Rose petal wine at home – a universal recipe

• 2 л fresh rose petals (about 75 g dried)
• 150 г light raisins (chopped)
• 1,2 kg granulated sugar
• juice of 1-2 lemons
• 4 л clean water
• 1 h. l. pectin enzyme (Optional)
• 1 Campden tablet (Optional)
• 0,5 h. l. grape tannin (Optional)
• yeast nutrition instructions (Optional)
• wine yeast according to instructions (for white wines or champagnes)

• Place rose petals washed under running water, chopped raisins, sugar and juice of 1-2 lemons, depending on their size, in a fermentation container. If desired, tannin can be added immediately (read field notes).

• Boil 3 liters of water and pour all the ingredients in the fermenter with it. Stir thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved, cover with a clean cloth or cling film and leave for 24 hours in a cool place.

• If desired, add pectin enzyme (it will improve the extraction and facilitate the clarification of the wine), add yeast with top dressing and add the remaining 1 liter of water. Cover the fermenter with a clean cloth or gauze and leave in a dark, warm place (20-24^оC) place, until violent fermentation subsides (7-10 days). Every day the wort must be stirred.

• Not later than 10 days after the start of fermentation, remove the young wine from the sediment into a clean fermentation container, straining it from rose petals and raisins. It is advisable to fill the fermenter to the very throat (you can add clean water). Install a water seal and leave for quiet fermentation in a dark, already cool place (no more than 18^оFROM).

• After 30 days of quiet fermentation, remove the wine from the sediment and again under the water seal. After another 30-60 days, repeat the procedure. After the second removal from the sediment, the wine can be stabilized with sulfur (crushed Campden tablet) and after waiting 2 weeks, you can start bottling.

• Before bottling, the wine can be sweetened to taste, kept for 2 weeks in a cool place and, after making sure that fermentation no longer occurs, pour into sterile bottles and cork. It will be ready to eat after 6 months of storage in a dark, cool place, but will improve significantly after a year.

• Rose petals. The color and aroma of the wine can vary greatly depending on the variety of rose. As a rule, the fresher the flower, the stronger the fragrance and richer the color, but the rose should be fragrant initially. It is allowed to use already fading flowers (but not yet brown). If it is not possible to collect the required number of petals at a time, you can start collecting them a couple of days before making wine and freezing them. It is important that only the petals get into the fermenter, without the pedicel, sepals and other parts of the flower, otherwise the wine will be bitter.
• Raisins. Here it is used to increase the “body” of the drink – the wine is more dense and rounded. Instead of raisins, you can use concentrated white grape juice (about 200-250 ml), “banana water” (see carrot or peach wine recipes for more details), or even pea pods (see recipe below).
• Sugar. The amount of sugar specified in the recipe results in a conditionally semi-sweet wine (strongly depends on the yeast strain and other conditions). Use 100-120 grams less sugar (for every 3,5-4 liters of water) to guarantee a dry wine, and, accordingly, 100-120 grams more sugar if the goal is to get a sweet wine. If you have a hydrometer, aim for an initial gravity in the region of 19-20 °Bx (SG 1.080), which will give approximately 10-11% alcohol if the wine is fermented to dryness.
• Lemon juice. It is needed to acidify the wort, which, in turn, will ensure normal fermentation and prevent the development of pathogenic microflora. It is also needed to slow down oxidative processes, which quickly “kill” the rich color of the wine. Instead of lemon juice, you can take 10-20 g of citric acid or a couple of teaspoons of an acid mixture from a liquor store. Together with lemons, you can take the juice of one orange (possibly with zest), which will add pleasant fruity motives to the drink – a good, proven combination.
• Yeast. The best solution would be to use universal champagne yeast. Any white wine yeast that produces a clean fruity-floral aroma profile will also work, such as Lalvin R2 or Lalvin K1-V1116. One standard bag of such yeast is enough to ferment 20-22 liters of the drink.

For the rest of the ingredients, be guided by your experience and capabilities. The same grape tannin, which is not at all necessary, but increases the chances of wine for long aging without loss of quality, can be replaced with half a glass of black tea (for 10 liters of wine, 3-4 tsp of unflavored black tea brewed in 100-200 ml water) or even a used tea bag. We talked about the advisability of using potassium metabisulphite (Campden tablets) in our analysis of sulfur dioxide in wine – draw your own conclusions.