Beaujolais Style – Dry Red Wine

NB: If you are new to winemaking, it is worth checking out our guide to success.

Ingredients

• 1 Litre Apple Juice
• 500ml Red Grape Concentrate
• 480g Granulated Sugar
• Sufficient Pectolytic Enzyme
• Gervin No. 11 Yeast
• 2-3g / ½ Teaspoon Yeast Nutrient
• Water to 4.5 Litres
• 100g Raspberries (Optional)

Method

This simple recipe, which uses ingredients that can be purchased easily at any time of the year, gives an easy drinking fruity wine.  It is one that is intended for quaffing at a relatively early age rather than be left to mature.  The alcohol will not be more than 11.5%, the tannin level has been kept low.  It can be served chilled for summer picnics and BBQs.

I have not specified the ingredients too closely, but I should make the point that should aim to give the wine a fair fruity flavour.  You will improve the product a lot if you spend a little more money on the concentrate to ensure quality and obtain some of the freshly pressed apple juice rather than that made from concentrate.  Gervin No. 11 yeast is great because of the quality of the bouquet it gives; alternatively, you could use No. 2 yeast if your ingredients are chosen to ensure fruitiness.  If possible, obtain 100g of raspberries (fresh or frozen) and add this fruit towards the end of the fermentation period.  This is done much as brewers do with dry hopping.