Raspberry Wine Recipe

Clean and sanitise the equipment

Wash away all visible dirt first. Prepare the sanitiser according to its label, then sanitise the fermentation bucket, lid, large coarse straining bag, spoon, measuring jug, thermometer, hydrometer, trial jar and anything else that will touch the cooled must.

Prepare the raspberries

Sort 1.8kg of raspberries carefully, removing leaves, stalks and any mouldy or rotten fruit. Put the berries in the sanitised large coarse straining bag and crush them lightly. If using frozen fruit, include the juice released during thawing.

Make the first sugar solution

Dissolve 700g brewing sugar in about 1.5 litres of boiling water. Stir until completely clear, then allow the solution to cool below 25°C.

Build the must

Put the raspberry bag into the sanitised fermentation bucket. Add the cooled sugar solution and the full 250ml red grape juice concentrate. Add cool water until the liquid level is roughly four litres and stir thoroughly.

Add the Campden tablet

Crush one Campden tablet to a fine powder, stir it into the must and fit the sanitised lid. Leave for 12 hours.

Add the pectolase

After 12 hours, stir in one teaspoon of pectolase. Replace the lid and leave for another 12 hours. The enzyme helps release juice and reduces the risk of a stubborn pectin haze.

Drain the fruit temporarily

Lift the fruit bag with sanitised hands or utensils and let it drain over the bucket for about 10 minutes without wringing it. Place it in a sanitised bowl while the must is measured.

Set the initial liquid volume

Stir the liquid thoroughly and add cool water to bring it to approximately 4.2 litres. This leaves room for any small sugar solution needed after the hydrometer reading.

Take the first hydrometer reading

Make sure the must is close to the hydrometer's calibration temperature, normally 20°C. Use a well-mixed, pulp-free sample and read the hydrometer at eye level.

Adjust the sugar only if needed

Aim for a final starting gravity of 1.085–1.095. If the reading is low, dissolve 50g brewing sugar in about 40ml boiling water, cool it below 25°C, add it and stir thoroughly. Retest and repeat only as required, using 25g portions when close to the target.

If the gravity is slightly high, the final water addition will lower it. Do not keep adding sugar simply to use the full 1kg packet.

Make the final volume 4.5 litres

Add cool water to make the liquid volume exactly 4.5 litres, stir thoroughly and take one final reading. Record it as the original gravity, or OG. Return the raspberry bag to the bucket once the reading has been recorded.

Add nutrient and yeast

Stir in one teaspoon of yeast nutrient. Prepare the Lalvin K1-V1116 according to the sachet instructions and use the full sachet. Keep the fermenter at 18–22°C.

Manage the first five days

Fit the lid and airlock. Once or twice each day, sanitise the spoon, gently push the fruit bag beneath the liquid, stir briefly and replace the lid immediately. This keeps the fruit wet and helps extract colour and flavour evenly.

Remove the raspberries

After about five days, lift out the large coarse straining bag and let it drain over the fermenter. Do not squeeze or wring it hard. Raspberry pulp and seeds are fine, so keeping the fruit contact short helps preserve a clean fruit character and makes later clearing easier.

Transfer to the demijohn

Syphon the wine into the sanitised demijohn, leaving the thickest pulp and sediment behind. Avoid pouring or splashing. Fill to around the shoulder and fit the sanitised bung and airlock. If losses leave the level slightly low, top up only a small amount with cooled boiled water rather than heavily diluting the wine.

Let secondary fermentation finish

Keep the demijohn at 18–22°C and out of direct sunlight. Begin checking the gravity after fermentation has clearly slowed, usually a couple of weeks after the fruit is removed.

Confirm fermentation with two readings

Take a hydrometer reading, then repeat it at least 48 hours later. Fermentation is complete only when the readings are identical and normally around 0.994–1.000. If the gravity is above 1.010 and does not move, do not bottle it.

Rack and begin bulk ageing

Once the gravity is stable, syphon the wine into a clean, sanitised demijohn and leave the sediment behind. Minimise splashing, refill to the shoulder and replace the airlock. Leave it somewhere cool and dark for at least six to eight weeks so it can clear and settle.

Check the flavour after clearing

Raspberry wine can taste quite sharp when it ferments fully dry. Judge the flavour only after the wine has cleared and had some time to settle. If you prefer a sweeter finish, stabilise it correctly before back-sweetening rather than adding sugar and bottling immediately.

Check that it is ready to bottle

Bottle only when the gravity is stable, the wine is clear and no meaningful new sediment has formed for at least two weeks. There is no advantage in rushing a young fruit wine into bottles.

Bottle without splashing

Sanitise the green wine bottles, syphon tubing, corks and corker as their instructions require. Syphon gently into each bottle and cork them. Keep them upright for the first 24 hours, then store them somewhere cool and dark.

Mature before drinking

Give the wine at least four months from brew day before judging it properly. Around six months normally gives a smoother, more integrated raspberry flavour, while further ageing can soften a particularly sharp batch.