Ingredients
- About 8–10kg fully ripe mixed apples
- Up to 1kg brewing sugar
- 1 teaspoon pectolase
- 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
- 1 Campden tablet
- 1 sachet Gervin GV3 yeast
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Equipment
- Hobby Fruit Crusher or suitable fruit mill
- 12 Litre Hobby Fruit Press
- 10-litre fermentation bucket with lid
- 5-litre glass demijohn
- Bored demijohn bung and airlock
- Hydrometer and trial jar
- Long brewing spoon
- Syphon tubing
- VWP Cleaner Steriliser 100g
- Five or six 750ml green glass wine bottles
- Wine corks and hand corker
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6-Bottle Wine Starter Kit
Hobby Fruit Crusher
12 Litre Hobby Fruit Press
10 Litre Fermentation Bucket
5 Litre Glass Demijohn
Demijohn Bung
Bubbler Airlock
Wine & Beer Hydrometer
Plastic Trial Jar
40cm Brewing Spoon
Syphon Tubing
VWP Cleaner Steriliser 100g
750ml Green Wine Bottle
Premium Corks
Preparation
Choose apples for flavour as well as sugar
A mixture of apple varieties usually makes a better wine than one very sweet dessert variety on its own. Ripe aromatic dessert apples give perfume and fruit, while sharper cooking apples or a proportion of crab apples can add freshness and structure. Use sound, fully ripe fruit rather than green, hard or flavourless apples.
Wash the apples and remove leaves, stalks, rotten areas and heavily damaged sections. There is no need to peel them. Mill or crush the fruit to a coarse pomace and press it promptly. Avoid deliberately pulverising the pips; the aim is to break up the flesh efficiently and collect clean juice without leaving the crushed fruit exposed to air for hours.
Before you begin
Clean, then sanitise
Remove dirt first, then use your sanitiser exactly as its label directs on equipment that will contact the juice or wine.
Measure before adding sugar
Apple juice varies naturally. The hydrometer decides how much extra sugar the batch needs.
Protect the wine from oxygen
Once fermentation is established, avoid unnecessary splashing and keep the wine under an airlock.
How to Make Apple Wine
Clean and sanitise the equipment
Clean the fruit crusher and press thoroughly. Sanitise the fermentation bucket, lid, brewing spoon, hydrometer, trial jar, syphon, demijohn, bung and airlock with VWP Cleaner Steriliser 100g, following the product directions exactly.
Sort and wash the apples
Discard mouldy, rotten, badly bruised or already-fermenting fruit. Wash the sound apples and remove leaves and stalks.
Crush the fruit
Mill the apples to a coarse pomace with the Hobby Fruit Crusher or another suitable fruit mill. Do not blend them into a fine purée.
Press about five litres of juice
Transfer the pomace to the 12 Litre Hobby Fruit Press and press steadily. Aim to collect about 5 litres of fresh juice; the exact weight of apples needed will vary with variety, ripeness and press efficiency.
Take a baseline hydrometer reading
Mix the juice gently and test a pulp-free sample close to the hydrometer's calibration temperature, normally around 20°C. Write down this first reading before adding any sugar.
Dissolve the first sugar addition
Reserve roughly 750ml of the juice, warm it gently without boiling, and dissolve about 500g brewing sugar into it. Cool the sweetened juice to below 25°C and return it to the fermenter.
Adjust to the target starting gravity
Mix thoroughly and retest. Aim for an OG of 1.085–1.095. If it is still low, dissolve another 50g sugar in a small amount of warmed juice, cool, add and retest. Use 25g additions as you approach the target. Stop as soon as the gravity is right; do not add the full 1kg just because it is available.
Add the Campden tablet
When the juice is below 25°C, crush one Campden tablet and stir it through thoroughly. Cover the fermenter and leave it for about 12 hours.
Add the pectolase
After 12 hours, stir in one teaspoon of pectolase. Cover again and leave for another 12 hours. Apples are naturally rich in pectin, so this step is useful for later clarification.
Record the final original gravity
Mix the must again and take one more hydrometer reading before pitching the yeast. This is the OG you should record for calculating the finished alcohol level.
Add nutrient and yeast
Stir in one teaspoon of yeast nutrient. Prepare the Gervin GV3 according to the sachet directions and use the full sachet.
Begin primary fermentation
Fit the lid and airlock and keep the fermenter out of direct sunlight, ideally around 18–22°C. Fresh-juice apple wine does not have a floating fruit cap, so it does not need daily punching down.
Let the vigorous stage settle
During the first couple of days, a gentle stir is only needed if the yeast or nutrient has not dispersed. Once fermentation is clearly established, stop introducing air and let the airlock do its job.
Start checking the gravity
Once vigorous fermentation has begun to slow, commonly after about five to seven days, take a hydrometer reading. Repeat every few days rather than judging progress by airlock bubbles alone.
Rack into the demijohn
When the gravity is around 1.020–1.030, or the vigorous stage has clearly subsided, syphon the wine into a sanitised 5-litre glass demijohn. Leave the heaviest sediment behind, minimise splashing, fill to around the shoulder and fit the bung and airlock.
Continue secondary fermentation
Keep the demijohn under airlock at roughly 18–22°C while fermentation finishes. The activity can become much quieter at this stage, so use the hydrometer rather than the airlock to decide whether it is complete.
Confirm fermentation is finished
Take two hydrometer readings at least 48 hours apart. Fermentation is complete only when the readings are identical. A dry apple wine will commonly finish around 0.995–1.000 or lower. If it is still above about 1.010 and has stopped moving, troubleshoot a possible stalled fermentation rather than bottling it.
Rack off the sediment
Once the gravity is stable, syphon the wine into a clean sanitised demijohn, leaving the sediment behind. Keep the syphon outlet below the surface where possible and minimise headspace and splashing.
Let the wine clear
Leave the wine somewhere cool and dark under airlock. Apple wine can drop a surprising amount of fine sediment, so give it time rather than repeatedly racking a still-cloudy wine.
Assess the clear wine
Taste a small sample once the wine is stable and reasonably clear. If a batch made mainly from sweet dessert apples tastes flat, a small measured acid adjustment can help, but add cautiously and taste between additions rather than following a fixed dose. If the main problem is haze, give pectolase and time the first chance to solve it.
Bottle the wine
Clean and sanitise the 750ml green wine bottles, syphon, corks and corker. Syphon the clear wine gently into the bottles, leaving sediment behind, and cork them. Keep freshly corked bottles upright for about 24 hours before storing them on their side somewhere cool and dark.
Mature before drinking
Apple wine is usually much better with time. Give it at least 6 months if possible; around 6–12 months is a useful target for the sharper edges to soften and the apple character to become more rounded.
Beginner's apple wine timeline
| Approximate time | What to do | What decides the next step |
|---|---|---|
| Brew day | Sort, crush and press the apples; measure the juice, adjust the OG and add Campden | Reach about 5 litres of clean juice at OG 1.085–1.095 |
| 12 hours later | Add pectolase | Keep the must covered |
| About 24 hours | Add nutrient and GV3 yeast | The Campden addition has had time to dissipate |
| Days 2–7 | Allow vigorous primary fermentation | Keep the fermenter around 18–22°C |
| Week 1–2 | Check gravity and rack to the demijohn | Gravity around 1.020–1.030 or vigorous activity has subsided |
| Weeks 2–6 | Let secondary fermentation finish | Two identical hydrometer readings at least 48 hours apart |
| Following 1–3 months | Rack and allow the wine to clear | Stable gravity, improving clarity and no meaningful new sediment |
| 6–12 months+ | Mature the bottled wine | Flavour softens and integrates with time |
The calendar is only a guide. Apple variety, juice composition, yeast health and temperature can all change the timing. Use the hydrometer and the condition of the wine to decide when to rack or bottle.
Final bottling checklist
- The hydrometer reading is unchanged across at least 48 hours.
- The wine is reasonably clear and has been racked away from heavy sediment.
- There has been no meaningful new sediment forming for around two weeks.
- There is no unresolved stalled fermentation.
- If the wine was sweetened, it was stabilised correctly first.
- Bottles, syphon, corks and corker are clean and sanitised.
Common Problems
The juice turned brown
Fresh apple juice oxidises quickly. Work promptly after crushing, use the Campden tablet as directed, and minimise splashing once fermentation is underway. A little golden-brown colour is normal.
The wine stays cloudy
Apples contain plenty of pectin. Use pectolase before fermentation, avoid heating or boiling the full batch of juice, and give the wine enough time to clear before reaching for extra finings.
Fermentation stopped above 1.010
Check the temperature, take another gravity reading after 48 hours and make sure the yeast was pitched correctly. Do not assume a high, unchanged reading is safe to bottle; troubleshoot the stalled fermentation first.
The wine tastes flat
A batch made entirely from sweet dessert apples can lack acidity. Blend in sharper cooking or crab apples next time, or make a small measured acid adjustment to the finished wine and taste between additions.
The young wine tastes harsh
Sharp apples, crab apples and a wine-strength fermentation can taste lean or rough when young. If the gravity is stable and there are no faults, several months of maturation can make a major difference.
The apple aroma is weak
Over-dilution and bland fruit are common causes. This pressed-juice method avoids unnecessary water, and using several ripe aromatic varieties generally gives a more recognisable apple character.
FAQs
Which apples are best for apple wine?
A mixture usually works best. Ripe aromatic dessert apples provide fruit and perfume, while sharper cooking apples or some crab apples can add acidity and structure. Avoid relying only on bland, very sweet fruit.
Can I use windfall apples?
Yes, if they are fresh and sound. Wash them well and discard mouldy, rotten, badly damaged or already-fermenting fruit. Do not try to rescue fruit with visible decay for winemaking.
Can I use supermarket apples?
Yes. Choose ripe, aromatic apples and mix varieties if possible. A combination of sweet dessert apples and a sharper variety generally gives a more balanced wine.
Do I need to peel or core the apples?
No. There is no need to peel sound fruit before milling and pressing. Remove leaves, stalks, rot and badly damaged areas, and avoid deliberately pulverising the pips.
Can I make this with shop-bought apple juice?
Yes. Use 100% apple juice with no potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate, because those preservatives can inhibit the wine yeast. With packaged juice you can skip the crusher and fruit press.
Why use pressed juice instead of fermenting chopped apples in water?
Pressed juice gives a more concentrated apple flavour and makes the natural sugar much easier to measure accurately. It also avoids carrying a large volume of fruit pulp through primary fermentation.
How many apples do I need for 4.5 litres of wine?
Plan on roughly 8–10kg, but treat the juice volume as the real target. Apple variety, ripeness and press efficiency can change the yield considerably; aim to collect about 5 litres of juice.
Why does apple wine need pectolase?
Apples contain a lot of pectin, which can leave a persistent haze. Pectolase helps break that pectin down and improves the chance of a clear finished wine.
Why use a Campden tablet?
The pre-fermentation Campden addition helps suppress unwanted wild microbes and reduces oxidation while the must is being prepared. This recipe gives it roughly 24 hours before the cultured yeast is pitched.
Why use Gervin GV3?
Gervin GV3 is a clean Champagne-style strain that is also suitable for cider. It has enough alcohol tolerance for wine-strength apple must while allowing the fruit character to remain the focus.
Can I use Lalvin K1-V1116 instead?
Yes. K1-V1116 is a robust, versatile wine yeast and is a good alternative for apple wine. Follow the sachet instructions and keep the fermentation within the yeast's recommended temperature range.
Why is there no fixed acid-blend addition?
Apple acidity varies enormously between varieties. A dessert-apple batch may need more brightness, while a mix containing cooking or crab apples may need none. It is safer to ferment the actual juice, taste the stable wine and adjust cautiously only if needed.
Do I need raisins or sultanas in apple wine?
No. They appear in many older country-wine recipes, but they are not necessary in this fresh-pressed-juice version. The apples provide the fruit base and the hydrometer is used to set the sugar level directly.
What starting gravity should apple wine have?
This recipe aims for 1.085–1.095. That is much higher than typical cider and is what turns the pressed apple juice into a wine-strength fermentation.
How strong will the finished wine be?
With an OG of 1.085–1.095 and a dry finish around 0.995–1.000, expect roughly 11.5–13% ABV, depending on the exact starting and final readings.
How long does apple wine take to ferment?
Usually around 3–6 weeks, but timing is only an estimate. The wine is finished when the hydrometer gives identical readings at least 48 hours apart.
Can I back-sweeten apple wine?
Yes, but only after fermentation is completely finished and the wine has been stabilised correctly. See our back-sweetening guide before adding fermentable sugar to a finished wine.
What is the difference between apple wine and cider?
Both can start with pressed apple juice, but apple wine is normally fortified with enough sugar to reach a wine-strength original gravity and is treated as a still wine. Cider normally starts much lower in gravity and finishes at a lower alcohol level.
How long should apple wine mature?
Give it at least 6 months if you can. Around 6–12 months is a useful target, and a well-made batch can continue improving beyond that.
How long will homemade apple wine keep?
If it has fermented fully, cleared well, been bottled hygienically and is stored cool and dark, apple wine can keep for a few years. The best drinking window depends on the fruit, oxygen exposure and how well the wine was stabilised and bottled.
