Rhubarb 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, hydrometer, trial jar and anything else that will touch the cooled must.

Prepare the rhubarb

Remove every leaf, trim the bases and damaged ends, wash the stalks and chop them into pieces around 2–3cm long. Put the 2kg prepared rhubarb into the sanitised large coarse straining bag inside the fermentation bucket. Tie the bag loosely so liquid can circulate.

Make the first sugar syrup

Dissolve 700g brewing sugar in about 1.5 litres of boiling water. Stir until clear, then allow the syrup to cool below 25°C before pouring it over the rhubarb. Stir in the full 250ml white grape juice concentrate.

Add water and cool the must

Add cool water until the liquid level is roughly four litres. Stir gently and make sure the must is below 25°C. Do not make the final 4.5-litre volume yet.

Add the Campden tablet

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

Add the pectolase

After 12 hours, stir in 1 teaspoon pectolase. Replace the lid and leave for another 12 hours. This helps break down pectin and improves juice extraction and later clearing.

Drain the rhubarb temporarily

Lift the bag with sanitised hands or utensils and let it drain over the bucket for about 10 minutes without wringing it. Set it aside in a clean sanitised container while the liquid is adjusted.

Set the initial liquid volume

Stir the liquid thoroughly and add cool water to bring it to approximately 4.25 litres. This leaves room for any small sugar solution that may be needed after the hydrometer reading.

Take the first hydrometer reading

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

Adjust the sugar only if needed

Aim for a final starting gravity of 1.080–1.090. 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.

Stop as soon as the gravity reaches the target. Do not add the rest of the 1kg packet simply because it is available.

Make the final volume 4.5 litres

Return the rhubarb bag, then add cool water to make the total batch exactly 4.5 litres. Stir thoroughly and take one final reading. Record it as the original gravity, or OG.

Add nutrient and Gervin GV9

Stir in 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient. Prepare the Gervin GV9 according to the sachet instructions and use the full sachet. Aim to ferment at around 15–20°C.

Manage the rhubarb each day

Fit the lid and airlock. Once or twice each day, sanitise the spoon, gently push the rhubarb bag beneath the liquid, stir briefly and replace the lid immediately. Keep the fruit wet but avoid aggressive stirring or squeezing.

Remove the rhubarb

Remove the fruit after about 3–5 days, once a good extraction has been achieved and vigorous fermentation is established. Let the bag drain over the fermenter. A light press is fine, but do not wring it hard enough to force fine plant material through the mesh.

Transfer to the demijohn

Syphon the wine into the sanitised 4.5-litre glass demijohn, leaving the thickest sediment behind. Avoid pouring or splashing. While fermentation is still active, fill to around the shoulder and fit the sanitised bung and airlock.

Let secondary fermentation finish

Keep the demijohn at around 15–20°C and out of direct sunlight. Once the most vigorous activity has settled, top up into the narrow neck if required and continue fermenting under airlock.

Confirm fermentation with two readings

Take a hydrometer reading once activity has clearly slowed, then repeat it at least 48 hours later. Fermentation is complete only when the readings are identical. A dry rhubarb wine will often finish around 0.990–1.000, but stability matters more than hitting one exact number. If the gravity is above 1.010 and does not move, do not bottle it.

Rack the finished wine

Once the gravity is stable, syphon the wine into a clean sanitised demijohn and leave the sediment behind. Minimise splashing and top up so the wine sits into the narrow neck with as little headspace as practical, then replace the airlock.

Allow the wine to clear

Leave the wine somewhere cool, dark and steady for four to six weeks. Rack again only when a meaningful new layer of sediment has collected. Rhubarb wine can retain a fine haze, so give the pectolase and time a chance to work before using finings.

Check that it is ready to bottle

Confirm stable hydrometer readings, clear wine with no obvious haze and no meaningful new sediment for at least two weeks. Taste a small sample as well. Young rhubarb wine can be distinctly sharp, so do not assume that acidity is a fault before the wine has had time to mature.

Bottle without splashing

Sanitise the 750ml clear wine bottles, syphon tubing, corks and corker. Syphon gently into each bottle and cork it. Keep the bottles upright for the first 24 hours, then store them somewhere cool and dark.

Mature before drinking

Give the wine at least six months before making a final judgement. Around 6–12 months usually gives a rounder result as the natural rhubarb acidity softens and the fruit, grape concentrate and alcohol become better integrated.