Beetroot Wine, No Nonsense!

[Baz1210]

I read everything I could about this wine and then made my own recipe. It works, it is relatively easy, it tastes like a fruit wine and it DEFINITELY has no cloves, ginger, marjoram or any other herbs and spices. What's more, you should use up old woody beetroot despite all the advice to the contrary, because it doesn't hurt the flavour and why use all your lovely young crop when pickling, boiling and roasting them are by far the better options?

[SusieG]

Recipe then, please Baz?

[Baz1210]

Beetroot Wine. 6 bottles.

Take 4lb (2 kilos) beetroot, wash and roughly chop, don't peel, then boil until soft, spoon out the beetroot and discard. Sieve the juices into a fermenting bucket through a cloth. Add 2lb sugar, 1/2lb chopped sultanas, juice of a lemon, 1/2 pint of very strong tea, top up with water to 1 gallon. At this stage be brave and taste the syrup. It will be very sweet but chances are, if you like the flavour now you will love it when it's wine. When at blood temperature, throw in some yeast nutrient and pectolase (if you have it) and wine yeast. Should be bubbling after a day or two at room temp. Seven days after fermentation starts, pass through a cloth into a glass demijohn. Top up with water if needed, but only if it's not so lively that bubbles are likely to pass out the top of the airlock, if so leave it a few days before you do. Wrap demijohn in newspaper to keep out the light or you will lose the red colour. When fermentation slows add a little sugar (two teaspoons) and swirl well, or pour off a little wine into a glass, dissolve the sugar and return to the demijohn. Keep doing this every time fermentation slows until it shows signs that it doesn't want to take off again. Taste when fermentation finally stops and make sure it isn't really dry if so, sweeten with sugar just a little - be careful- don't overdo it or you'll spoil the flavour. Make sure all fermentation has stopped and allow wine to clear - could be weeks. Use finings if you wish. When clear, syphon the wine off the sediment and into bottles. It will keep for years or you can drink it within a few weeks.

[SusieG]

Is this a tried and tested recipe Baz? Hic ..

[Baz1210]

Hi Susie, I made twelve bottles last summer and gave half away to friends, drank some and kept one. NO-ONE identified it as beetroot wine! All sorts of fruit were guessed at but root vegetables never got a mention. I didn't detect any earthiness at all and judging by the comments neither did anyone else. I used huge inedible beetroot donated by a fellow allotmenteer and I have just started another batch from a similar source that have just gone through the winter.

[the big lebowski]

do you end up with red teeth ?

[Baz1210]

I don't know about red teeth but my eyes were a bit red after a few glasses. 😊🍷

[the big lebowski]

ha ha good stuff im glad it worked out well for you ,i got a homebrew recipe book by hugh fernlywhittingsalls (well worth a read imo) and his mate who wrote it said that he only used beetroot to add colour to fruit wines and nothing else as it was one of the worst veg to use for making wine but if you have managed to make a good drink (that you like as thats the most important thing ) then fair play mate ,cheers