do not use apple juice with preservatives added. The process is tricky, and since even the sweetest apples aren’t nearly as sweet as grapes, it’s often hard to make anything but very dry hard cider.Īpple wine is different, and the apple juice just provides the aromatic base and fragrant apple flavor, and the rest of the balancing act of acids, tannins, and sugars are accomplished with natural additives. Tannin and acid-rich apples would be mixed with sweet apples (as a sugar source) and carefully blended. But they taste absolutely horrible in fresh fruit.Īcid apples, similarly, aren’t your generic grocery store varieties either. Tannins, in small amounts, help to create body, and a pleasant mouthfeel in wine. They just don’t taste good, but that natural astringency is actually needed in winemaking. These days, it’s hard to source high tannin cider apples, or “spitters” as they’re sometimes called. Why is making apple wine so easy? It relies on winemaking additives to balance the juice, rather than careful blending. True hard cider relies on choosing the right varieties of apples and then blending them to craft the perfect juice with enough acid, tannin, and sugar to make a well balanced hard cider.Īpple wine, on the other hand, takes any apple juice, even store-bought pasteurized jugs of generic juice, and turns it into a delicious apple wine. While making high-quality hard cider rather difficult, and apple wine is really easy. Apple wine is perfect for the beginning winemaker, and it’s easy to make at home with either fresh-pressed cider or storebought apple juice.
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