Got Wine?

futuresoptions · 08-17-2011, 11:08 AM

My sister decided that she wanted to make a batch of pickled watermelon rind, so I went out and purchased 6 large watermelons. We really had no use for the pulp or juice so I volunteered to make a batch of watermelon wine. Never done it before, but I managed to get about 5 1/2 gallons of juice out of the 6 melons. I have made homemade Capt. Morgans style spice rum at home before out of molasses and sugar, but have never tried wine. I purchased some Champagne yeast and added about 5 pounds of sugar to the juice. So far so good, it has a very nice bouquet and makes the kitchen smell really nice. I figure about two more days of fermintation and I will rack the wine. Here's a pic of where I am right now in the process. I put a little too much juice in the container and had a little spill over yesterday into the balloon but not too much...

scottmandue · 08-17-2011, 12:04 PM

That seems like a lot of sugar for already sweet watermellon juice...

But the extent of my winemaking skills extends to making one batch out of Welches grape juice.

Best of luck!

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

If you do it again, you can start in a 5 gal bucket with a 1 1/2" hole drilled in the top and a fermentation lock placed in there (like the pic but with a rubber stopper). It's all about keeping everything sanitized so you don't get any "off" flavors.

futuresoptions · 08-17-2011, 08:19 PM

Yeah, 5pds of sugar may of been a tad too much, but I figured a pound per gallon since the yeast strain that I was using will deliver between 15-20% alcohol by volume. Hey Craigster, yes I am familiar with those locks from watching Craigtube on YouTube... I sort of did this at the spare of the moment and really don't brew frequently enough to have any type of hobby supplies as of yet. I believe that I will purchase some brew buckets and locks in the future as I want to try some of the Coopers beer kits and see how the work out and taste... As of this evening, I can tell that my fermentation is slowing down and I will probably be racking the wine either tomorrow or day after tomorrow. Here in a minute I will post pictures of the pickled watermelon rind. If you have never tried this it is delicious and you will never throw your watermelon rinds away again. It is a four day process to make it, and ends up with a vinegar/sugar, clove and cinnamon mixture going into the jar for flavor...

futuresoptions · 08-17-2011, 08:26 PM

Here are the pics of the watermelon rind. Three melons produced 15qts of product. We still have three melons left to do.

futuresoptions · 08-17-2011, 08:28 PM

stomachmonkey · 08-20-2011, 08:31 PM

How's the wine coming along?

futuresoptions · 08-20-2011, 08:59 PM

I ended up with 3 1/2 gallons of wine. It came out very dry and very smooth. Has no sweetness at all... But no bitterness either.... I would probably put the alcohol content at close to 20%. I tasted the wine when it was warm and you could really taste the alcohol and it burned a little going down. When the wine is fully chilled you do not feel any warmth or burn when you swallow. Overall I would say it came out okay for homemade with no kit or preservatives. My mom said it was the best dry wine that she has ever had...