Ingredients
- 1.8–2kg fully ripe strawberries
- Up to 1kg brewing sugar, adjusted by hydrometer
- 1 teaspoon citric acid
- About 0.5g Wine Tannin
- 1 teaspoon pectolase
- 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
- 1 Campden tablet
- 1 sachet Gervin GV5 White Fruit Wine Yeast
- Water as required for a finished batch of about 4.5 litres
Shop the ingredients
Brewing Sugar 1kg
Citric Acid 100g
Wine Tannin 50g
Yeast Nutrient
Pectolase
Campden Tablets
Gervin GV5 Yeast
Equipment
- 10-litre fermentation bucket with lid
- 5-litre single-handle glass demijohn
- Bored demijohn bung and airlock
- Hydrometer and trial jar
- Large fine straining bag
- Long brewing spoon
- Syphon tubing
- No-rinse sanitiser
- Five or six 750ml clear wine bottles
- Wine corks and hand corker
Shop the equipment
6-Bottle Wine Starter Kit
10 Litre Fermentation Bucket
5 Litre Glass Demijohn
Demijohn Bung
Bubbler Airlock
Wine & Beer Hydrometer
Plastic Trial Jar
Large Fine Straining Bag
40cm Brewing Spoon
Syphon Tubing
No-Rinse Sanitiser
750ml Clear Wine Bottle
Premium Corks
Hand Corker
Preparation
Choose strawberries for flavour, not just appearance
The best strawberry wine starts with ripe, fragrant fruit. Deep colour is useful, but aroma and flavour matter more than perfect shape. Slightly soft fruit is fine if it is sound; discard anything mouldy, rotten, fermented or unpleasant-smelling.
Fresh or frozen strawberries can both work well. Freezing breaks down the fruit structure and can make juice extraction easier, so a bag of ripe berries frozen at their best can be just as useful as fresh fruit.
Before you begin
Keep the fruit contained
A fine straining bag makes the daily fruit handling easier and keeps seeds and pulp out of the finished wine.
Measure the sugar
Strawberry sweetness varies. Aim for OG 1.085–1.095 rather than assuming every batch needs exactly 1kg sugar.
Protect the aroma
Once vigorous fermentation has passed, minimise splashing and keep the wine under an airlock.
How to Make Strawberry Wine
Clean and sanitise everything
Clean first, then sanitise the fermentation bucket, lid, spoon, straining bag, hydrometer, trial jar, syphon, demijohn, bung and airlock. Use no-rinse sanitiser according to its label directions.
Sort, hull and prepare the strawberries
Use 1.8–2kg ripe, fragrant strawberries. Remove mouldy, rotten or badly damaged fruit, rinse the sound berries, remove the green tops and roughly crush them. Do not blend them into a smooth purée; that creates unnecessary pulp and makes the wine harder to clear.
Put the fruit into the straining bag
Place the crushed strawberries in a sanitised large fine straining bag inside the fermentation bucket. Tie it with enough room for the fruit to move rather than packing it tightly.
Dissolve the first sugar addition
Dissolve about 750g brewing sugar in roughly 1.5 litres of hot water. Let the syrup cool below 25°C before adding it to the fruit, then add cool water until the liquid volume is roughly four litres.
Add acid and wine tannin
Stir in 1 teaspoon citric acid and about 0.5g Wine Tannin. Strawberries are naturally low in tannin, so this small addition gives the finished wine more structure and a more wine-like finish without overpowering the fruit.
Add the Campden tablet
When the must is below 25°C, crush one Campden tablet, stir it through thoroughly, cover the fermenter and leave it for about 12 hours.
Add the pectolase
After 12 hours, stir in 1 teaspoon pectolase. Strawberry pulp can produce a stubborn pectin haze, so this is an important step. Cover again and leave for another 12 hours.
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. Set it in a sanitised container while you adjust the liquid.
Set the initial liquid volume
Stir the liquid 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 around 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 a little boiling water, cool it below 25°C, add it and stir thoroughly. Retest and repeat only as needed, using 25g additions when close to the target. Stop as soon as the gravity is right.
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 hydrometer reading. Record it as the original gravity, or OG. Return the strawberry bag to the bucket once the reading has been recorded.
Add nutrient and Gervin GV5
Stir in 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient. Prepare the Gervin GV5 White Fruit Wine Yeast according to the sachet instructions and pitch the full sachet. Aim to ferment at around 18–22°C.
Manage the fruit each day
Fit the lid and airlock. Once or twice each day, sanitise the spoon, gently push the strawberry bag beneath the liquid, stir briefly and replace the lid immediately. Avoid aggressive stirring or squeezing.
Remove the strawberries
Remove the fruit after about 5–7 days, once vigorous fermentation has clearly begun to ease. Let the bag drain over the fermenter and press only lightly. Do not wring it hard enough to force fine pulp and seeds through the mesh.
Transfer to the demijohn
Syphon the wine into the sanitised 5-litre glass demijohn, leaving the thickest pulp and 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 continue
Keep the demijohn at around 18–22°C and out of direct sunlight. Fermentation will become much quieter, but that does not mean it is finished.
Confirm fermentation with stable 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 strawberry wine will often finish around 0.995–1.000, but stability matters more than hitting one exact number.
Rack and allow the wine to clear
Once the gravity is stable, syphon the wine into a clean sanitised demijohn and leave the sediment behind. Minimise splashing, top up into the narrow neck with as little headspace as practical, replace the airlock and leave the wine somewhere cool and dark until it is clear.
Check that the wine is ready
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. Fully dry strawberry wine can seem sharper and less obviously sweet than the fresh fruit.
Bottle without splashing
Sanitise the 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 around 3–6 months of maturation before making a final judgement. Strawberry wine generally shows best while its fresh fruit character is still lively, although a little extra time can soften the alcohol and acidity further.
Beginner's strawberry wine timeline
| Approximate time | What to do | What decides the next step |
|---|---|---|
| Brew day | Prepare fruit, make the first sugar syrup and add Campden | Must is below 25°C before Campden is added |
| 12 hours later | Add pectolase | Wait a further 12 hours |
| About 24 hours | Adjust volume and gravity; add nutrient and GV5 yeast | Final OG is 1.085–1.095 |
| Days 1–5 | Push the fruit down and stir once or twice daily | Healthy fermentation and fruit remains wet |
| Days 5–7 | Remove and gently drain the strawberries | Vigorous fermentation has clearly eased |
| Weeks 2–6 | Allow secondary fermentation to finish | Two identical hydrometer readings at least 48 hours apart |
| Following 1–3 months | Rack and allow the wine to clear | Minimal headspace and no meaningful new sediment |
| From about month 3 | Bottle only when all readiness checks are passed | Stable gravity, clear wine and no new sediment |
| Months 3–6+ | Mature, then taste | Fruit, acidity and alcohol become more integrated |
The calendar is a guide, not a bottling instruction. The hydrometer and the condition of the wine always take priority over the date.
Final bottling checklist
- The hydrometer reading is unchanged across at least 48 hours.
- The wine is clear with no obvious fruit or pectin haze in a sample.
- No meaningful new sediment has formed for at least two weeks.
- The wine tastes still, not fizzy or actively fermenting.
- Any back-sweetening has been carried out only after correct stabilisation.
- Bottles, syphon, corks and corker have been prepared correctly.
Common Problems
The wine is cloudy
Strawberries contain pectin and produce plenty of fine pulp. Use pectolase early, avoid boiling the fruit, strain carefully and give the wine enough time to clear before reaching for extra finings.
The colour looks pale
Colour varies enormously between strawberry varieties and often fades during fermentation. Use deeply coloured, fully ripe fruit and avoid excessive water; flavour is more important than forcing an artificial-looking red.
The wine tastes thin
Strawberries are naturally low in tannin. A small measured addition of Wine Tannin gives the finished wine more structure and a firmer, more wine-like finish without masking the strawberry character.
There is too much pulp
Do not blend the fruit. Keep it in a fine straining bag and drain rather than aggressively wringing the bag. Forcing pulp through the mesh creates more sediment and greater racking losses.
Fermentation stopped early
Check temperature and gravity before doing anything else. If the reading remains high and unchanged, troubleshoot a stalled fermentation rather than assuming the wine is finished.
The dry wine barely tastes sweet
That is normal: fermentation removes most of the sugar that makes fresh strawberries taste lush. Age the wine first, then decide whether carefully back-sweetening the stable wine would better suit your taste.
FAQs
How many strawberries do I need for one gallon of wine?
Use about 1.8–2kg of ripe strawberries for a 4.5-litre batch. Flavour varies by variety, so fragrant, fully ripe berries matter more than buying the largest fruit.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Yes. Frozen fruit works very well because freezing breaks down the berry structure and helps release juice. Thaw the fruit in a clean covered container and use all the released juice.
Can I use supermarket strawberries?
Yes. Choose the ripest, most aromatic packs you can find and discard any mouldy berries. In-season fruit usually gives a stronger strawberry character than pale, firm fruit bred mainly for shelf life.
Should I wash strawberries before making wine?
Yes. Rinse sound fruit, remove the leafy tops and discard anything spoiled. You do not need to sterilise the fruit itself; the Campden step helps control unwanted microorganisms in the must.
Should I pour boiling water over the strawberries?
No. Dissolve the sugar in hot water separately, cool the syrup, then add it to the fruit. This preserves more fresh fruit character and avoids unnecessarily heating a pectin-rich fruit.
Why use pectolase in strawberry wine?
Strawberries contain pectin and create lots of fine fruit material. Pectolase helps break the pectin down, improves juice extraction and reduces the risk of a persistent pectin haze.
Why add wine tannin to strawberry wine?
Strawberries are naturally low in tannin, so a dry strawberry wine can feel a little soft or thin. About 0.5g of Wine Tannin in a 4.5-litre batch adds structure, mouthfeel and a more balanced finish. If you do not have wine tannin, a small amount of strongly brewed plain black tea can be used as a rough substitute.
Why use Gervin GV5?
Gervin GV5 is designed for white fruit wines and specifically lists strawberry among its suitable fruits, making it a targeted choice here.
Can I use Lalvin 71B instead?
Yes. Lalvin 71B is a popular fruit-wine yeast and a good alternative when available. Follow the sachet's own preparation and temperature instructions.
How much sugar should I add?
Do not treat 1kg as an automatic dose. Start with roughly 750g, then use the hydrometer to adjust toward 1.085–1.095. The natural sugar in the fruit changes from batch to batch.
What starting gravity should strawberry wine have?
This recipe targets an OG of about 1.085–1.095, giving a wine-strength fermentation without pushing the alcohol so high that the strawberry character becomes secondary.
How strong will the finished wine be?
If it starts around 1.085–1.095 and finishes dry near 0.995–1.000, expect approximately 11.5–13% ABV. Your actual hydrometer readings give the best estimate.
How long should the strawberries stay in the fermenter?
Usually around 5–7 days. Keep the fruit wet during vigorous fermentation, then remove it once extraction is good and the most active stage begins to settle.
Should I squeeze the straining bag?
A light press is fine. Avoid wringing it hard enough to force fine pulp and seeds through the mesh, because that increases haze, sediment and racking losses.
How long does strawberry wine take to ferment?
Often around 3–6 weeks, but there is no reliable calendar date for completion. The wine is finished only when hydrometer readings are unchanged across at least 48 hours.
Why has my strawberry wine lost some colour?
Some fading is normal during fermentation and ageing. The final colour depends on the strawberries themselves, oxygen exposure, acidity and time. Do not judge the wine by colour alone.
Can I make strawberry wine sweeter?
Yes, after fermentation has fully finished. If you are adding fermentable sugar, stabilise the wine correctly before bottling. Read our back-sweetening guide first. You can also use Wine Sweetener 50ml according to its label directions.
How long should strawberry wine mature?
Around 3–6 months is a useful starting point. Strawberry wine does not necessarily need years of ageing; its fresh fruit character is part of the appeal.
Can I drink strawberry wine young?
You can taste it once it is fully fermented, clear and safe to bottle, but a few months of maturation usually makes the alcohol, acidity and fruit feel much more integrated.
