Two recipes for homemade watermelon wines

Why “August”? Firstly, because August is a truly watermelon month, when so many of these fruits are sold and at such a price that you can even make wine from them. And secondly, because it is quite difficult to make a decent wine from this “royal berry” and no one is immune from failure. But if the drink succeeds, it will be something truly exquisite, amazing and worthy of the table of crowned persons!

Alcoholic drinks based on watermelons are rarely made, and a good recipe for homemade watermelon wine is not so easy to find, which is strange. According to reviews, these fruits give, for example, a wonderful brandy with a delicate aroma, Americans already make a bunch of liqueurs with rum, brandy and even vodka from them (recipes for watermelon liqueurs can be found here), and there are just a million cocktails based on watermelon pulp. For winemaking, this fruit is considered not quite suitable, like most gourds – too much water, little sugar and acid. The problem is solved with special winemaking or improvised additives – acids, sugar, tannin. In the recipes, everything will be described in detail.

As for the variety of fruits. For making wine, watermelons are suitable exclusively for field, not greenhouse. The variety does not matter – both ordinary and black ones are used, and with yellow pulp, even square ones, the main thing is that the fruit is tasty and fragrant from the inside. But watermelons without seeds are not advised to use – they smell weaker, although there would be much less trouble with them. Yeast is used only purchased, for white or sparkling wines, or universal. On wild yeast, the berry ferments badly and for a long time, besides, if the pulp is fermented in the open air, the wine can acquire an unpleasant, catchy aftertaste.

“There is nothing more difficult than to recognize a good watermelon and a decent woman.”

Ivan Bunin

From the editor: they say you just need to knock.

Homemade wine from watermelon – the first recipe, winemaking

Before you make watermelon wine according to this recipe, you need to purchase the appropriate additives – tartaric and tannic acids or a ready-made mixture of acids, these ingredients are sold in special wine shops – Google to help. We should get a strong table wine – it is it that best of all corresponds to the taste and aroma characteristics of watermelons and is well stored. Using the table below, you can change the proportions and make any other type of wine from watermelons.

Table for compiling 10 liters of must for making 8 liters of wine from watermelon (acidity – 0,6%, sugar content – 8,0%)

There is absolutely nothing supernatural in the preparation of such wine, only all work on obtaining juice and setting the wort should be carried out quickly, otherwise the final drink may acquire an unpleasant “vegetable” aftertaste. It is advisable to prepare all the necessary equipment in advance.

1. We cut off the peel from the watermelons along with the white part, select the seeds, cut the pulp into pieces and quickly send it under the press or squeeze it in any other way – with a juicer, gauze, and so on.
2. Yeast must first be fermented in a small amount of warm water with sugar. We are waiting for them to start working. Add sugar, acids to the juice, mix thoroughly until completely mutually dissolved, add yeast, top dressing (or a few drops of ammonia) and put under the shutter.
3. The wine will ferment from a week to three, depending on the temperature and many other factors. When the fermentation is over, the liquid will become clearer, it will stop foaming, a dense sediment will form at the bottom of the fermenter, and the water seal will stop gurgling.
4. The fermented must is carefully removed from the sediment and poured into a smaller container – so that the wine occupies 90-95% of the space. We transfer the bottle to a cool dark place, put it under a water seal for another couple of months.
5. During the secondary fermentation, the wine will be clarified further, the spent yeast will fall to the bottom in the form of dense white flakes. Every 2-3 weeks the drink must be decanted, otherwise it will be bitter.
6. As soon as the wine has become completely light and the sediment no longer forms, it can be bottled.

This homemade watermelon wine is stored for up to a year and a half, it fully reveals its aroma for 2-3 months of aging in bottles.

Recipe two – with limes and heat-treated fruits

This recipe uses a slightly different method of extracting juice – the pulp is heated on fire, which will make it easier to squeeze out the pulp with seeds, dissolve sugar, kill wild yeast and other microorganisms in the wort, and also slightly boil the juice, thereby increasing the concentration of the missing dry matter in the wort. substances. Wine-making acids are replaced with lime juice (in extreme cases, you can replace lemon juice).

Preparing a drink is a little more difficult, you will need more equipment, but the wine will turn out to be more stable, rich and tasty.

1. We clean the watermelon and cut it right along with the bones. Place the pulp in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, constantly stirring the watermelon porridge. Do not boil! We should get almost pure juice with some solids and floating seeds. Let the juice cool slightly and pass through a colander lined with a couple of layers of gauze.
2. We will need exactly 3,5 liters of juice – the rest can be drunk or proportionally increase the sugar content in the wort. Separately squeeze the juice from the limes, mix it with watermelon, add sugar and pour it back into the pan. Bring the mixture almost to a boil, stirring constantly, then cool to 25-30 °.
3. Dissolve yeast. Pour the wort into the fermenter so as to fill its volume by a maximum of 2/3 – the rest of the space is needed for the foam “cap” that forms during rapid fermentation. Add yeast, top dressing to the container, put a water seal on top and put in a dark place at room temperature.
4. The wine ferments almost the same as in the previous recipe – first a couple of weeks in the main container, after the signs of fermentation disappear, it must be decanted and poured into a smaller bottle, at least 3/4 of the volume and moved to a cool place. Secondary fermentation lasts a couple of months, with mandatory periodic decanting, after which the drink can be bottled.

According to this recipe, homemade watermelon wine turns out to be more stable and durable, resistant to souring and disease, although slightly less fragrant. You can store it longer – up to 2 years. If you start the process in September, you will be able to uncork the first bottle already on New Year’s Eve, surprising yourself and your guests with such an unexpected taste and smell of fresh watermelons for winter!